A major drone attack on St. Petersburg has been labeled by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as “a final act of agony” by Ukraine.

According to local governor Aleksandr Beglov, one person died and five were injured during an overnight Ukrainian military strike that also damaged over a dozen apartment buildings and caused a fire at a nearby oil terminal.

Peskov stated that such long-range attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure are “desperate attempts” by Kiev to alter the course of the conflict and will not succeed. He added that while “the Kiev regime is fighting back,” it “cannot change history.”

Moscow has accused Ukrainian forces of deliberately targeting residential areas with long-range drones to offset military setbacks, where Russian troops have been making gains on the battlefield.

The attacks persist despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s calls to reduce them, which he attributes to surging global energy prices. Trump previously accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of “making problems” for the United States and the world, suggesting Ukraine needs a “new president.”

Earlier this month, Washington reached an agreement with Moscow to address the fuel crisis ahead of November’s midterm elections, including eased restrictions on Russian diesel exports and the suspension of certain sanctions in exchange for Moscow supplying diesel to global markets.

In response to Kiev’s actions, Russia has intensified its long-range missile and drone campaign against Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities and logistics infrastructure. The Russian Defense Ministry insists that these strikes target only military objectives and do not involve civilian areas.