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2026 FIFA World Cup
29MAR

Ukraine hits a St Petersburg data centre

3 min read
14:01UTC

Ukrainian drones hit a VK data centre, a substation, an Ozon logistics hub and a motorway span in St Petersburg overnight on 17-18 October.

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Key takeaway

Ukraine's drones reached St Petersburg's data, power and transport networks in one night.

Ukrainian drones hit targets in St Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast overnight on 17-18 October, between 844 and 860km from the border. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington research group, called them large-scale strikes on an extremely wide target set⁠1. The hits included a data centre of VK, Russia's largest social network, which admitted the hit but said its services stayed up.

The neighbouring Vostochnaya substation was hit too; Governor Alexander Drozdenko said about 20,000 people lost power. Drones also struck a logistics centre of Ozon, the Russian online retailer, and a span of the Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD), the city's toll motorway.

Fire Point, the Ukrainian manufacturer, says its FP-1 drones hit the Petersburg Oil Terminal, the city's oil-products export terminal, which handles 12.5m tonnes a year, and the Ruchyi oil depot⁠2. Russia's Ministry of Defence claimed 1,015 Ukrainian drones downed that night. St Petersburg's governor, Alexander Beglov, said firefighters were putting out fires at the Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchyi oil depot, and that one person was killed and five injured⁠3. Fire Point's claim that its FP-1 drones made the hits, and the Defence Ministry's figure of 1,015 drones downed, have not been independently verified⁠4.

The raid extends a campaign that has hit Russian refineries and two Yandex data centres, resumed after Zelenskyy ended the energy truce. Moscow came under attack days later: on the night of 21-22 October, mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 630 drones flew towards the Moscow region. He said 163 were stopped on approach to the city and two people were injured in Voronovo, in New Moscow⁠5.

Deep Analysis

In plain English

Ukraine has been fighting off a Russian invasion since February 2022. It cannot match Russia's missiles, so it builds its own long-range drones, small unmanned aircraft that carry explosives. This time the drones flew about 850km to St Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city. They hit a data centre belonging to VK, Russia's biggest social network, and a power substation next to it. About 20,000 people lost electricity. A Ukrainian company, Fire Point, says its drones also hit an oil terminal. St Petersburg's governor, Alexander Beglov, said fires there and at a nearby oil depot killed one person and injured five. Russia's defence ministry says it shot down more than 1,000 drones, which nobody has checked independently.

Deep Analysis
Root Causes

Ukraine's reach rests on a domestic long-range drone industry. Types such as Fire Point's FP-1 fly beyond 1,000km, which puts Russia's Baltic coast inside range from Ukrainian soil.

In St Petersburg the VK data centre and the Vostochnaya substation sit side by side, so a single strike area can reach digital and power services together.

Russia's air defence is concentrated round Moscow and the front, leaving the north-west thinner even after the June raid on Kronstadt.

Escalation

Escalating in reach and range of targets. Ukraine hit civilian technology and retail sites in Russia's second city, and Moscow faced 630 drones on the night of 21-22 October by Sobyanin's count.

What could happen next?
  • Consequence

    Russia must spread air defences across a longer list of civilian sites, leaving fewer systems for the front line.

    Short term · Assessed
  • Risk

    Strikes on consumer technology and power in a major city give Moscow a justification it already uses for retaliatory strikes on Ukraine's grid.

    Immediate · Assessed
  • Precedent

    A Russian technology company publicly confirmed a hit on its own facility, a rare first-party damage report under wartime data limits.

    Immediate · Assessed
Sources:OBOZ.UA·Mayor of Moscow·Ukrainian Air Force
Mentions:Ukraine →St Petersburg →Leningrad Oblast →VK →Ozon →Western High-Speed Diameter →Vostochnaya substation →Alexander Drozdenko →Alexander Beglov →Fire Point →FP-1 →Ruchyi oil depot →Russian Ministry of Defence →Institute for the Study of War →Sergei Sobyanin →Moscow →Voronovo →Russia →Washington →Yandex →Milošević →Belgrade →London →NATO →Germany →Serbia →Volodymyr Zelenskyy →Petersburg Oil Terminal →Kronstadt →
First Reported In

Update #30 · Kremlin floats 10 November talks as diesel deal work begins

OBOZ.UA· 22 Oct 2026
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Causes and effects
Caused by
Ukraine strikes Yandex AI data centres
The St Petersburg raid extends Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries and data centres.
Occurred 8 Oct 2026
Read story →
Kyiv ends energy truce, hits Ryazan refinery
The raid followed Zelenskyy's end of the energy truce and the Ryazan refinery strike.
Occurred 15 Oct 2026
Read story →
This Event
Ukraine hits a St Petersburg data centre
Ukraine struck data, power, retail and transport targets in Russia's second city on a single night, more than 840km from the border.
Led to
A Ukrainian drone explodes in Lithuania
The drone that exploded in Lithuania strayed from the St Petersburg raid.
Occurred 18 Oct 2026
Read story →
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Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Editorial standards.