Ukraine strikes Russian oil sites with over 1,000 drones as Trump administration weighs sanctions and satellite support

Ukraine launched one of its biggest aerial assaults of the war overnight, sending more than 1,000 drones into Russian territory and setting oil facilities ablaze, while a separate Russian strike on Kyiv left a civilian dead and damaged a subway station and an apartment building.

The Ukrainian strikes hit the St Petersburg oil terminal, the Ruchi oil depot and industrial warehouses in the city's Kolpinsky district. St Petersburg's governor, Alexander Beglov, said the attacks killed at least one person and injured five others, and that several residential buildings and two houses were also struck as firefighters worked through the weekend to control the blazes. The scale of the barrage, framed by some outlets as one of Kyiv's largest aerial strikes of the nearly four-year war, came as diplomatic efforts around the conflict entered a delicate new phase. Overnight, a Russian strike on Kyiv killed a woman and hit a subway station, also damaging a 25-story residential building, according to the capital's mayor.

The exchange unfolded alongside new strain between Kyiv and Washington. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing the Trump administration to move forward with a fresh round of sanctions on Russia after the White House opted to put them on hold, a delay Zelenskyy described as unfortunate and one he said could encourage Russia to continue its campaign. Some Republicans in Congress have also pushed back on the delay. Separately, Kyiv and Washington have been in discussions over a reported slowdown in satellite communications support, a system Ukrainian forces rely on heavily for battlefield coordination. The Wall Street Journal reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a three-way summit with President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a possible settlement of the war, though it remains unclear whether or when such a meeting might take place, or what role Ukraine itself would play in those talks.

The war, which began with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, has increasingly moved into contests over energy infrastructure on both sides, with Ukraine targeting refineries and depots that supply Russia's war effort and its export revenue, and Russia continuing strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Both sides have also separately reported drone incidents that have put NATO air defenses on alert in parts of Europe in recent days.

Whether the proposed Trump-Putin-Xi summit gains traction, and whether Washington moves ahead with the paused Russia sanctions, are likely to shape the next phase of diplomacy around the war.

How big was Sunday's Ukrainian strike?

Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russian energy and industrial sites, described as one of its largest aerial attacks of the war.

Why are Ukraine and the US at odds right now?

Kyiv has pushed back on a Trump administration decision to pause new Russia sanctions and on a reported slowdown in satellite communications support.

Back to today's brief →