Moscow, Oct 18 (AP) Ukrainian strikes set an oil export terminal and a depot ablaze in St Petersburg on Sunday as Kyiv launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in one of its largest aerial attacks of the war.
The strikes came amid deepening tensions between Ukraine and Washington, with US President Donald Trump criticising Kyiv’s attacks on Russian oil infrastructure and the prospect of further US sanctions against Moscow still uncertain.
One person was killed, and five others were wounded in the St Petersburg attack, which sparked fires at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the city’s Ruchi oil depot, local Gov. Alexander Beglov said. A logistics centre belonging to Russian retailer Ozon and a data centre operated by Russian tech giant VK were also targeted, the companies confirmed.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said Sunday that its forces had destroyed 1,015 Ukrainian drones over 15 Russian regions, the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and the Black Sea.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state news agency Tass that Kyiv was “resisting” Moscow’s invasion but could not “change the current course of events.”
Future of US sanctions still unclear
—————————————–
The strikes came after Trump told reporters that they did not know what his decision on further sanctions against Russia would be, despite signing an executive order Friday night waiving planned restrictions, citing US national interests.
Speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Zelenskyy said waiving sanctions against Russia would strengthen Putin’s war effort. He also said US-Ukraine intelligence sharing had resumed after being “blocked for some period of time.”
Zelenskyy said that while he trusted Trump, siding with Moscow would be a tragedy and a “historic mistake” for Washington.
“People want to forget what’s going on. But we can’t give this possibility to forget, or to change reality, or to change the truth,” Zelenskyy said. “We can’t compare Putin and Putin. He’s an aggressor. He occupied us. He killed adults and children, his soldiers. He’s a terrorist. And that’s why I hope that President Trump will be very clear with this position.”
A woman was killed, and a 6-year-old girl was among at least two other people wounded in two Russian attacks on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, local officials said Sunday. Two apartment buildings, 18 cars and an educational institution were damaged in the attacks, Mykhailo Semikin, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, said.
Russia continues energy attacks, Kyiv says
—————————————————
Trump announced on Oct. 11 that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to an “energy ceasefire” in the 4½-year-old war, but offered no details. Kyiv reported Russian attacks on energy sites after his announcement.
Ukraine confirmed on Thursday that it had resumed attacks on Russian oil facilities after a three-day pause.
Zelenskyy expressed outrage at Russia’s continued aerial bombardment of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, in apparent defiance of Trump’s call on Sunday for both sides to halt such attacks. The Ukrainian government initially said it was observing the ceasefire.
In a post on X on Sunday, Zelenskyy said Russia had attacked Ukraine’s energy, oil and gas sectors 76 times in the week since Trump’s announcement.
Energy facilities in four Ukrainian regions had been attacked overnight, leaving tens of thousands of families without power, he said, accusing Russia of trying to cause a blackout.
“America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements. On the contrary, they take every signal of an opportunity to make money as proof that their bet on war is paying off and they can keep fighting,” he wrote.
Zelenskyy also stressed that the war was continuing because of Russia’s invasion, not Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself.
“It is Russia that must face pressure for peace to have a chance. Thank you to everyone who understands this and helps,” he said.
(PTI News)
