UKRAINE PERSPECTIVE

Kyiv, July 6, 2026. In the night of July 4-5, Ukrainian armed forces struck the Saint Petersburg oil terminal, one of the Baltic region's principal export hubs for Russian petroleum products, with an annual capacity of 12.5 million tons. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the operation, conducted jointly by Deep Strike units of special forces, unmanned systems forces, the military intelligence directorate (HUR), and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). "Our long-range Ukrainian sanctions against Russia were effective near Saint Petersburg," he stated, emphasizing that targets were positioned more than 850 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. A military installation at Kronstadt was also targeted during the operation.

This action followed an intensification of Russian strikes on Ukrainian territory across the preceding period. During the night of July 4-5, the Russian military launched 125 drones and four missiles—one Kh-31 variant and three Kh-59/69 variants—targeting multiple populated Ukrainian regions. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted or disrupted 112 drones and three missiles, according to official air force statements. In preceding days, Russian strikes affected Dnipro (seven hospitalized with injuries), a DTEK coal mine in Dnipropetrovsk region (one fatality, five wounded, 86 miners initially trapped below ground before successful evacuation), Zaporizhzhia, and Kramatorsk, where a FAB-250 conventional bomb struck a shopping center, injuring five civilians including an 11-year-old child. Sumy experienced strikes as well.

President Zelensky warned that a potential large-scale Russian attack might be under preparation, characterizing the timing as deliberately chosen following the American Independence Day holiday and preceding the NATO summit scheduled for Ankara. He presented comprehensive figures documenting the weekly scale: 2,200 drones, 1,730 guided bombs, and 106 missiles directed at Ukraine over a single seven-day period. Zelensky also referenced a July 2 attack on Kyiv that resulted in 31 deaths and 102 people injured. He formally requested additional Patriot air defense systems from Western allies, contending that delays in military assistance represented a cost measured in human lives.