Ukraine has launched a large-scale drone attack on St Petersburg, Russia, causing the city's governor to beg residents not to go outside. The attack occurred as the city concluded a major economic summit.
Details of the Attack
Russia claimed to have intercepted hundreds of Ukrainian drones near the historic city. Governor Alexander Beglov urged residents to stay indoors and warned that internet access might have been cut off during the strike on Saturday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that his military carried out large-scale strikes across multiple Russian regions overnight, some as deep as 1,000 kilometers into Russian territory, according to the Kyiv Independent. Drones also hit an oil depot in Krasnodar Krai, approximately 500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, he added.
“It is time to end this war. But Russia's ruler wants to keep fighting. That is why Ukrainian sanctions against this aggression are working,” Mr. Zelensky said on social media.
Regional Impact
Regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko reported that 141 drones were shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region. Russia's Defense Ministry said its air defenses destroyed 376 Ukrainian drones. No casualties were immediately reported.
The attack is a blow for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has sought to portray his country as open for business and safe at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), once called “Russia's Davos,” which ended on Saturday. The event featured a speech by Putin on its first day, when Ukrainian drones also struck an oil complex and a military base in Saint Petersburg, Putin's hometown.
Southern Ukraine and Other Developments
In southern Ukraine, authorities discovered the bodies of two men who had been missing after an attack on Zaporizhzhia, according to Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov. One person was killed and three wounded in Russian drone and artillery attacks in Dnipropetrovsk, Regional Governor Oleksandr Ganzha wrote on Telegram.
A fire broke out at an oil depot in the city of Ust-Labinsk in southern Russia following a drone attack, according to local authorities, with no reports of injuries.
Political Context
The attack comes after President Putin on Friday ruled out meeting his Ukrainian counterpart anytime soon, a day after President Zelensky called for a sit-down between the leaders to end the four-year war. Speaking at the economic forum in his hometown of St Petersburg, Putin said he saw “no point” in meeting Mr. Zelensky until a possible peace deal had been agreed. Mr. Zelensky hit back, calling the Russian leader “weak” and accusing him of “choosing war again.” Mr. Putin also vowed to continue Russia's military offensive until its war goals were achieved.
Russia has demanded control of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region as well as sweeping political and military restrictions on its neighbor. Kyiv and its allies have rejected these conditions as tantamount to capitulation, and US-brokered peace talks have failed to bring the sides closer.
