Russia claims it downed 221 drones overnight, as strikes hit Russia’s largest oil loading port of Primorsk, in the Leningrad region, igniting a fire on a vessel.
“An open fire on a vessel has been extinguished in the port of Primorsk. There is no threat of flooding or spillage of oil products,” regional governor Alexander Drozdenko reported on Telegram.
He added that a pumping station fire in Primorsk was also put out.
According to the governor, more than 30 drones were destroyed over the region overnight, with falling debris recorded in Vsevolozhsk, Tosno, Pokrovskoye, Uzmino, and parts of the Lomonosov district. No casualties were reported.
Residents of the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg reported explosions, describing one of the most massive attacks on the Oblast since the start of the full-scale war.
The strikes disrupted air traffic at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport, where 28 flights were delayed, 13 canceled, and 11 diverted, according to RIA Novosti.
Russian Telegram channels reported the first drones hit around 10:40 p.m. Kyiv time (1940 UTC) on Thursday.
The SHOT channel reported that residents of Smolensk heard five to eight explosions, which triggered car alarms and caused flashing lights in the sky.
Footage circulating online showed a fire at what witnesses claimed was a Lukoil gas station, while other reports suggested hits on the Kardymovo oil depot.
Explosions were also reported in the Kursk, Bryansk, and Moscow regions. In the Odintsovo and Naro-Fominsk districts near Moscow, residents described hearing multiple blasts overnight.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said seven drones were shot down over the capital region.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed 221 Ukrainian drones were downed overnight across multiple regions, including 85 in Bryansk and 42 in Leningrad. Other downings included:
- 18 in Kaluga
- 14 in Novgorod
- 9 each in Oryol and Moscow regions
- 7 in Belgorod
- 3 each in Rostov and Tver
- 1 each in Pskov, Tula, and Kursk
Ukraine has not issued any comments on the attack.
This news story will be updated as more information becomes available.