Ukrainian drones strike near St Petersburg as forum ends

Russian authorities told residents of St Petersburg to stay indoors after a large Ukrainian drone attack targeted the region as Russia’s flagship international economic forum drew to a close.

Russia’s defence ministry said air defences shot down 376 Ukrainian drones overnight across 16 areas, including St Petersburg, Crimea and the Azov and Black seas, Al Jazeera reported. Officials described the strike on and around Russia’s second-largest city as unprecedented. The alert marked the first time since the start of the war that St Petersburg’s governor, Alexander Beglov, had urged residents to remain inside, according to the BBC.

Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of the surrounding Leningrad region, gave differing figures in reports Saturday. The BBC said he reported more than 140 drones shot down over the region, while Al Jazeera cited him as saying 86 had been downed. “Combat operations continue,” he said, according to Al Jazeera.

Drozdenko said the attack caused a fire at an unspecified military facility and that residents were being evacuated. He also said buildings sustained “insignificant” damage.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s drones flew about 1,000 kilometers, or 620 miles, to reach targets in the St Petersburg region, including “the enemy navy’s arsenals and a base in Kronstadt,” the main outpost of Russia’s Baltic Fleet. He said another strike hit an oil depot about 500 kilometers, or 310 miles, away in the southern Krasnodar region.

“Our long-range sanctions also reached about 500 kilometers into the Krasnodar region – and hit an oil depot,” Zelenskyy wrote on X, using Kyiv’s term for long-distance strikes inside Russia. “Russia must end its war and stop its attacks on life. Any manifestation of injustice against Ukraine will receive a just response. It is time to end this war.”

The attack came as the St Petersburg International Economic Forum ended Saturday. The three-day event drew about 20,000 guests from more than 130 countries, Al Jazeera reported. The BBC said the forum included thousands of guests and a low-key U.S. delegation. Earlier in the week, Ukrainian drones struck an oil complex and naval base in the city as the forum began.

The drone barrage followed a public exchange between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin over direct talks. On Thursday, Zelenskyy called for a ceasefire and face-to-face negotiations, writing in an open letter that it would be “wrong to simply wait” for the conflict to return to U.S. attention. He also appealed directly to Putin, saying: “Ukraine proposes ending this war through direct engagement between us – and you. I am proposing a meeting.”

Speaking at the economic forum Friday, Putin rejected the request, saying there was “no point” in meeting Zelenskyy now. “It only makes sense for the Ukrainian side to stop the advance of our armed forces. That’s it. And we need agreements,” Putin said, according to Al Jazeera. “Let the experts work, develop some solutions, and then we can meet.” He also repeated that a truce would allow Ukraine to regroup and said Russia would end the war only when its goals had been met.

The two sides remain far apart. Moscow’s longstanding position is that Ukraine should withdraw from Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia and abandon efforts to join NATO. Ukraine has refused to give up territory, saying concessions would encourage future Russian attacks.

Inside Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov said the bodies of two men missing after a Russian attack had been found. In Dnipropetrovsk, regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha said one person was killed and three others wounded in Russian drone and artillery attacks.

In the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, Moscow-installed authorities suspended coach services on two motorways after Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian logistics and urged residents not to use them “for security reasons.” They also banned commuter train services and the transportation of groups of children within Luhansk.