Strike on St. Petersburg exposes Russia's key weaknesses, ISW says

On the night of October 17-18, Ukrainian forces launched their largest attack on St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region since 2022, targeting Russian digital, energy, and logistics infrastructure, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The strikes hit a data center for the Russian social network VKontakte, the "Vostochnaya" electrical substation leaving 20,000 people without power, the St. Petersburg oil terminal, an Ozon warehouse, and a cable-stayed bridge. ISW analysts say the campaign reveals vulnerabilities in Russia's air defense system and military command problems. The attack caused significant service disruptions across Russia's digital ecosystem and widespread power outages. This follows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's accusations that Donald Trump is trying to force Kyiv's capitulation, and reports that Putin has proposed a trilateral summit with Trump and Xi Jinping to negotiate an end to the war.