Ukraine unleashed a wave of drone attacks on Russia early on Saturday, targeting St Petersburg and other regions in what Kyiv described as a just response to Russian aggression. The assault left one person dead and ignited an oil depot, as Russia’s flagship economic forum concluded in St Petersburg.
Over 140 drones were shot down in the Leningrad region, with local officials reporting three minor injuries. Russia’s defence ministry said a total of 376 drones were intercepted across 15 regions, including Moscow, Crimea and areas along the Azov and Black Seas. Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed hits on St Petersburg’s Kronstadt naval base and a naval arsenal.
The attacks came a day after President Vladimir Putin rejected a proposal for face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who accused the Russian leader of “choosing war again”. Zelenskyy described the drone strikes as a necessary response, stating: “It is time to end this war. But Russia’s ruler wants to keep fighting.”
Russia also struck Ukraine, with drone and artillery attacks killing two civilians and wounding several others in the Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions. In a separate incident, Russian forces attacked two civilian search and rescue vessels in the Black Sea, injuring crew members, according to Ukraine’s deputy prime minister.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will host Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in London on Sunday for talks on further support for Ukraine. The meeting, described as a show of solidarity, aims to discuss security guarantees as part of a peace process led by the “coalition of the willing”.
