Ukraine launched a massive overnight drone strike on Saturday, hitting a critical oil terminal and a key naval base in St Petersburg, Russia.
The attack targeted infrastructure that fuels Moscow's war efforts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the operation on Saturday morning. He described the targets as key infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia's war.
The targets in the St Petersburg region are approximately 850 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
Zelensky later published a video showing a drone flying toward a target, followed by a massive column of black smoke.
The exact extent of the destruction remained unverified.
Kyiv maintains that Russian energy assets are legitimate military targets due to Moscow's reliance on fossil fuel exports to finance its military operations.
According to Ukrainian officials, drone operations have disabled nearly 43% of Russia's total oil refining capacity. This claim has not been independently verified.
The BBC later verified that St Petersburg's oil terminal was hit during the attack.
Ukraine's military described the terminal as one of the largest in Russia, capable of producing 12.5 million tonnes of petroleum products per year.
Military officials further claimed that the strike successfully hit a major naval base belonging to the Russian Baltic Fleet in Kronstadt.
Russia has not publicly commented on the statement.
St Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov confirmed the city experienced a massive drone assault and admitted the oil facility was struck.
He reported no casualties.
Beglov stated that 72 Ukrainian drones were shot down over St Petersburg and the wider Leningrad region.
He urged residents to stay indoors until the aerial threat subsided and warned of possible disruptions to local mobile internet services.
In a separate territorial dispute on Saturday, Ukraine's military rejected Russian assertions regarding the capture of a key eastern town in the Donetsk region.
Military spokesman Maj Andriy Kovalyov told the BBC that Kostyantynivka remains under Ukrainian control.
The spokesman acknowledged that small Russian infantry groups had infiltrated deep into Ukrainian combat formations but said these groups were being neutralized.
The statement contradicted claims by Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had established full control over the town.
Zelensky addressed the conflicting claims on Telegram, challenging Putin's assertions.
He wrote that if Kostyantynivka is under Russian control, Putin could meet him there to find diplomatic solutions to end the war.
He added that the truth is very different from Putin's words.
