Ukrainian drones targeted a major gas export terminal near the city of St. Petersburg. The explosion at the Ust-Luga terminal resulted in a significant fire, but no casualties, according to Russian authorities. An official source in Kyiv states that the attack was planned by the S.B.U. security service’s “special operation,” which used drones that were “on target.” Drones have been employed in the current war by both Russia and Ukraine.
Although it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost two years ago, Russia has not made significant advances in the past several months. Following the incident at the gas firm Novatek’s terminal in Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland, regional governor Alexander Drozdenko declared a high alert regime about the explosion near St. Petersburg. He posted a video online showing what looked to be a sizable fire. The Ukrainians claim that the attack “significantly complicates” military logistics and that fuel manufactured at the factory was used to equip Russian troops in their battle against Ukraine. They add that Russia, which exports petroleum from the facility, has suffered an economic setback as a result of the attack. A video that was posted on Fontanka.ru in Russia shows tankers docked near the area where the fire was burning. According to the report, two drones were seen flying into St. Petersburg around one o’clock local time, but they made a sudden u-turn near the outside of the city before making their way to the Ust-Luga port and the coast. An eyewitness reports that the blasts caused the ground to tremble beneath his feet. According to a source cited by the Russian Telegram channel Mash, there were two explosions before the fire, and about 150 employees were taken out of the terminal.
In another video that was shared on Russian social media, enormous orange fireballs can be seen, and a man’s voice can be heard talking about how he heard a drone buzz before the explosion. Typically a trustworthy source, Fontanka.ru reports that before the explosions, flights into and out of St. Petersburg were suspended. Additionally, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that on Saturday night, it shot down three Ukrainian drones in the Smolensk Region, which is near its border with Ukraine. It has previously claimed to have shot down drones over the western Russian cities of Tula and Oryol. There were no casualty reports.
Additionally, on Sunday, officials installed by Russia said that bombardment at a bustling market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, under Russian control, resulted in at least 25 fatalities and 20 injuries. Regarding that incident, Kyiv has not yet responded. Targeting one another’s energy infrastructure, Russia and Ukraine started a fire at an oil store in Bryansk, southwest Russia, on Friday. Moscow attributed the incident to a drone strike by Ukraine. That happened the day after a significant St. Petersburg oil loading station was the target of an attack. In the eastern Donetsk area of Ukraine, Russia claimed to have taken control of a settlement near the badly damaged city of Bakhmut on Thursday. The claim has not been verified by Kyiv. Although Ukraine has issued several warnings about the serious ammunition shortages facing its army, the country has set the goal to produce one million drones domestically this year.
I write this as a reminder for us all: the only possible end of the war is through negotiations and diplomacy, the only valuable and effective means.
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