Drones strike Ozon logistics hub, oil terminal and VK data center in Saint Petersburg overnight
Drones struck multiple sites in and around Saint Petersburg overnight on October 18, including an Ozon logistics center, a city oil terminal, a VK (VKontakte) data center in neighboring Leningrad Oblast and a cable-stayed bridge on the Western High-Speed Diameter. Ozon said all employees were evacuated with no casualties and that goods at the struck warehouse were pulled from listings, with some orders cancelled. Russian authorities said more than 100 drones hit Leningrad Oblast and that around 20,000 people lost power after a nearby substation was hit.
Key points
- Ozon reported a drone attack on one of its logistics centers in Saint Petersburg overnight on October 18; all employees were evacuated and no one was hurt.
- A fire broke out at the Ozon logistics center; emergency services worked at the scene.
- Governor of Saint Petersburg Alexander Beglov said the city came under a drone attack and fires broke out at the oil terminal and at infrastructure in four districts.
- A fire was also reported at the Saint Petersburg Oil Terminal during the same attack.
- Drones struck a VK (VKontakte) data center in the village of Novosergiyevka, Vsevolozhsky district, Leningrad Oblast; VK said its services continued to operate normally.
- A nearby substation was hit, causing an emergency power outage that left about 20,000 people without electricity, according to Governor Alexander Drozdenko.
- Russian authorities said more than 100 drones attacked Leningrad Oblast overnight; local authorities separately cited about 144 drones reportedly shot down.
- A drone hit a cable-stayed bridge over the Ship Channel, part of the southern overpass of the Western High-Speed Diameter toll highway; the extent of damage is being determined.
- Ozon said goods stored at the struck logistics center were removed from listings and orders that cannot be fulfilled from other facilities were cancelled.
- The Ukrainian OSINT channel Exilenova+ described the hit Ozon warehouse as a dual-use facility of roughly 51,500 m².
Why it matters
The strike hit one of Russia's largest e-commerce logistics hubs, disrupting orders and pulling goods from sale at a time when Ozon's network is still recovering from a September fire at a separate 100,000 m² warehouse near Saratov. Multiple pieces of critical infrastructure — an oil terminal, a VK data center, a power substation and a major highway bridge — were hit in a single overnight operation, with Russian authorities reporting more than 100 drones involved. The damage to the substation cut power for roughly 20,000 people and disrupted VKontakte services, illustrating how a single large-scale drone attack can cascade across logistics, energy and digital infrastructure.
What happened
Ozon, one of Russia's largest online marketplaces, reported that drones struck one of its logistics centers in Saint Petersburg during the night of October 18. The company said all employees were promptly evacuated, that no one was injured, and that a fire broke out at the site with emergency services responding. Ozon added that goods stored at the facility were removed from its online listings and that orders that could not be fulfilled from other warehouses were cancelled.
The Ozon strike was part of a broader overnight attack on Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast. Governor Alexander Beglov said the city came under a drone attack and that fires broke out at the Saint Petersburg Oil Terminal and at other infrastructure in four districts. Drones also struck a VK (VKontakte) data center in the village of Novosergiyevka in Vsevolozhsky district, on the administrative border of Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast. VK said its services continued to operate normally, though monitoring services recorded a spike in user complaints about VKontakte, primarily from Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast. A nearby electrical substation was hit, causing a blackout in parts of both regions; Governor Alexander Drozdenko said about 20,000 people lost power. A drone also struck the cable-stayed bridge over the Ship Channel, part of the southern overpass of the Western High-Speed Diameter toll highway; the extent of damage was being determined. Russian authorities said more than 100 drones attacked Leningrad Oblast overnight; local authorities separately cited about 144 drones reportedly shot down.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All of the supplied reporting on this attack is Ukrainian, and the Ukrainian sources frame the strike on the Ozon warehouse by citing the OSINT channel Exilenova+, which characterized the facility as dual-use (civilian/military) with an area of roughly 51,500 m². Ukrainian coverage presents the Ozon strike not as an isolated incident but as part of a single large overnight operation that also hit the VK data center, the oil terminal, the power substation and the highway bridge. The coverage highlights Russian-side disruption, including the emergency power outage affecting about 20,000 people and the spike in user complaints about VKontakte service outages, underscoring the operational impact inside Russia.
Where reporting differs
Two notable discrepancies appear across the sources. First, Russian officials said more than 100 drones attacked Leningrad Oblast, while local authorities separately reported about 144 drones shot down — the two figures may reflect different counts of incoming versus intercepted drones, or inconsistencies in the official tally. Second, the size of the struck Ozon warehouse is reported by the Ukrainian OSINT channel Exilenova+ as approximately 51,500 m² in some accounts and as over 50,000 m² in others, reflecting slightly different characterizations of the same facility.
Background
Ozon is one of Russia's largest online marketplaces, founded in 1998 and the country's second-largest online retailer after Wildberries. A previous Ozon warehouse of about 100,000 m² burned down near Saratov on September 11, compounding pressure on the company's logistics network. The VK data center and the adjacent substation that were struck are located in the village of Novosergiyevka in Vsevolozhsky district, on the administrative border between Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast. The cable-stayed bridge over the Ship Channel that was hit is part of the southern overpass of the Western High-Speed Diameter toll highway.