Drones attack Moscow and St. Petersburg, hitting key oil terminal
Photo: Firefighters from Russia's Ministry of Emergency situations (Getty Images)
On the night of October 18, drones launched a massive attack on Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Leningrad region. An oil terminal was likely hit, and three airports imposed restrictions, according to the monitoring channel Exilenova+ and the Russian news agency ASTRA.
St. Petersburg and Leningrad region
According to Exilenova+, drones attacked an oil terminal, after which a tanker caught fire there. Russian air defense is operating at full capacity, and missile launches are being recorded.
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, reported that 57 drones had been shot down. According to him, debris from a drone strike in the village of Nizino in the Lomonosov district damaged four cars in a parking lot and caused a fire.
Residents are also reporting explosions in Kudrovo.
Drones attack Moscow and St. Petersburg, hitting key oil terminal pic.twitter.com/1X9mFd5XEI
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) October 18, 2026
Drones attack Moscow and St. Petersburg, hitting key oil terminal pic.twitter.com/PZFE7Iofa3
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) October 18, 2026
Meanwhile, residents of St. Petersburg did not receive SMS alerts about the drone threat, and some people received them with a significant delay.
Moscow
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has been reporting on downed drones since 11 p.m. As of 3 a.m., he reported 87 drones. Sobyanin has not reported any damage or casualties, but noted that emergency services were working at the crash sites. Explosions were also heard in the Moscow region.
Airport restrictions
Due to the attack, Russian aviation has restricted the arrival and departure of flights at two Moscow airports and at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg.
Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the St. Petersburg oil terminal with FP-1 drones, according to the manufacturer, Fire Point. This is one of the largest oil loading complexes in the region: it receives, stores, and ships petroleum products, including for export. The terminal has a capacity of 12.5 million metric tons per year. A fire broke out on the premises after the strike.
Moscow has been subjected to massive drone attacks for several nights in a row. On the night of October 14, the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched hundreds of drones at Moscow in one of the largest attacks on the Russian capital.
On October 16, following an attack by about 50 drones, restrictions were imposed at four airports in the Moscow metropolitan area: Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky. The following night, three of them suspended operations again, although Sobyanin did not report any drone threat at that time.
