Several people were injured in an explosion at a residential building in the Russian metropolis of St. Petersburg on Saturday. Local media reported that a drone detonated.
Part of a nine-story apartment building was destroyed in Saturday’s attack – a total of 18 apartments, according to authorities. The governor of the Odessa region, Oleh Kiper, said early in the day that a three-year-old child and a pregnant woman were among the injured.
Trümmerfeld
More people could still be under the rubble. Photos and videos from the authorities showed severe destruction and a field of rubble. Helpers were on duty. One person also died in a drone attack in the Kharkiv region in eastern Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack and expressed his condolences to the families. Ukraine needs stronger air defense “to effectively protect our people from Russian terror,” he wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter). “More air defense systems and more anti-aircraft missiles save lives.”
According to Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense forces, seven out of eight drones were shot down in Odessa alone on Saturday night. Russia repeatedly attacks the metropolis in the Black Sea with missiles in the war of aggression that has been going on for more than two years.
“Russia is killing civilians,” wrote the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, on Telegram. “We need help to stop this.” For months now, Ukraine has been demanding significantly more air defense support from the West with additional anti-aircraft systems in order to better protect its cities from Russian attacks. According to Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense forces, a total of 14 drones and a Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet were shot down on Saturday night.
Heavy explosion
Meanwhile, several people were injured in an explosion in St. Petersburg on Saturday. According to local media, a drone detonated. Governor Alexander Beglov only spoke of an “incident.” He promised help to the residents of the damaged apartments. Authorities said six people sought medical help. A 92-year-old woman was taken to hospital. The explosion shattered windows on the five-story residential building.
Residents were accommodated in a kindergarten. Psychologists are also on duty to look after those affected, it said. Videos were circulated on social networks in which a massive explosion could be seen and heard. The authenticity of the recordings could not initially be verified.
There was no comment from the Russian Defense Ministry. The St. Petersburg news portal “Fontanka” reported that the drone may have targeted an oil storage facility nearby. Drone defense is also in use there. St. Petersburg has hardly been hit by missiles so far. However, Ukraine had announced that the range of its drones was increasing.
In its defensive battle against its neighbor’s invasion, which has been ongoing for more than two years, Ukraine repeatedly attacks targets in the Russian hinterland. For example, supplies for Russian troops are to be disrupted. The Russian border regions are particularly affected by the Ukrainian counterattacks. But targets deeper inland were also hit. But the damage is in no way comparable to the daily Russian attacks on Ukraine, which bring death and destruction to the country.
