Drones attacked St Petersburg: the governor acknowledged a fire at the oil terminal, VK confirmed an attack on a data centre

Civilian casualties of russian strikes on 17 October and the night of 18 October — according to the authorities’ reports as of the morning of 18.10; the data are incomplete and may rise. The reports cover different periods and partly overlap, so they were not added into a total; the daily reports of the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk RMAs for 17.10 could not be read:

• Sloviansk (Donetsk region), 17–18.10 — 6 killed, 15 injured over the day (no children among the casualties are named in the report); an airstrike on a residential neighbourhood on the morning of 17.10, shelling and FPV drones; the bodies of several residents remain under the rubble (head of the city military administration Vadym Liakh, Telegram, via LB.ua, 09:51 18.10)
• Zaporizhzhia and Zaporizhzhia region, 17.10 — 1 killed, 4 injured over the day; 808 strikes on 53 settlements (co-chair of the regional defence council Ivan Fedorov, Telegram, via Suspilne, 07:55 18.10). Separately, according to Glavcom (06:10 18.10), on the night of 18.10 a 27-year-old woman was killed in Zaporizhzhia when a residential building was hit — the material read does not specify whether she is included in Fedorov’s daily figures
• Kherson region, 17.10 — 1 killed (an emergency medical team driver), 40 injured (including 3 children: a one-month-old baby and an 11-year-old girl in Kherson, an 8-year-old girl in Novovorontsovka); two airstrikes on Kherson’s Korabelnyi district, hitting residential buildings, a kindergarten, a medical facility and a Red Cross site (regional prosecutor’s office, Telegram, via Ukrinform; as of 17:30 17.10)
• Poltava region, night of 18.10 — 1 killed; a drone hit private housing (head of the RMA Vitalii Diakivnych, via Glavcom, 06:10 18.10)
• Kharkiv, evening of 17.10 — no deaths, 3 injured (men aged 66 and 42, a woman aged 26) and another woman aged 25 with an acute stress reaction; a ballistic missile hit the border of Slobidskyi and Osnovianskyi districts (Mayor Ihor Terekhov, head of the RMA Oleh Syniehubov; Fakty, 23:04 17.10)

Sloviansk, 17–18 October. According to the head of the Sloviansk city military administration Vadym Liakh (Telegram, via LB.ua, 09:51 18.10), six people were killed in the city over the day and another 15 were injured. The city was shelled with various weapons: residential buildings were destroyed by aerial bombs, and in some cases FPV drone strikes were fatal. Earlier, according to LB.ua (17.10), an airstrike on a residential neighbourhood at about 03:40 on 17.10 killed at least one person and injured 10, damaging eight apartment blocks and partly destroying two of them. The bodies of several residents remain under the rubble; rescue work was halted overnight because of the security threat and resumed in the morning, and at two sites the search is hampered by repeated shelling. The material read does not mention a day of mourning.

Kherson and Kherson region, 17 October. According to the regional prosecutor’s office (Telegram, via Ukrinform, as of 17:30), at about 04:00 russian aircraft struck Kherson’s Korabelnyi district — 35 people were injured, including two medics; less than an hour later another aerial bomb hit the same address and killed an ambulance driver. By the end of the day Kherson region had 1 killed and 40 injured, including three children. Private houses and apartment blocks, a Red Cross site, a kindergarten and a medical facility were damaged. In the morning the head of the RMA Oleksandr Prokudin had reported 19 injured (via DSnews, 09:42 17.10) — the increase reflects later data.

New UN report. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU/OHCHR) published its monthly report “Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict: September 2026” on 15 October. In September at least 328 civilians were confirmed killed and 2,105 injured. According to the report page, these are the highest figures for a September since the start of the full-scale invasion: in September 2025 there were 249 killed and 1,068 injured. Compared with August 2026 (372 and 2,349), the figures are lower. These are minimum figures: the mission counts only verified cases.

For 17 October up to 22:00 the General Staff recorded 215 combat clashes (report published at 22:24 17.10; the morning report as of 08:00 18.10 had not yet been published at the time of release; for the previous day at 08:00 17.10 there were 238). russia carried out 65 airstrikes with 228 KABs and one missile strike, used 5,173 kamikaze drones and carried out 2,088 shelling attacks. The named directions account for only 93 of the 215 attacks; the report does not break down the rest. Attacks by direction:

• 65 airstrikes
• 228 guided aerial bombs (KAB)
• 5,173 kamikaze drones
• 2,088 shelling attacks on positions and settlements

Attacks by direction (the named directions account for only 93 of 215):

• Pokrovsk — 28
• Huliaipole — 18
• Kostiantynivka — 15
• Kupiansk — 10
• Lyman and Orikhiv — 7 each
• South Slobozhanskyi — 4
• Sloviansk — 2
• North Slobozhanskyi and Oleksandrivka — 1 each
• Kramatorsk and Prydniprovskyi — no assaults

Ukraine’s General Staff reports russian losses for 17–18 October (in total ~1,565,060 personnel; no independent confirmation):

• personnel — 2,090
• tanks — 1
• armoured vehicles — 7
• artillery systems — 27
• MLRS — 3
• air defence systems — 1
• aircraft — 6
• helicopters — 0
• operational-tactical UAVs — 1,372
• cruise missiles — 4
• vehicles (incl. tankers) — 363
• unmanned ground vehicles — 6
• special equipment — 5

On the night of 18 October russia launched 181 weapons: one Iskander-M ballistic missile (from Voronezh region) and 180 strike UAVs, 26 of them jet-powered (Shaheds, S-8000 “Banderol”, Gerberas and Parodiyas not counted separately). According to the Air Force as of 08:00, 152 drones were shot down or suppressed (16 of them jet-powered); the report says nothing about the fate of the missile; 20 hits, debris at four locations. The attack was still ongoing, with about ten drones in the air. This is far fewer than on the night of 17.10 (336 weapons). Consequences: deaths in Zaporizhzhia and Poltava region — see “War victims”. Ukrenergo warned that on 18.10 from 06:00 to 23:59 power restriction schedules for industry apply in all regions, and hourly outages (0.5–1.5 queues) in some regions, due to the aftermath of massive attacks on the energy system (LB.ua, 20:15 17.10).

🔥unverified📏 860 km from Ukrainian-held territory ≈St Petersburg, night of 18 October (according to OSINT channels, from about 02:00). Drones attacked an oil loading port: according to Exilenova+ and ASTRA, a tank caught fire; the sources differ on the facility (Exilenova+ names Rosneft’s Ruchyi oil depot with a capacity of 114,000 m³, ASTRA the city’s largest fuel terminal and the Strumky oil depot). The Ukrainian company Fire Point claimed on Telegram that it hit the Petersburg Oil Terminal (capacity 12.5 million tonnes a year) with its FP-1 drones. Governor Alexander Beglov confirmed a fire on the premises of the Petersburg Oil Terminal and fires at other facilities in four districts of the city; according to him, there were no casualties. Ozon reported a fire at its warehouse in St Petersburg. The local authorities have effectively confirmed the fire at the terminal. As of the morning of 18.10, no official confirmation was found from the General Staff, SBU, HUR, SSO, USF, Operational Command “South”, StratCom or Zaluzhnyi; a drone maker’s claim and an acknowledgement of the fire by russian authorities are not such confirmation, so the strike is marked as unconfirmed. ASTRA and Exilenova+ reports of a drone hitting the cable-stayed bridge over the Korabelny Fairway on the Western High-Speed Diameter (620 m) have not been officially confirmed; the damage is unknown. Residents complained of missing or late SMS alerts.

local authorities confirmLocal authorities (St Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov, 18.10): the city was attacked by UAVs overnight; a fire broke out on the premises of the Petersburg Oil Terminal, and there were fires at other civilian infrastructure facilities in the Nevsky, Krasnoselsky, Krasnogvardeysky and Moskovsky districts; no casualties; mobile internet disruptions are possible, Pulkovo airport operations restricted

💥unverified📏 865 km from Ukrainian-held territory ≈Leningrad region (Vsevolozhsk district, on the border with St Petersburg), night of 18 October. According to ASTRA, a VK data centre and the nearby 330 kV Vostochnaya substation in Novosergievka were hit; users reported serious outages of VKontakte and cloud services. VK confirmed a drone attack on its data centre but insists its services are operating normally. Governor Alexander Drozdenko did not mention the data centre or the substation, citing only brief power outages caused by debris (according to Ukrinform, an emergency shutdown left about 20,000 people without electricity) — this is a partial confirmation of the consequences, but not of the facility itself. There is no official confirmation from Ukrainian authorities, so the strike is marked as unconfirmed. The extent of the damage has not been independently verified.

local authorities: indirectLocal authorities (Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko; VK, 18.10): Drozdenko reported brief power outages due to debris on power lines, debris on a private house in Kirovsk and an apartment block in Vsevolozhsk, and the downing, according to him, of 57 and later 125–126 drones; VK confirmed a drone attack on its data centre in Leningrad region but said its services were operating normally

💥📏 70 km from Ukrainian-held territory ≈Strike results: the Roboavia enterprise, Rostov region, russia, 16 October. Ukraine’s General Staff (report of 17.10, ≈14:15) claimed a hit on a production and storage building of the Roboavia enterprise near the settlement of Lenina — a developer and manufacturer of drones for the russian army; according to the General Staff, this should hamper the production and supply of UAVs. The extent of the damage was not specified. The hit is confirmed only by the General Staff: no independent imagery or statements by local authorities were found.

local authorities silentLocal authorities (Rostov region authorities, 16–17.10): no statements about this enterprise for 16–17.10 found in the material read

💥📏 60 km from Ukrainian-held territory ≈Strike results: the railway bridge over the Unecha river, Bryansk region, russia, 16–17 October. Ukraine’s General Staff (≈14:20 17.10, according to DSnews) reported a hit on a railway bridge near Sloboda-Seletskaya; according to the General Staff, this will hamper rail supplies of ammunition, fuel and equipment to russian troops. The same report mentions logistics depots in occupied Donetsk region near Novoandriivka, Mykilske and Mariupol and a UAV control post near Malynivka; they are not shown on the map. The General Staff stated: “Work on key targets of the RF will continue until the complete cessation of russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine”.

local authorities silentLocal authorities (Bryansk region authorities, 16–17.10): no statements about the bridge over the Unecha found in the material read

💥📏 110 km from Ukrainian-held territory ≈Strike results: a logistics depot of a missile brigade, Bryansk region, russia, 12 October. Ukraine’s General Staff (17.10, ≈14:15) reported a hit on a logistics building of a missile brigade unit near the settlement of Latyshi; the strike took place on 12.10, and the results were published five days later. The extent of the damage was not specified.

local authorities silentLocal authorities (Bryansk region authorities, 12–17.10): no statements about this facility found in the material read

As of the morning of 18 October, no official confirmation (General Staff, SBU, HUR, SSO, USF, Operational Command “South”, StratCom, Zaluzhnyi) of the overnight strike on St Petersburg and Leningrad region was found; only the “Strike results” above are confirmed. No confirmation has appeared for Surgut district (16.10) or the Ryazan refinery (15.10; the fire was acknowledged by Governor Pavel Malkov). On Moscow: Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said 87 drones were shot down with no damage (see “discrepancies”; claimed by russia). Confirmations often appear later in the day.

ISW (assessment for 17.10, data as of 12:00 US Eastern time): the group assesses that since 1 September russia has had a “net loss of 122 square kilometers” of territory, i.e. it has not advanced, contrary to the claims of russia’s Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov; Ukraine’s General Staff called these claims false. ISW notes recent Ukrainian advances east of Kramatorsk and russian advances north of Kostiantynivka. Contrast: at a meeting on 16.10 the russian side claimed the offensive was accelerating (see “What they say in the swamps”, issue of 17.10).

net loss of 122 square kilometers

ISW (17.10) on Trump’s executive order of 16.10 suspending key provisions of the “Graham law”: the group assesses that it “will help russia finance and protract the war in Ukraine”. ISW also recalls that in September Ukraine intercepted only 54% of jet-powered Geran drones against about 90% of piston-engined ones, and notes that it is unclear whether Ukrainian forces can use Starlink and Starshield to intercept jet drones (Zelensky cited a speed limit of 161 km/h).

will help Russia finance and protract the war in Ukraine

ISW (17.10): Polish officials expect increased russian sabotage and provocations against logistics infrastructure ahead of winter 2026–2027, likely aimed at disrupting Western aid deliveries to Ukraine; Prime Minister Donald Tusk said: “russia will escalate”. ISW also cites Zelensky’s words that Putin intends to deploy ballistic missiles in Belarus, but sees no signs of an imminent deployment.

Russia will escalate

💰Sanctions under the “Graham law”: a new detail. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 18 October (according to the Kyiv Independent) described the suspension of tariffs and sanctions, which Trump formalised by executive order on 16.10, as a 60-day period to analyse the effects of imposing sanctions and tariffs simultaneously, citing high global energy prices due to the US war with Iran. Earlier, according to the text of the order (Ukrinform, Newsweek), the suspension had no set term, lasting until the president or the secretary of state decide otherwise — see “discrepancies”. Reaction: according to headlines in Axios (17.10), the Washington Post and CNN, the decision drew instant bipartisan criticism in Congress; Zelensky, according to a CNBC headline, called it “wrong”. kremlin special envoy Kirill Dmitriev called it a “historic moment” (see “What they say in the swamps”).

I think the President wants to take the 60-day period of time to sort of analyze

🛰️unverifiedStarlink. According to Axios, on 17 October Zelensky said that Starlink use in Ukraine remains partly restricted: military tests on Friday showed that a connected vehicle kept its link at 180 km/h in EU countries, while in Ukraine the signal dropped at 161 km/h; he called it a “planned operation”. The restrictions prevent using drones to intercept russian drones and supplying troops. According to Reuters (15.10, anonymous US and Western officials), the order to slow Starshield came from inside the White House; the White House and Trump (16.10) deny involvement, and The Telegraph writes that Musk proposed the restrictions to Trump — the White House called this “totally false”. Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov discussed it with Jared Kushner on Friday; according to Axios, they also talked about a meeting of the US and Ukrainian teams planned for next week on Trump’s proposal to end the war.

Frozen russian assets. Answering journalists’ questions on 17 October (according to Obozrevatel), Zelensky said Kyiv has information about russia’s attempts, through certain partners, to recover or unfreeze part of the frozen assets, but all details have been discussed with the Europeans, and the issue is now “under Europe’s full control”.

🕊️War losses. Answering journalists’ questions on Friday 16 October (according to Ukrinform, 17.10; location not given), Trump repeated that he knows the “details” of the war and will one day make them public, that he is interested only in ending the war, and said that on average about 25,000 soldiers a month die in it, and last month 32,000. He did not say where the figures come from or whether they cover both sides’ losses. For comparison, Ukraine’s General Staff claims 46,230 russian losses (killed and wounded combined) for September — not independently verified.

💰Sanctions. No new public explanations by Trump of the order suspending sanctions and tariffs under the “Graham law” for 17–18 October were found in the material read; the administration’s position was explained by Rubio (see “US and Chinese reactions”).

🛢️ Iran. No new statements by Trump on Iran for 17–18 October were found in the material read. No funny verified episode from Trump’s day could be found, so there is no such item today.

Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State, 18 October (according to the Kyiv Independent; photo — from Andrews base, 17.10, before departing for Uzbekistan and India). Defending the suspension of sanctions, he said the world needs oil and russian diesel will reach the markets anyway, the only difference being how much of it the US benefits from; he called the 60 days a period to study the effects.

we need that period of time to sort of study all this

Marco Rubio, 18 October, on Starlink. He denied White House involvement in the restrictions, called the reports “categorically false” and said of Zelensky’s claims that it “wasn’t deliberate”. Axios reports Rubio said the system “is back up and running”, while Zelensky maintains the 161 km/h limit remains. This contradicts the Reuters report of 15.10 (see “discrepancies”).

No one at the White House ordered anyone to slow down internet or slow down speed

unverifiedUS Congress. According to headlines from Axios (17.10: “Trump's russia waiver draws instant bipartisan backlash”), The Washington Post (“stirs bipartisan outrage”), CNN and AP, the order suspending sanctions drew criticism from lawmakers of both parties. The texts of these articles were not read (only the headlines were opened).

China. No statements by PRC officials on Trump’s sanctions order or the war in Ukraine for 17–18 October were found.

🗣️unverifiedKirill Dmitriev, special envoy of russia’s president and head of the russian Direct Investment Fund, on social media on 17 October. He called the suspension of sanctions under the “Graham law” a “truly historic moment” and claimed the law would have seriously harmed above all the US economy and global markets; as retold by TSN, he also claimed the US Treasury had asked the RDIF to help complete a diesel supply deal, including payments. Context: Trump’s order suspends sanctions and tariffs that were due to take effect after 18.10; Rubio calls it a 60-day analysis period, and bipartisan critics in Congress a gift to Moscow. The White House has not publicly commented on the diesel deal (according to the material read); nothing independently confirms Dmitriev’s words.

The Trump administration's suspension of the Graham Act is an important and truly historic moment

🗣️Putin, Peskov, Lavrov and the other listed officials on 17 October: no new statements on the war, negotiations or Ukraine were found in the material read (Putin’s and Gerasimov’s statements of 16.10 were given in the issue of 17.10). The latest Peskov comment found is from 12.10, on the “energy ceasefire”: he could not confirm an agreement.