Residents in various parts of St. Petersburg were awakened by thunderous sounds, the Fontanka news site reports. Others were kept awake by a persistent buzzing sound. Some sought shelter in their bathtubs.
Drones or drone debris crashed into several apartment buildings in the city overnight. Large fires broke out in several areas, including parking lots. Thousands of homes lost power, and windows were shattered in many buildings.
One person was killed, according to a social media post by St. Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov. There were also reports of people suffering burns and smoke inhalation.
Images showed flames shooting from a large oil terminal in the city - one of the largest of its kind in the Baltic Sea region. Beglov confirmed that fires broke out there and at an oil depot elsewhere.
More than a thousand
Russian authorities say Ukraine attacked the country with more than a thousand drones overnight on Sunday. If true, it would be one of the most extensive Ukrainian attacks on Russia to date.
More than 500 Ukrainian drones were targeted at Moscow, according to the capital's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin. He said most were shot down shortly after crossing the border.
In St. Petersburg, drones struck, among other places, a Vkontakte data center. Vkontakte is the Russian equivalent of Facebook. They also struck a shipping warehouse belonging to retail giant Ozon.
Traffic at the major Pulkovo airport has been canceled or delayed. As on previous nights, Finland has imposed a traffic ban in the eastern Gulf of Finland for safety reasons.
Hard-to-verify images show a drone crashing into one of the city's largest bridges.
Fuel bundle
A week ago, Donald Trump declared an “energy ceasefire” in the war on his own initiative, but none took effect. Ukraine said it would hold off for three days, but Russia's attacks on Ukrainian power supplies continued.
Then the US president invaded Russia and reached a deal on diesel. Trump is keen to get more oil on the market to bring down the high price of gasoline in the US ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
Prices have skyrocketed as a result of Trump's war on Iran, as Iran retaliated by cutting off a large portion of the world's oil exports from the Persian Gulf. Attempts to negotiate over it in recent months have failed.
During the night, two apartment buildings in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia were hit by Russian attacks. One woman was killed.
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