Photographs and videos on social media show clouds of black smoke rising from the port area, which is located on the Gulf of Finland in St. Petersburg.
Early Saturday morning local time, explosions were heard as residents reported that Ukrainian long-range drones were flying over the region, according to independent Russian media.
President Zelenskyy also confirmed that the attack took place. In a post on X, he posted a video showing the attacked port area.
On Telegram, Zelenskyy also writes about attacks on the city of Kronstadt on Kotlin Island in the Gulf of Finland:
“The Ukrainian defense forces hit the oil infrastructure in the port, which generates revenue for the Russian war, and there were also hits on Kronstadt - an important military target.”
Kremlin: Will take revenge
Moscow claims to have shot down around 500 drones, as well as ten Ukrainian Flamingo missiles.
"Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy's attempts to damage civilian targets in the Russian Federation will not be left unanswered by the Russian Armed Forces," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
At the same time, the Ukrainian military says that the fighting over the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka - which the Kremlin has claimed to have captured and fully controls - continues and that the Russian claims are false.
It was late Friday that the Kremlin claimed Russian forces had captured Kostiantynivka - a junction where roads meet several cities, such as Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.
"The city is now completely under our control," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at the time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared in uniform before his general staff in a television broadcast and thanked Russian soldiers after the alleged capture, saying the city is of "great strategic importance."
Zelenskyy writes on social media that Putin's words differ from reality, and continues:
“If Kostiantynivka were under Russian control, then maybe Putin would have no problem meeting me there to find a diplomatic way to finally end this war.”
But the Kremlin quickly dismissed Zelenskyy's offer, with Dmitry Peskov saying on Russian radio on Saturday night that Putin would meet with the Ukrainian leader in Moscow when Kyiv was ready to make "important, significant decisions."
