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Two killed and at least 17 injured as Russia and Ukraine trade blows on power infrastructure

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Cite

Jones, S. (2026, October 18). Two killed and at least 17 injured as Russia and Ukraine trade blows on power infrastructure. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/18/killed-injured-russia-ukraine-strikes-power-infrastructure

Dated from the outlet's own feed. Check the original for its byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-10-18 · by Sam Jones

Quick Summary

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged attacks on each other's power infrastructure, resulting in two deaths and at least 17 injuries. Ukraine launched an overnight drone strike using over 1,000 drones, targeting Russian oil depots and logistics facilities, causing fires and power outages affecting about 20,000 people in St Petersburg. Meanwhile, Russian strikes on Zaporizhzhia, a southern Ukrainian city, killed one woman and injured at least two others, including a child, damaging apartment buildings and vehicles. The article highlights the collapse of the "energy ceasefire" declared by former US President Donald Trump, underscoring ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine despite international efforts to de-escalate conflict.
Written by AI on 2026-10-18, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 18, Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones in a massive strike against Russia, setting several oil facilities ablaze in St Petersburg. The attack killed at least one person and injured five others, according to Governor Alexander Beglov. Fires broke out at the St Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Ruchi oil depot, while Russian e-commerce company Ozon reported a fire at its logistics hub and internet giant VK confirmed that its data center near St Petersburg was hit but services remained operational.

The incident occurred amid ongoing tensions between Ukraine and Washington after President Donald Trump declared an "energy ceasefire" on October 11. Despite the truce, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the resumption of attacks on Russian oil facilities to limit Moscow's revenue for its war effort. This move infuriated Trump, who had struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import Russian diesel in an attempt to lower U.S. energy prices amid the Iran conflict.

Russian air defense units reported downing 1,015 Ukrainian drones overnight during the attack. The strike also disrupted operations at St Petersburg’s main airport for safety reasons. Governor Beglov added that several residential buildings and two houses were damaged by Sunday's attacks, indicating broader collateral damage from the drone strikes. This event underscores the escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia as both sides continue to engage in military actions despite calls for ceasefire.

Written for “Ukrainian Drone Attacks On St Petersburg” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 11 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Ukrainian Drone Attacks On St Petersburg
Politics · 12 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 17% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 60/100
The Straits Times
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different incidents with distinct details including dates, casualty counts, locations hit, and types of attacks.”
Al Jazeera
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 60/100
Toronto Star
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 64/100
The Independent
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 18 claims Outlet record 59/100
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 1 of 8 claims Outlet record 66/100
CBC News
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 60/100
Euronews
⚖️ Centre further left than this Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 60/100
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left further left than this Hedges 0 of 22 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different attacks involving Russia and Ukraine on separate dates and locations.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
36
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
17%
6 of 36 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
66/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
12
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 2985 article(s) · 6 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 6 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Sam Jones
4 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The shock and sorrow has echoed around Spain as the country tries to come to terms with what has happened, and to accept that its extensive and modern speed rail system – long a source of national pride – may not be the safe and reliable network it once seemed.
🔮 “Luckily, I had my flak jacket and helmet, otherwise I probably wouldn’t even be here, because they just kept kicking and kicking me.”
🔮 “The Kyiv regime is resisting, but this cannot change the course of events,” he said, answering a question about how Russia might respond to Kyiv’s attack on St Petersburg.
🔮 Announcing that an early general election would be held on Sunday 29 November, the prime minister defended his government’s record in office and admitted it had made mistakes, but insisted it was time to let the Spanish people have their say.
Also by Sam Jones
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Kyiv Russia Russian Ukraine Zaporizhzhia

Subjects

Russia GPE · 11× Russian NORP · 8× Ukraine GPE · 6× Kyiv GPE · 4× Trump PERSON · 4× Ukrainian NORP · 3× Zaporizhzhia GPE · 3× St Petersburg GPE · 2× Zelenskyy PERSON · 2× Donald Trump’s PERSON · 1×

Narrative

In the Trump administration’s latest effort to reduce tensions with Russia, the US president announced on Friday that he would put a hold on a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause on the legislation passed by both chambers was in the national interest.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 “The Kyiv regime is resisting, but this cannot change the course of events,” he said, answering a question about how Russia might respond to Kyiv’s attack on St Petersburg.

Claims (36 extracted, 6 hedged)

Two people have been killed and at least 17 injured as Russia and Ukraine continue to trade strikes on each other’s power infrastructure, after the breakdown of Donald Trump’s short-lived and unilaterally declared “energy ceasefire”. asserted
Russia → kill → ceasefire
One person was killed and 15 wounded overnight after Ukraine used more than 1,000 drones to target Russian oil depots, logistics facilities and datacentres in one of its largest ever aerial bombardments. asserted
Ukraine → kill → bombardments
St Petersburg’s governor, Alexander Beglov, said on Sunday that fires had broken out overnight at the city’s oil terminal, an oil depot and industrial warehouses. asserted
fires → say → terminal
A logistics centre belonging to the Russian retailer Ozon and a datacentre for the local tech company VK were also targeted, both companies confirmed. asserted
companies → belong → company
Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of the Leningrad region that surrounds St Petersburg, said 145 drones had been shot down and about 20,000 people were without electricity after the raid. asserted
people → surround → raid
“A large-scale [unmanned aerial vehicle] attack continues to be repelled,” he wrote on Telegram. asserted
he → continue → Telegram
Meanwhile, local officials in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia said Russian strikes had killed a woman and wounded at least two other people, including a six-year-old girl. asserted
strikes → say → girl
Two apartment buildings, 18 cars and an educational institution had been damaged by the attack, according to Mykhailo Semikin, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration. uncertain
buildings → damage → administration
Tensions are deepening between Kyiv and Washington, with the US president criticising Ukraine for its strikes on Russian oil infrastructure, despite continued Russian aggression. asserted
president → deepen → aggression
Trump announced an “energy ceasefire” last week – which neither side said they agreed to beforehand – that quickly collapsed as Moscow continued its strikes on Ukraine’s power grid and Kyiv eventually resumed its hits on Russian oil refineries. asserted
Kyiv → announce → refineries
The Russian defence ministry said its air defence units had downed 1,015 Ukrainian drones around the country overnight. asserted
units → say → country
The Tass news agency quoted the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, who said Russia was responding with systematic, large-scale strikes. asserted
Russia → quote → strikes
“The Kyiv regime is resisting, but this cannot change the course of events,” he said, answering a question about how Russia might respond to Kyiv’s attack on St Petersburg. uncertain
Russia → resist → Petersburg
On Saturday, Russia said it had carried out a major overnight attack, targeting Ukraine’s largest steelworks in the city of Kryvyi Rih and vessels using the port of Odesa. asserted
it → say → Odesa
In a statement, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had also hit an electricity substation in the north-western city of Zhytomyr and another steel plant in Zaporizhzhia. asserted
forces → say → Zaporizhzhia
In the Trump administration’s latest effort to reduce tensions with Russia, the US president announced on Friday that he would put a hold on a sweeping new sanctions package targeting the Russian economy, telling Congress the pause on the legislation passed by both chambers was in the national interest. asserted
pause → reduce → interest
Trump has yet to give details about what he has decided regarding further sanctions on Russia. asserted
he → have → Russia
“We’ll figure it out, and you’ll figure it out,” he told reporters at a fundraising dinner at his Florida estate on Saturday. asserted
he → figure → Saturday
“But it’s a very good decision, and it’s going to be a decision that’s good for the country, and I think good for the world.” asserted
I → ’ → world
In a post on X on Sunday, Zelenskyy said in the week since Trump’s announcement of an energy ceasefire Russia had attacked Ukraine’s energy, oil and gas sectors 76 times. asserted
Russia → say → sectors
He also said that the previous night alone, energy facilities in four Ukrainian regions had been attacked and tens of thousands of families were still without power. asserted
thousands → say → power
He accused Russia of trying to cause a blackout. asserted
He → accuse → blackout
“America should see that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to sanctions relief or agreements,” he said. asserted
he → see → relief
“On the contrary, they take every signal of an opportunity to make money as proof that their bet on war is paying off and they can keep fighting.” asserted
they → take → war
Zelenskyy also stressed that the war was continuing due to Russia’s invasion – not because Ukraine was defending itself. asserted
Ukraine → stress → itself
“It is Russia that must face pressure for peace to have a chance. asserted
that → face → chance
Thank you to everyone who understands this and helps,” he said. asserted
he → thank → this
Fears that the conflict could be spilling over into Nato’s borders were stoked again on Sunday morning after Lithuania told residents in central and northern parts of the country to seek shelter for about an hour after an unidentified flying object entered its airspace. uncertain
object → spill → airspace
During the red alert, Nato fighter jets were scrambled to the area, and Kaunas airport, near Lithuania’s second largest city, was temporarily closed, the national crisis management centre said. asserted
centre → scramble → city
The Nato aircraft were unable to visually identify the object due to cloudy weather and did not attempt to shoot it down, the centre said. asserted
centre → identify → it
Ukraine’s foreign ministry later said it regretted the possible diversion of its drones into Lithuanian airspace on Sunday, which it said may have been caused by Russian electronic warfare. uncertain
it → say → warfare
“We apologise for any disruption, risks and concern this may have caused,” a spokesperson, Heorhii Tykhyi, wrote on X. “We are committed to sharing all relevant information with our Lithuanian partners to establish the full circumstances of the incident. uncertain
We → apologise → incident
Ukrainian drones have repeatedly entered Nato airspace in the Baltic region in recent months. asserted
drones → enter → months
Kyiv has said they were steered off course by Russian signal jamming. asserted
they → say → jamming
Such incidents have stoked concerns that Russia’s war in Ukraine could spread. uncertain
war → stoke → Ukraine
Reuters, the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report asserted
Reuters → contribute → report
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