Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in St Petersburg early on Wednesday, hours before the city's flagship economic forum opened, in a blow to Vladimir Putin. Several long-range drones crashed into oil storage facilities after Russian air defences failed to intercept them, causing loud explosions and black smoke that rose high above the city.
St Petersburg's governor, Alexander Beglov, said the Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts were targeted. Ukraine also struck the nearby Kronstadt naval base and shipyard in Leningrad oblast, home to Russia's Baltic fleet. Video footage showed a drone hitting the guided-missile corvette Boikiy, which caught fire while in dry dock undergoing repairs.
The strikes are deeply embarrassing for the Kremlin, taking place about 10 miles from the forum, where Putin is due to speak on Friday. Guests arrived for the opening ceremony under a pall of thick smoke, and others were unable to fly in after St Petersburg's airport was temporarily closed. About 20,000 visitors from 130 countries are expected to attend the three-day summit, described as Russia's answer to Davos.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike was the latest example of Ukraine's 'long-range sanctions', hitting the Petersburg oil terminal, the Kronstadt base and a weapons factory in the Tambov region. He noted the oil facility was about 1,100km from Ukraine's border, adding: 'I thank our warriors for their precision.' Speaking alongside Nato's secretary general, Mark Rutte, in Kyiv, Zelenskyy described the strikes as fair, saying: 'Just a day ago, there was a massive attack. We responded accordingly.'
On Tuesday, a Russian barrage of missiles and drones killed 23 people across Ukraine and injured scores more, prompting Zelenskyy to renew his plea for more Patriot interceptor missiles from the US. In recent months, Ukraine has waged an increasingly successful aerial campaign to disrupt Russia's economy, hitting ports, oil storage facilities, military factories and airbases.
