St Petersburg region hit by major Ukrainian drone attack, Russian officials say


MOSCOW, July 4 (Reuters) - ⁠Authorities in Russia's second city of St ⁠Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region said ‌on Saturday the area suffered a major Ukrainian drone attack overnight, with a Baltic Sea port that handles oil ​exports reported hit.

St Petersburg Governor ⁠Alexander Beglov said ⁠the city of 6 million had come under a "large-scale" ⁠drone ‌attack. He gave no details of specific targets, but local media outlet ⁠Bumaga reported a fire at the city's oil ​terminal.

Leningrad region ‌Governor Alexander Drozdenko said drones had struck ⁠the port ​of Vysotsk, about 170 km (105 miles) northwest of St Petersburg on the Gulf of Finland. The ⁠port handles oil, grain, coal and ​liquefied natural gas.

Drozdenko said 72 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region.

Ukraine has intensified strikes ⁠on Russian energy infrastructure this year, causing fuel shortages in parts of Russia.

St Petersburg, about 900 km (560 miles) from Ukrainian-held territory, has occasionally ​come under attack from Kyiv's ⁠drones. Targets have included the city's oil terminal ​and a moored warship during ‌the St Petersburg International Economic ​Forum in June.

(Reporting by Reuters. Writing by Felix Light. Editing by Mark Potter)

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