Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) struck energy and military targets in St. Petersburg this morning, the opening day of the city’s economic forum, which brings together numerous Russian leaders, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials.
Approximately 20,000 guests from 130 countries are expected to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual three-day event that was once Russia’s main forum for attracting investors and businesses from the West.
The strikes came a day after a series of attacks involving Russian missiles and drones, which killed at least 23 people across Ukraine.
The Russian governor of the city, Alexander Beglov, stated that «several» infrastructure facilities were damaged, but no deaths were reported in this attack, which, according to Ukrainian officials, to disrupt this forum, at which Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to deliver a speech the day after tomorrow, Friday.
The Ukrainian army struck the St. Petersburg oil terminal, in Russia, overnight, about 1,100 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today. Zelenskyy also stated in a post on Telegram that «exclusively» military targets at the Kronstadt base were struck, while another target was a facility in the Russian Tambov region involved in weapons production, located about 600 kilometers from the front line.
This is the latest in a series of retaliatory attacks that Kyiv describes as «long-range sanctions.».
«Ukraine’s plan for long-range sanctions is being implemented exactly as needed to bring peace closer,» Zelenskyy said on social media, accompanying his post with a video showing an oil tank on fire.
These attacks forced St. Petersburg’s main airport to suspend operations for several hours overnight. Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad Oblast, stated that air defense systems shot down 59 drones overnight.
«The St. Petersburg Forum opens with a magnificent column of black smoke in the background following the Ukrainian strikes,» wrote Sergei Sternenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian defense minister, wrote on social media, posting a video showing participants arriving at the forum venue with the smoke clearly visible in the background.
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