# Ukrainian drones hit St. Petersburg oil terminal, VK data center and bridge, knocking out power and flights

*Sunday, October 18, 2026 at 6:11 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-10-18T06:11:49.188Z (33m ago)
**Category**: conflict | **Region**: Eastern Europe
**Importance**: 9/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/20854.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: Overnight Ukrainian drone strikes on St. Petersburg reportedly set an oil terminal and depot on fire, damaged a VKontakte data center and substation, and hit a cable‑stayed bridge, causing power cuts, water disruptions and a collapse of operations at Pulkovo Airport.

Fires, blackouts and grounded flights in St. Petersburg on 18 October showed how far Ukraine’s long‑range drone campaign has reached into Russia’s rear.

Ukrainian drones launched what was described as a massive overnight attack on targets in and around St. Petersburg, Russia’s second‑largest city. Ukrainian military‑linked channels and regional reports say the strikes hit an oil terminal at the port, a VKontakte (VK) data center, the 330 kV power substation feeding that facility, and a cable‑stayed bridge linking Vasilyevsky and Kanonersky islands. A nearby oil depot at Ruchyi was also reported damaged.

The VK data center, identified as VK’s "ИЦВА" site in Leningrad Region, was described by Ukrainian sources as having a design capacity of 63 megawatts and housing more than 3,800 server racks. Damage there, combined with the hit on the associated substation, caused widespread disruptions to VK services and cut electricity to residential buildings in the area.

Local accounts also pointed to interruptions in water supply in parts of the city after the strikes. Images and reports from the scene showed significant fires and emergency responses around the oil facilities.

At Pulkovo Airport, the main air hub serving St. Petersburg, operations were described as having collapsed. Passengers already at the airport were evacuated into shelters and given floor mats, while the airport administration asked people not to travel to Pulkovo because of flight delays and schedule changes.

Taken together, the damage to the oil terminal and Ruchyi oil depot, the bridge, the VK data center and its power supply, and the disruption at Pulkovo illustrated how a single wave of drones can affect fuel flows, digital services, transport links and civilian routines far from the front line.

The next signs of impact will be how quickly VK services and local power are restored, whether traffic over the hit bridge and operations at Pulkovo return to normal, and how Russian air defenses around major northern cities adjust after an attack that reached deep into what Moscow has treated as a rear area.