Ukrainian drones strike St. Petersburg amid heightened tensions over rejected peace talks
Long‑range Ukrainian drones hit St. Petersburg and nearby areas, prompting Russian air defenses to intercept hundreds of drones across multiple regions, while President Zelenskyy called the attacks a response to Russia’s refusal to negotiate.
Ukrainian long‑range drones targeted St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region on Saturday, coinciding with the conclusion of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Regional governor Alexander Drosdenko said air defenses shot down 141 drones, and municipal governor Alexander Beglov urged residents to stay indoors and warned of possible mobile‑internet disruptions.
The attacks also hit the Baltic Fleet base on the island of Kronstadt, causing a fire, which the Ukrainian Security Service said weakened the fleet’s missile and ammunition stores. Nearby, the coastal town of Bolshaya Ishora evacuated about 600 residents, and flights at Pulkovo Airport were temporarily suspended.
Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that a total of 376 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over a wide swath of Russian territory, including Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Leningrad, Novgorod, Oryol, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, Moscow region, Crimea, Abkhazia, and over the Azov and Black Seas.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strikes as a “just response” to ongoing Russian aggression and said sanctions against Russia were having an effect. He added that the war must end, but Russia’s leadership continues to fight.
In a separate development, President Vladimir Putin rejected Zelenskyy’s open letter proposing direct negotiations in a neutral country, stating he saw “no point” in such a meeting. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned that failures would become more humiliating for Russia and that no area in Russia is safe from long‑range attacks.
Zelenskyy is scheduled to travel to London for talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to discuss further support for Ukraine. NATO also began operations to strengthen defenses in Sweden and Finland, countries that have recently joined the alliance and lie on the Baltic Sea route used by Russian naval forces.