UAV attack on St Petersburg: oil terminal is on fire, there is partial blackout in city, and bridge has been hit. VIDEO
The ‘St Petersburg Oil Terminal’ is on fire in St Petersburg following a drone attack.
This is reported by Censor.NET, citing an OSINT analysis by ASTRA.
Initial details
A red alert due to UAVs in the Leningrad Oblast was declared after midnight. At the same time, residents of the oblast and St Petersburg reported explosions and air defence activity, and complained that they had not received any alerts about the attack. ASTRA readers reported seeing the glow of the fire.
An ASTRA OSINT expert determined, based on videos sent by readers, that the fire broke out at the "St Petersburg Oil Terminal", located in the south-east of St Petersburg at 32 Elevatorny Square.
According to the company’s website, it is one of the largest terminals for the transhipment of liquid cargo in the Baltic region. Its premises house 21 storage tanks for petroleum products, and the terminal’s total throughput capacity is 12.5 million tonnes per year.
Partial blackout
In addition, the VKontakte data centre and the ‘Vostochnaya’ electrical substation in St Petersburg have been attacked, resulting in a partial blackout in the city.
There are reports of widespread disruptions on the social network following the strike on the VKontakte data centre. An OSINT expert from ASTRA, having analysed video footage sent in by readers, confirmed that it was indeed the data centre that was attacked, as well as a nearby substation.
They are situated in the village of Novosergievka in the Vsevolozhsky District of the Leningrad Region, on the administrative border with St Petersburg.
Users are reporting serious disruptions to the VKontakte platform and related services.
The company’s press office has confirmed the attack but insists that the services are operational: "A drone attack was carried out on the VK data centre in the Leningrad Region. VK services are available to users as normal."
Data from the Russian authorities
The Governor of St Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, later reported that 126 drones had been shot down and confirmed a "fire" at the "St Petersburg Oil Terminal".
"At present, the Ministry of Emergency Situations is extinguishing fires at civilian infrastructure sites in the Nevsky, Krasnoselsky, Krasnogvardeisky and Moskovsky districts, as well as on the premises of the ‘St Petersburg Oil Terminal’. Operations at Pulkovo Airport have been restricted for safety reasons. There are no casualties. Mobile internet disruptions are possible," Beglov said.
Meanwhile, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations has reported that two people were injured in a fire in the Moskovsky District of St Petersburg, which broke out at 04:09, but has not specified the cause of the fire.
Meanwhile, Pulkovo Airport is asking passengers not to arrive at the airport early and notes that the flight schedule for the current day is still being adjusted. Earlier, passengers and staff were asked to take shelter.
Strike on the bridge
It is also reported that a UAV struck the cable-stayed bridge across the Korabelny Fairway in St Petersburg.
This moment was captured on video sent in by ASTRA readers. An ASTRA OSINT expert confirmed that the explosion occurred on the bridge spanning the Korabelny Fairway (official name). The distance from the bridge to the ‘St Petersburg Oil Terminal’, which is on fire following the UAV attack, is approximately 4.5 km.
This is a metal cable-stayed road bridge in St Petersburg, forming part of the southern flyover of the Western High-Speed Diameter (WHD) – a toll motorway connecting the southern and northern parts of the city. The bridge links the Kirovsky and Vasileostrovsky districts, or Beliy and Vasilievsky Islands.
It is 622 metres long and 39 metres wide (8 lanes). Construction began in 2013, and the bridge was opened on 4 December 2016.
The extent of the damage is currently being assessed.
