Ukraine launched a massive wave of drone attacks on Russia early Saturday, resulting in one fatality and igniting an oil depot fire on the closing day of Russia's premier economic forum in Saint Petersburg, according to officials.
Targeting Saint Petersburg and Beyond
Many of the drones targeted Saint Petersburg itself, marking the second Ukrainian assault on the city in under a week. Ukraine's SBU security services confirmed they had struck a naval base there. The intensified drone warfare between Moscow and Kyiv comes as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the five-year war remain stalled, overshadowed by the conflict in the Middle East.
The strikes occurred a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected a meeting proposal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, drawing criticism from Zelensky, who accused Putin of 'choosing war again.'
Russian Air Defenses Intercept Hundreds of Drones
Russia's defense ministry reported that its air defenses intercepted a total of 376 drones over multiple regions, including Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Leningrad, Novgorod, Oryol, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, the Moscow region, Crimea, Abkhazia, and the waters of the Azov and Black Seas. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, while Abkhazia is a Georgian region under Russian military occupation.
Over 140 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region, which surrounds Saint Petersburg, said Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko. Saint Petersburg's Governor Alexander Beglov issued a rare plea for residents to stay indoors during the attack. 'Russian air defenses prevented any damage. The condition of the three injured is assessed as minor and they have been discharged,' he stated.
SBU Claims Hits on Naval Base and Arsenal
Ukraine's SBU security services claimed they targeted the Kronstadt naval base in Saint Petersburg and the Russian Navy's 15th Arsenal in the Leningrad region. The attacks also sparked a fire at an oil depot in the southern town of Ust-Labinsk, while drone debris killed a man in the western Tver region, according to local officials.
President Zelensky described the strikes as a 'just response' to Russian aggression against Ukraine. '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,' he posted on X. 'Any manifestation of injustice against Ukraine will receive a just response.'
Putin Rejects Meeting, Zelensky Hits Back
The attacks came after Putin rejected a meeting with Zelensky. Speaking at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), dubbed 'Russia's Davos,' Putin said he saw 'no point' in meeting the Ukrainian leader until a possible peace deal had been agreed. Zelensky responded by calling Putin 'weak' and accusing him of 'choosing war again.'
On Saturday, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga further criticized Putin, saying, 'Putin lost his chance to get out of his failed war. Russia will still have to accept a diplomatic solution but the terms will be far worse.'
Continued Strikes and Civilian Casualties
Hundreds of thousands have been killed since Putin launched his full-scale offensive in February 2022, which he calls a 'special military operation.' Large areas of eastern and southern Ukraine have been devastated, and millions have been displaced from their homes in the four-year campaign that Moscow initially expected would topple Kyiv within days.
Russia renewed its strikes on Ukraine early Saturday. A Russian drone killed a 64-year-old man in the southern Mykolaiv region, while a strike on the nearby Zaporizhzhia region wounded a 10-year-old boy and his father, regional authorities reported. Russian drone and artillery attacks in Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region killed one person and injured three others, according to regional governor Oleksandr Ganzha on Telegram.
