A fire broke out at a strategic oil terminal in St. Petersburg following a drone attack
On the morning of July 4, a fire broke out at the “St. Petersburg Oil Terminal” in St. Petersburg, Russia, following reports of a potential drone attack. At the same time, several regions of the Russian Federation are reporting explosions, fires, and disruptions to electricity and water supplies.
According to Astra’s OSINT analysis, the source of the fire was identified on the grounds of JSC “St. Petersburg Oil Terminal,” which is located near the Grand Port of St. Petersburg and serves as one of the key logistics hubs for the transshipment of crude oil and petroleum products.
According to preliminary information, one of the videos released shows not a fuel tank but a railroad tank car on the facility’s access tracks catching fire. At the same time, analysts note that the attack continued and the number of fire outbreaks increased.
After 4:00 a.m., Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenco reported the danger posed by drones in the airspace and warned of possible restrictions on mobile internet service. He later claimed that two drones had allegedly been destroyed, and subsequently reported that 67 drones had supposedly been shot down over the region.
The “St. Petersburg Oil Terminal” covers an area of 37 hectares, has 21 storage tanks for petroleum products, and has a throughput capacity of 12.5 million metric tons per year. In Russia, the facility is considered a strategic site.
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Meanwhile, in Belgorod, local residents reported fires, power outages, and disruptions to the water supply following a nighttime attack. According to local social media posts, the fire may have occurred at the “Luch” thermal power plant. The day before, the local water utility also reported power outages at water supply facilities.
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Belgorod Region Governor Alexander Shuvaev reported damage to infrastructure facilities, which led to disruptions in electricity and water supply, as well as fires at several infrastructure sites.
In addition, the head of Udmurtia, Alexander Brechalov, reported an attempted missile attack on one of the region’s enterprises, claiming that it was allegedly intercepted by air defense systems.
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The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that from the evening of July 3 to the morning of July 4, Russian air defense forces allegedly shot down 389 drones over a number of regions of the country, as well as over the temporarily occupied Crimea, the Azov Sea, and the Black Sea. Information regarding the extent of damage to the targeted facilities has not been officially confirmed.
This is evidenced by Astra’s OSINT analysis.
On the night of July 2, drones attacked an oil refinery in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. This facility is one of the key elements of Russia’s fuel infrastructure.
On the night of July 1, Russian troops carried out a massive attack with strike drones on the Dnipropetrovsk region.
As a reminder, on the evening of June 30, Russian forces attacked an electric locomotive in the Dnipropetrovsk region with a drone. There were no casualties, as the locomotive crew was warned of the danger in time, and the workers managed to take cover.
Ukrainian drones struck eight of the ten largest Russian oil refineries by processing volume, with some facilities being hit multiple times.
