St. Petersburg, Russia – An explosion has shaken a gas export terminal near the city of St. Petersburg, causing a large fire, according to officials. The incident occurred at the Novatek terminal in Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland. The cause of the explosion is still unknown, but local media have reported sightings of drones in the area.
The regional governor, Alexander Drozdenko, has declared a “high alert regime” after the incident. He shared a video showing a large fire at the gas terminal. The news outlet Shot quoted local residents who claimed to have heard a drone followed by several explosions at the terminal. Additionally, the St. Petersburg-based news outlet, Fontanka, reported the spotting of at least two drones flying towards the city before the fire broke out.
Following the explosion, the Russian defense ministry claimed to have shot down three Ukrainian drones near its border with Ukraine. This comes after a similar attack targeted a major oil loading terminal in St. Petersburg the day before.
The blast near St. Petersburg occurred just a day after Russia claimed to have captured a village close to the devastated city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago, but has made little progress in recent months. Meanwhile, Ukraine has set a target of producing a million drones domestically this year, despite facing severe ammunition shortages.
Despite the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian officials have not commented on the recent incident near St. Petersburg. The details of what happened have not been verified by the BBC. Overall, the situation remains tense, with both countries continuing to engage in acts of aggression and retaliation.