Ukrainian forces conducted a drone assault on an oil facility in St. Petersburg, causing fires to break out, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Wednesday, coinciding with President Vladimir Putin hosting a major international economic summit in the Russian city.
According to Zelenskyy’s social media posts, the unmanned aircraft traveled over 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to reach their target. Dark smoke clouds billowed above the city’s port area following the strike.
Russian officials confirmed that Ukrainian drones targeted the city’s infrastructure but declined to offer additional specifics. St. Petersburg’s airport temporarily halted flights during the night due to the assault. Officials also disrupted mobile internet access.
Putin is scheduled to address attendees Friday at the St. Petersburg economic summit, which the Kremlin considers a high-profile gathering, though major Western business leaders and government officials have avoided the event since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than four years ago. This year features Saudi Arabia as the special guest nation, with plans to send a substantial business contingent.
The attacks present an embarrassing situation for Putin, coming weeks after he was forced to scale back Moscow’s annual Victory Day parade over concerns about potential Ukrainian drone strikes.
These strikes occurred one day following a large-scale Russian drone and missile bombardment of Kyiv and other Ukrainian locations, resulting in at least 22 civilian deaths and 138 injuries, as Moscow carried out its promises to intensify regular attacks.
As the battlefield remains relatively static due to drone activity hampering troop movements, both nations have increasingly turned to long-range strikes for tactical advantage. The conflict that began with Russia’s invasion of its neighbor has now entered its fifth year with no resolution apparent.
Ukraine’s strategy focuses on reducing Russia’s petroleum output, which provides crucial financing for Moscow, while also disrupting weapons manufacturing.
Ukraine has consistently attacked oil installations at St. Petersburg’s port and surrounding harbor facilities.
Overnight Ukrainian drone operations also struck the Kronstadt naval facility, a historic base for Russia’s Baltic Fleet, plus a weapons manufacturing facility in Russia’s Tambov region, located 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy reported.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that air defense systems destroyed 354 Ukrainian drones during the night.
In the Russian-occupied section of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, a Ukrainian attack struck a bus traveling from Moscow to Crimea, causing seven deaths and 11 injuries, according to Kremlin-appointed Donetsk leader Denis Pushilin.
In the Smolensk region, two firefighters died in a Ukrainian drone strike, regional governor Vasily Anokhin reported. He stated that two additional firefighters and one local resident sustained injuries.
Russia launched 198 long-range drones against Ukraine during the night, Ukraine’s air force reported, with defensive systems neutralizing 189.
Officials in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region reported that during the past 24 hours, one civilian died and 15 others were wounded, including three children, from Russian attacks.
In southern Kherson, Russian nighttime bombardment and drone attacks killed an 86-year-old woman and injured five others, regional authorities stated.
