The northwestern region surrounding Russia’s second-largest city, St. Petersburg, was struck by more than 50 drones overnight, according to Leningrad Region Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko.
A fire broke out at the key Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga following a Ukrainian drone strike on Friday, Drozdenko reported in a Telegram message early Friday morning. The blaze was extinguished after several hours with no deaths or injuries reported.
The port area, home to Russia’s largest oil terminal and a major gas-processing complex, has been targeted by Ukraine multiple times in recent months. St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport also stated it had rescheduled flights due to aerial incursions.
Separately, Ukraine struck a residential building in Bryansk, western Russia, on Friday, killing one person and injuring at least six others, according to the region’s acting governor, Egor Kovalchuk. Another individual was wounded in a drone attack in Snytkino village, Kovalchuk added.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced 553 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down or intercepted across 19 regions overnight. Moscow has condemned Ukrainian strikes on infrastructure and residential areas within Russia as terrorist attacks aimed at compensating for Kiev’s military setbacks on the battlefield where Russian forces have continued their advance.
In response, Russia intensified long-range missile and drone strikes targeting Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities and logistics infrastructure. The ministry asserts its actions focus solely on military objectives and do not involve civilians. According to the Defense Ministry, 14 such strikes occurred in the past week, hitting weapons production plants, logistics centers, fuel facilities, energy infrastructure, transport networks, military airfields, and ports where cargo for Ukrainian forces is stored. Russia also targeted 15 oceangoing vessels operating on behalf of Ukraine’s military.
