Ukraine challenges Trump with a massive drone attack on Russia... and an oil station is among the targets

On Saturday night, Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Russia this year, targeting a major oil terminal, in defiance of US President Donald Trump's request to stop targeting Russian energy infrastructure.

Tensions between Ukraine and the United States have escalated in recent days, raising fears in Kiev that it may lose the essential support it receives, at a time when it is preparing to face another winter amid the continuing Russian attacks.

But Ukraine continues to carry out long-range strikes inside Russian territory. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that it shot down 1,015 Ukrainian drones during the night and until Sunday morning, in various regions of the country.

The St. Petersburg oil terminal was one of the targets, according to Russian authorities. The station's capacity is 12.5 million tons annually. The Ukrainian company Firepoint, which manufactures the drones used in the attack, said that a fire broke out at the station site following the strike.

A logistics center in St. Petersburg was also attacked, according to the Russian Ozone distribution company. Local authorities reported that one person was killed and five others were injured as a result of the attacks, in addition to damage to residential homes.

The Ukrainian strikes come in light of the deteriorating relationship between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Trump, who last week described the attacks launched by Kiev on Russian oil refineries as a "disgrace."

A week ago, Trump said that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop targeting each other's energy infrastructure, as part of the White House's efforts to ease pressures on oil and diesel prices before the crucial midterm elections.

But Kyiv and Moscow have not confirmed that such an agreement has been reached. Ukraine stopped these attacks for a short period, before resuming them, while Russia did not stop bombing Ukrainian energy facilities and cities.

Eleven people were killed and about 50 others were injured across Ukraine as a result of Russian missile and drone attacks during the 24 hours before Sunday morning, according to Ukrainian authorities. The attacks included what authorities described as a large-scale attack targeting energy facilities in the Odessa region.

Zelensky wrote on the “X” platform, previously Twitter, on Sunday: “Since the US President announced a ‘truce in the energy sector’ a week ago, Russia has launched 76 deliberate attacks on the energy, oil and gas sectors in Ukraine.”

Zelensky added: “America should realize that Russia is not taking any reciprocal steps in response to easing sanctions or agreements. On the contrary, it considers any sign of the possibility of making profits as evidence that its bet on war is paying off, and that it can continue fighting.”

Trump had exempted Russian diesel imports from sanctions, and on Friday he used an exemption excluding Russia from wide-ranging economic sanctions approved by the US Congress, which sparked criticism even from within the Republican Party.

Zelensky also said that the Ukrainian military's ability to access the Starlink system to guide its short-range drones and drones used on the battlefield remains restricted.

He added on Saturday: “The maximum speed is currently 161 kilometers per hour. After exceeding this speed, the Starlink system stops working, according to what I saw and heard in the reports, and we lose the drone.”

Zelensky noted that the restrictions also affect Ukrainian defense capabilities, saying: “Unfortunately, we can no longer currently use Starlink or Starshield inside our country to shoot down Shahed drones powered by jet engines.”

It is noteworthy that "StarShield" is a more advanced system, designed to meet the needs of governments and national security requirements.

The Ukrainian president said on Saturday: “These restrictions are imposed within Ukrainian territory, but they are not applied within the European Union. In other words, it is a planned operation... aimed at restricting us, isolating us, and preventing us from defending ourselves and protecting our people.”

For its part, the Trump administration denies imposing any restrictions on this service.

Last week, Kiev also reported that it was facing Russian ballistic missile attacks without receiving any warnings from its allies, knowing that US satellite networks were playing a vital role in providing the Ukrainian army with early warnings about incoming Russian missiles.