ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — A towering dark plume of smoke billowing over St. Petersburg’s horizon from a Ukrainian drone attack cast an ominous shadow as President Vladimir Putin prepared to launch his yearly display of Russia’s economic accomplishments.
As Putin was scheduled to reach his birthplace on Thursday for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Ukrainian assault from the previous day that ignited an oil facility delivered yet another humiliating setback to his attempts to downplay the consequences of the 4-year-old war and portray it as a remote occurrence with no impact on everyday Russian life.
The strike, which simultaneously targeted a naval installation near Russia’s second-most populous city on the Gulf of Finland, highlighted Ukraine’s expanding capacity to reach far into its neighboring country and proved that even the heavily fortified city of Putin’s birth faces increasing danger.
Dozens of airline flights experienced delays or rerouting at St. Petersburg’s airport, while officials disabled mobile internet connectivity in an effort to thwart drone operations.
Putin had reduced the scale of Russia’s yearly Victory Day military parade on May 9, concerned about potential Ukrainian drone attacks. Several days afterward, a large-scale drone assault on Moscow’s outskirts resulted in three deaths and exposed the capital’s susceptibility.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russian military forces were advancing within Ukraine “in order to prevent such attacks” similar to the St. Petersburg incident. He observed that “systematic” bombardments of Kyiv that Russia had warned about the previous week were currently taking place.
On Tuesday, Russia launched attacks against Kyiv and additional Ukrainian cities using hundreds of drones and multiple missiles, resulting in 23 fatalities and injuring 151 individuals.
Putin has utilized the forum as a platform to highlight his nation’s economic progress and attract international investment. Frequently described as Russia’s answer to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the event typically brings together tens of thousands of participants from across the globe.
Although Western government representatives and business leaders have avoided the forum since Putin deployed military forces into Ukraine in 2022, Russia has worked to draw more attendees from different regions to emphasize its stated objective of fostering a “multipolar world.”
Saudi Arabia, serving as this year’s special guest nation, has dispatched a substantial delegation. The leaders of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, along with China’s vice president, are also participating. A U.S. official, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., head of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, will attend the event for the first time in years.
Russia’s economic prospects have dimmed as the initial benefits from extensive military expenditures have diminished. The administration has implemented tax increases and expanded domestic borrowing to maintain budget deficit control.
Putin is anticipated to downplay Russia’s economic difficulties during his forum presentation, but the Ukrainian strike on St. Petersburg’s port approximately 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) from the forum’s location has emphasized the mounting obstacles created by the ongoing conflict.
In the hours before the forum commenced on Wednesday, Ukrainian drones also struck the Kronstadt naval facility located on an island in the Gulf of Finland, which has served as the headquarters for Russia’s Baltic Fleet since Peter the Great established St. Petersburg. Although the majority of the fleet has relocated to Russia’s Baltic territory of Kaliningrad, Kronstadt maintains its symbolic significance as the center of the nation’s naval heritage, featuring its historic cathedral and ancient defensive structures.
