Russia invades Ukraine

[43096]

I see another Russian General has been blown up by a car bomb. Presumably another operation by Ukraine’s security service.

I see another Russian General has been blown up by a car bomb. Presumably another operation by Ukraine’s security service.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8jwn9wznx1o

A Russian general has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow, officials have said.
Russia's Investigative Committee said Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov died on Monday morning after an explosive device planted under a car detonated.
He is the third military official to have been killed in bomb attacks in the Russian capital over the last year.
Sarvarov, 56, was the head of the armed forces' operational training department, the committee said.
It added one theory being investigated was that the bomb was planted with the involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services. Ukraine has not commented.
Sarvarov died in hospital as a result of his injuries, the committee said, adding it had opened an investigation into murder and illegal trafficking of explosives.
Investigators have been sent to the scene, in a car park near an apartment block in the south of Moscow.
Images from the area show a badly damaged white Kia Sorento with the doors blown out, surrounded by other vehicles.
According to Russian media, Sarvarov previously took part in combat operations during the Ossetian-Ingush conflict and the Chechen wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, and also led operations in Syria between 2015-2016.
Vladimir Putin was informed of Sarvarov's death immediately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a number of military officials and high-profile individuals have been targeted in the Russian capital.
Darya Dugina, the 29-year-old daughter of a prominent nationalist figure and Putin close ally, was killed in a suspected car bombing in 2022.
Gen Yaroslav Moskalik was killed in a car bomb attack last April, while Gen Igor Kirillov died in December 2024 when a device hidden in a scooter was detonated remotely.
A Ukrainian source later told the BBC that Kirillov was killed by Ukraine's security service, though this was never confirmed on the record. As a matter of policy, Ukraine never officially admits or claims responsibility for targeted attacks.

 

[najaB]

I see another Russian General has been blown up by a car bomb. Presumably another operation by Ukraine’s security service.

No, of course not. He was likely just smoking while trying to verify the petrol level by looking in tank.

 

[Pete_uk]

A interesting video about the state of Russia right now. It comes as Putin is shutting down various online services and is rumored to be planning a large mobilisation.

 

[Russel]

A interesting video about the state of Russia right now. It comes as Putin is shutting down various online services and is rumored to be planning a large mobilisation.

Why prepare for a large mobilisation while also preparing for defeat?

 

[nw1]

Why prepare for a large mobilisation while also preparing for defeat?

Ask Donald Trump. Makes the pair of them look strong even if they're pathetically weak.

 

[brad465]

It cannot be coincidence that something like this is coinciding with the war's special military operation's 4th anniversary. It's lasted more years than days Putin claimed it would last.

 

[Pete_uk]

Meanwhile, Ukraine is hitting Russian ports

Angelica Shalagina (@angelica.shalagina) on Threads

WOW Looks like real Hell. Novorossiysk tonight - a view more intense than an apocalyptic movie.

www.threads.com

Link to a video on threads showing something going kaboom

 

[brad465]

Russia have lost an LNG tanker off the coast of Libya. They're blaming Ukraine, but I suspect it's more likely an accident indirectly caused by sanctions:

Russia blames Ukrainian naval drones as tanker sinks in Mediterranean

The Arctic Metagaz went down between Libya and Malta after it was hit by explosions and a fire, Libyan officials say.

www.bbc.co.uk

A Russian LNG gas tanker has sunk in the Mediterranean between Libya and Malta after it was hit by explosions and a fire, Libyan port officials have said.
Russia has accused Ukraine of targeting the Arctic Metagaz with "uncrewed sea drones" launched from the Libyan coast.
Ukraine's SBU state security service has not commented on the allegation and the Libyan port authority said the cause of the fire was unknown.
The Libyans said the tanker was carrying about 62,000 metric tonnes of LNG before the blasts and that it sank about 130 nautical miles (240km) north of the Libyan port of Sirte.
Russia's transport ministry said 30 Russians were on board the Arctic Metagaz and Maltese Home Affairs Minister Byron Camilleri said they were all found "safe and sound in a lifeboat" during a rescue operation by Malta's armed forces.
Unverified night-time footage has emerged purportedly showing the ship ablaze after the attack on Tuesday evening.
Serhii Sternenko, a popular blogger and adviser to Ukraine's defence minister, posted pictures on Wednesday morning of what he said was the tanker in the Mediterranean, which had a "serious hole in the engine room compartment and is beyond repair".
He did not elaborate where the pictures came from and they have not been independently verified.
In a statement on Telegram, the Russian transport ministry described the attack as "an act of international terrorism and maritime piracy", singling out the European Union for complicity.
Moscow said the Arctic Metagaz - en route from Russia's northern port of Murmansk - was carrying cargo cleared in accordance with international rules. The tanker was apparently heading for Port Said in Egypt and is considered part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet. It has been widely sanctioned by Western countries.
The ministry provided no evidence to back up its claim that the tanker was attacked by Ukrainian sea drones, although there have been earlier unconfirmed reports of attacks from the Libyan coast.
The SBU told BBC Ukraine it was not commenting on "the situation with the tanker in the Mediterranean", although a Ukrainian government-linked social media account, United24, teased that the drones were "Definitely. Maybe" not part of the Ukrainian fleet.
Marine tracking data indicated that the day before the fire the tanker had last reported sailing off the south-east coast of Malta.
It had sailed some considerable distance by the time the fire was reported and it is assumed the crew deactivated its automatic identification system.
Russia has deployed a surging number of vessels to transport oil and gas in an attempt to avoid international sanctions, which are aimed at slashing revenues that have been critical for funding Moscow's war in Ukraine.
Its shadow fleet is largely made up of aged tankers, many with obscure ownership or insurance.
Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Kyiv has carried out a number of attacks on such vessels using naval drones.
However, nearly all of such strikes have been in the Black Sea, which Russia and Ukraine both share.

 

[Pete_uk]

An interesting graphic has appeared in various social media feeds showing the extended 'kill zone' where Russian troops are at the mercy of drones. It effectively covers the whole occupied east Ukraine.

 

[edwin_m]

Trying to filter out the blindly pro-Ukrainian stuff on YouTube, it does look as if Ukraine has been pushing back recently, helped by the denial of Starlink to Russia. Unfortunately everyone's attention is elsewhere and Trump's war in Iran has given Russia a financial boost and threatened the supply of US weaponry.

 

[Annetts key]

Trying to filter out the blindly pro-Ukrainian stuff on YouTube, it does look as if Ukraine has been pushing back recently, helped by the denial of Starlink to Russia. Unfortunately everyone's attention is elsewhere and Trump's war in Iran has given Russia a financial boost and threatened the supply of US weaponry.

The Ukrainians have been taking advantage of the confusion and lack of effective communications caused to the Russians by the loss of Starlink.

But I think the increased numbers of Russians being killed or seriously injured by Ukrainian drones is also a factor. Which is being made worse by the reduced number of men that the Russians are able to recruit to go and fight. Many of the Russian regions not having much money left to offer joining bonus payments may also be a factor.

 

[brad465]

There are reports that a staged assassination plot against Orban was planned in an attempt to rally support to him, as Russian interests are concerned he'll be out of power in the upcoming elections:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/03/21/hungary-election-interference-russia-orban/

BUDAPEST — In the run-up to Hungary’s pivotal election in April, a unit of Russia’s foreign intelligence service last month began sounding the alarm over plummeting public support for Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose friendly ties to Moscow have long given the Kremlin a strategic foothold inside NATO and the European Union.

Officers from the intelligence service, or SVR, suggested that drastic action might be necessary — a strategy they called “the Gamechanger.” In an internal report for the SVR obtained and authenticated by a European intelligence service and reviewed by The Washington Post, the operatives proposed a way to “fundamentally alter the entire paradigm of the election campaign” — “the staging of an assassination attempt on Viktor Orban.”

“Such an incident will shift the perception of the campaign out of the rational realm of socioeconomic questions into an emotional one, where the key themes will become state security and the stability and defense of the political system,” the operatives wrote in a report prepared for the SVR’s main unit for political influence operations, Directorate MS, or Active Measures Department.
There have been no physical attacks on Orban, whose popularity has eroded because of a worsening economy. But the mere suggestion of staging an attempt on Orban’s life underscores how high the stakes are for Moscow in the Hungarian race.
The July 2024 campaign-trail attack in which Donald Trump was grazed by a would-be assassin’s bullet resulted in iconic photos of him, praise for his resilience, and a quick bump in his poll numbers, especially among core supporters.

Polls show Orban trailing Peter Magyar, who is also conservative and a former member of Orban’s party, Fidesz, but campaigning as an anti-corruption reformer. “The majority (52.3%) are dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the country,” the Russian officers wrote. “The dissatisfaction prevails not only in cities but also in the rural areas (50.8%) where traditionally the ruling Fidesz party’s position is strong.”

 

[Pete_uk]

I do wonder what shenanigans he'll get up to to tray and stay in power

 

[Cloud Strife]

But I think the increased numbers of Russians being killed or seriously injured by Ukrainian drones is also a factor. Which is being made worse by the reduced number of men that the Russians are able to recruit to go and fight. Many of the Russian regions not having much money left to offer joining bonus payments may also be a factor.

From what I can understand through the fog of war, Russia has tried to launch some fairly large attacks in the past couple of weeks, but they've simply been torn apart. It's clear that Ukraine is now fielding an absolutely frightening amount of drones along the frontlines, and that they're constantly observing and probing Russian defences.

Russia's goal here seems to be somehow breaching the Fortress Belt by simply throwing everything they can against it, but losing 1500 a day is clearly not sustainable. Meanwhile, Ukraine is taking advantage of this by making localised gains. It really is nothing short of a stalemate, and Russia's best chances look to be simply making it clear that they will cease attacking in exchange for freezing the front lines as they are.

 

[Mogster]

Aye, the Goalhanger “Battleground” podcast has been saying similar in its weekly Ukraine episodes. They suggest that drones are now causing most of Russian casualties directly and are being used heavily for tasks like clearing buildings to save Ukrainian troops. Both sides are now using short range fibre optic cable drones. Anti drone netting is now being erected up to 50 miles behind front lines, the Russians have recently started using larger reconnaissance carrier drones that dispense smaller shorter range FPV drones…

hard to imagine the effort that’s going in to producing nearly 1000 drones per day, and that’s just the Russians.

Russia launches 948 drones at Ukraine in largest attack over a 24-hour period

Cities across the west of Ukraine were hit, with residential buildings damaged and many injured.

www.bbc.co.uk

Russia has launched the largest aerial attack on Ukraine over a 24-hour period since the war began, hitting cities across the country with 948 drones.

More than 400 drones were fired on Tuesday afternoon alone, in an unusual daytime attack which killed and injured many across western Ukraine.

Those strikes came hours after a heavy overnight attack left at least five people dead.

In Lviv, Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said 22 people in his city were injured and warned that the number would increase.

 

[najaB]

hard to imagine the effort that’s going in to producing nearly 1000 drones per day, and that’s just the Russians.

It'll be interesting to see how the AI-induced shortages of chips will affect their ability to keep up the production rates (on both sides).

 

[Pete_uk]

Inferno at Russia's Baltic Sea port.

This is what the Ust-Luga oil terminal looks like now after the Ukrainian airstrikes, according to Russian media reports.

Even two tankers from Russia's shadow fleet are burning.

https://x.com/i/status/2036826229655908751

 

[brad465]

According to Kim Jong-Un, North Korean Troops used to try and retake Kursk resorted to kamikaze attacks rather than be taken prisoner, presumably they were convinced to do this as being prisoner risked them damaging the NK regime:

North Korea: Kim Jong Un praises troops who 'self-blasted' to avoid capture

It confirms suspicions that North Korean soldiers are being told to detonate their grenades to kill themselves.

www.bbc.co.uk

Kim Jong Un has praised North Korean soldiers who killed themselves by detonating their grenades while fighting for Russia against Ukraine, confirming a long-suspected battlefield policy.
In a speech this week, the North Korean leader said those who "unhesitatingly opted for self-blasting, suicide attack, in order to defend the great honour" were "heroes".
South Korea estimates at least 15,000 North Koreans have been sent to help Russia recapture parts of western Kursk, and more than 6,000 have been killed so far. Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow have confirmed the numbers.
Intelligence agencies and defectors have said the soldiers were under Pyongyang's orders to kill themselves rather than be taken prisoner by Ukraine.
"Their self-sacrifice expecting no compensation, and the devotion expecting no reward... This [is] the definition of the height of loyalty of our army," Kim said in Pyongyang on Monday as he unveiled a memorial for fallen troops, state media KCNA reported.
Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov and the speaker of Russia's parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, were among those who attended the event.
In North Korea, soldiers are taught that being captured is an act of treason.
Earlier this year, South Korean broadcaster MBC aired a programme featuring two North Korean prisoners of war in Ukraine, one of whom said on camera he regretted not taking his own life.
"Everyone else blew themselves up. I failed," the prisoner said.
Seoul's National Intelligence Service said last year they found memos on deceased North Korean soldiers that point to this extreme practice.
In his speech on Monday, Kim also praised those who died in combat.
"Those who fell in the vanguard of charges and those who writhed in frustration at the failure to fulfill their duties as soldiers who were given orders, rather than in pain in their bodies torn by bullets and shells – they too can be called the party's faithful warriors and patriots," Kim said.
In June 2024, Russian President Putin and Kim signed a deal pledging that their countries would help each other in the event of "aggression" against either country. At the time, Kim hailed the treaty as the "strongest ever".
Besides sending soldiers, North Korea also promised to send thousands of workers to help rebuild Kursk.

 

[jon0844]

I bet Donald Trump is wondering why his soldiers don't act the same way.

 

[brad465]

There are reports that Putin has become even more paranoid about being assassinated, so has "hunkered down" even more than previously:

https://www.ft.com/content/fe70c89e-b5d7-4f89-8eb4-83afbe721d7c?syn-25a6b1a6=1

Russia has stepped up security protocols for President Vladimir Putin amid fears of assassination as he grows more isolated and absorbed by his war in Ukraine. In recent months, Russia’s Federal Protective Service (FSO), which guards top officials, has sharply tightened security around the president. He spends more time in underground bunkers micromanaging the war and has grown more detached from civilian affairs, according to people who know Putin in Moscow and a person close to European intelligence services.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/05/04/europe/putin-russia-security-intelligence-intl

The Kremlin has dramatically increased the personal security around President Vladimir Putin, installing surveillance systems in the homes of close staffers as part of new measures prompted by a wave of assassinations of top Russian military figures and fears of a coup, according to a report from a European intelligence agency obtained by CNN.

Cooks, bodyguards and photographers who work with the president are also banned from traveling on public transport, the dossier says. Visitors to the Kremlin chief must be screened twice, and those working close to him can only use phones without internet access, it adds.

Some of the measures were put in place in recent months in the wake of the killing of a top general in December, which sparked a dispute in the top ranks of Russia’s security establishment, the report says. They suggest mounting unease within the Kremlin as it faces growing problems at home and abroad, including economic woes, increasing signs of dissent and setbacks on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Russian security officials have drastically reduced the number of locations that Putin regularly visits, the report says. He and his family have stopped going to their usual residences in the Moscow region and at Valdai, the president’s secluded summer property which lies between St. Petersburg and the capital.

He has not visited a military facility this year so far, the report says, despite regular trips in 2025. To get around these restrictions, the Kremlin releases pre-recorded images of him to the public, the report adds.

Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin also spends weeks at a time in upgraded bunkers, often in Krasnodar, a coastal region bordering the Black Sea hours away from Moscow, the report says.

The dossier, released to CNN and other media outlets by a source close to a European intelligence agency, comes at a time of a growing perceived crisis around the Kremlin, four years into its brutal and ill-fated war.

 

[dgl]

Putin is starting to sound a lot like a certain Austrian born leader near the point of his demise...

 

[Pete_uk]

The fact that Moscow city got a few visitors from Ukraine in the night will shock many.
I think many are starting to realise that all might not be going well with the 3 day special military operation.

We could wake up tomorrow with Putin well and truly gone.

 

[EYFanatic]

He's so deep into the bunker that not even Tiger Woods could get him out


I wonder, also, if his health is dropping and this is a "out of sight and out of mind" method?

 

[Trackman]

Oh dear, but at least they are open about it - tanks and things are needed in Ukraine, no military hardware for show - last time this happened was 20 years ago.

Rosenberg: Russia's Victory Day parade with no tanks a sign Ukraine war not going to plan

For the first time in nearly two decades, there will be no military hardware, just soldiers during Saturday's parade in Moscow.

www.bbc.co.uk

One word dominates Red Square right now: "Victory".
The word Pobeda stares down from giant red banners. It flashes across video screens. Close by people are taking selfies beside an art installation that spells out the word.
On the square, which is blocked off by metal barriers, soldiers are rehearsing for the annual Victory Day parade that marks the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Russia's national idea, constructed under Vladimir Putin, centres around the Soviet Union's victory in World War Two. The ninth of May has become Russia's most important national holiday.
But this year the 9 May parade is being scaled back. For the first time in nearly two decades there will be no military hardware on Red Square: no tanks, no ballistic missiles. Just soldiers.
The way in which the Kremlin will be remembering the past says much about present: it's a sign that Russia's war on Ukraine is not going to plan.
"Our tanks are busy right now," Russian MP Yevgeny Popov tells me. "They are fighting. We need them more on the battlefield than on Red Square."
"But with the war [on Ukraine] in its fifth year," I suggest, "not only has Russia not secured victory, but under pressure from Ukraine you're scaling back the parade. Some would say that's embarrassing."
"What other choice do we have?" Popov replies. "Nato countries, Ukraine and Great Britain's weapons, your king and your prime minister, are threatening us."
Yevgeny Popov, a Russian MP, says tanks are needed on the battlefield rather than on Red Square
In February 2022 the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was President Putin's choice.
And more than four years on, the Kremlin chooses to continue the war while accusing the West of fuelling the conflict.
But the war is coming closer to home.
On Tuesday two people were killed and more than 30 wounded in a long-range Ukrainian missile and drone strike on the Russian city of Cheboksary. The previous night a drone penetrated Moscow's air defences and struck a luxury high-rise apartment four miles (6km) from the Kremlin. There were no casualties, but extensive damage to an upper floor.
The threat of Ukrainian drones over Red Square has been used to justify the paring back of this year's parade. President Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov has spoken of the "terrorist threat" from Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry has threatened to launch a "retaliatory, massive missile strike" on the centre of Kyiv if Moscow is attacked on 9 May.


Red Square is filled with installations and signs that read 'Victory!' in Russian
In a side-street off Red Square I gauge public reaction. Do Russians care about an absence of tanks at this year's Victory Day parade?
"There is a safety issue," concedes Sergei. "But parading our military hardware shows our strength on the world stage. Perhaps we should be displaying something."
"I understand it would be foolish to showcase [hardware] in case something happens during the parade," says Yulia. "On the other hand, this means that we are afraid of something. And that's not great, either."
"The parade, of course, is a symbol," believes Vladimir. "But if circumstances don't allow it to take place in full, we'll have to wait a year for that."
A scaled-back parade, too, is a symbol: of a country that has failed to secure victory in Ukraine after more than four years of war. In January the conflict passed a milestone: Russia's war on Ukraine has gone on longer than the Soviet Union's fight against Hitler's Germany, which is known here as the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
Are there consequences for Vladimir Putin?
Recent polling – including by state-run agencies - suggests his domestic approval rating is falling.
Towards the end of last year, the Kremlin leader was on TV in military fatigues several times, oozing confidence, as he discussed the Ukraine war with his generals. We've seen far less of "Commander-in-Chief" Putin this year.
From my conversations with Russians, it feels like there is growing fatigue here with the war on Ukraine, increasing concern about the cost of living, and immense irritation with recent state-imposed restrictions on the internet.
Russian authorities have warned that on Victory Day in Moscow there will be restrictions on mobile internet: in the interests of security, they insist.
Officials claim that digital shutdowns, which have hit many Russian towns and cities in recent months, are designed to prevent Ukrainian drone attacks and acts of sabotage. But they are deeply unpopular across the country.
The authorities don't appear particularly bothered by that.
"It's not your business, with all respect, what we are doing with our internet," MP Yevgeny Popov tells me. "It would be better to be with no internet than to be killed by a Ukrainian missile or drone."

 

[Annetts key]

Oh dear, but at least they are open about it - tanks and things are needed in Ukraine, no military hardware for show - last time this happened was 20 years ago.

Rosenberg: Russia's Victory Day parade with no tanks a sign Ukraine war not going to plan

For the first time in nearly two decades, there will be no military hardware, just soldiers during Saturday's parade in Moscow.

www.bbc.co.uk

Of course, the Russian authorities fail to mention that the mobile internet being switched off does not stop the Ukrainian drones from their work of reducing Russia's ability to continue fighting this war that they started.

They also fail to mention that the likely real reason of restricting access to the internet is to limit the bad news from abroad about how badly Russia is doing. They are trying to keep their population in the dark...

 

[Eyersey468]

Of course, the Russian authorities fail to mention that the mobile internet being switched off does not stop the Ukrainian drones from their work of reducing Russia's ability to continue fighting this war that they started.

They also fail to mention that the likely real reason of restricting access to the internet is to limit the bad news from abroad about how badly Russia is doing. They are trying to keep their population in the dark...

It's just like the USSR under Stalin

 

[najaB]

It's just like the USSR under Stalin

You mean an absolutely perfect worker's paradise with no flaws whatsoever or anything to complain about (please don't hurt my family)?

 

[Annetts key]

You mean an absolutely perfect worker's paradise with no flaws whatsoever or anything to complain about (please don't hurt my family)?

Send him to the Gulag for complaining...

In Russia, the police finding a VPN service on your smart 'phone doesn't go well for you...

Russian Cyber Police deny reports of phone checks over VPN use
02 April 2026 09:59

The Russian Cyber Police have denied reports that officers were inspecting citizens’ mobile phones for VPN services and messaging apps.

“In several Telegram channels, messages are circulating claiming that police are examining citizens’ mobile devices for VPN use and messaging apps. This information is false and is being spread to increase social tension,” said the Department for Combating the Illegal Use of Information and Communication Technologies of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

The ministry emphasised that no such inspections are being conducted, and citizens’ phones are not being checked for VPNs or other applications.

Officials also clarified that using VPN services is not a violation of current Russian law. However, legislation does restrict the dissemination of information that promotes ways to bypass access restrictions to illegal content. The law allows limiting access to online resources that advertise services or methods to bypass blocks.

“While we do inform citizens about potential risks associated with certain internet resources and services, our main task is to prevent cybercrime. Using VPN services increases the risk of data leaks but does not carry any legal liability,” the Cyber Police stressed.

Caliber.Az

Source

Video:

Above video shows this:

Russians are Being Stopped and Having Phones Searched

This is in the Rostoff region and this is the police, the local police randomly pulling people over saying, "Show me your phone." If you have Telegram or any VPNs installed on your phone, you can be fined. You can be sent to jail. You can be conscripted and sent to Ukraine to go die if you have the wrong apps or services installed on your mobile phone.

 

[Pete_uk]

The map shows Russian occupied territory of Ukraine. Towards the bottom of that area you can see the main highway that feeds Crimea. The Russians are now getting hit left, right and center on this road. Their supply lines are being cut. It is speculated that Ukraine are trying to cut this area in half and then it's just a matter of time before Crimea falls.

 

[brad465]

Guess Putin forgot to ask Ukraine for permission to ceasefire while this event was ongoing:

Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg as Putin's flagship economic forum opens

Several long-range drones struck oil storage facilities near the city, days before Vladimir Putin is due to address the event.

www.bbc.co.uk

Ukraine has carried out a strike on the outskirts of Russia's St Petersburg, hours before the opening of a major economic forum designed to attract foreign investment into the country.
As dawn broke black plumes of smoke rose over Russia's second city, where Vladimir Putin is due to address the financial event on Friday. Thousands of guests from 130 countries are due to attend, including a low-key US delegation.
Local authorities said air defences shot down 59 drones overnight and that three different districts of St Petersburg had been hit, although no one was killed.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would respond to the strikes. "Our responses will be systemic in nature," he said on Wednesday.
Mobile internet was disrupted and St Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport was temporarily closed, while some regions of nearby Latvia and Estonia also issued air raid alerts.
Hours later, Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Ukrainian drones had hit several locations in Russia, including the oil terminal and a naval base in the nearby town of Kronstadt.
"The Ukrainian plan of long-range sanctions is being implemented exactly as it is needed to bring peace closer," Zelensky wrote on social media, using a euphemism for long-distance strikes on Russia.