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Agence France-Presse

Ukrainian drones hit energy and military sites in St Petersburg early Wednesday morning as officials gathered for a flagship economic forum in the city, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said.
Some 20,000 guests from 130 countries are set to attend the three-day annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) – an event once dubbed “Russia’s Davos” – which starts on Wednesday.
The Kremlin vowed to respond to the strikes, which came a day after a barrage of Russian missiles and drones killed 23 people across Ukraine.
St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said “several” infrastructure facilities were damaged, but no one was killed in the attack.
Separate Russian strikes on frontline regions of Ukraine killed four, local officials said, as Nato chief Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv.
Ukranian drones hit the St Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Kronstadt military base in the city, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said – the latest in a series of retaliatory attacks that Kyiv calls “long-range sanctions”.
“Ukraine’s plan for long-range sanctions is being implemented exactly as needed to bring peace closer,” he said on social media, posting a video of an oil depot ablaze.

The commander of Ukraine’s drone forces said a Russian warship was hit at the Kronstadt naval base, posting black-and-white footage from onboard the drone of what he said was the attack.
The attacks forced St Petersburg’s main airport to close for hours overnight.
Ukrainian officials said the attack was aimed at disrupting the three-day gathering, which President Vladimir Putin will attend and make a keynote address at on Friday.
“The Petersburg forum is opening with a nice plume of black smoke in the background after Ukrainian strikes,” Sergiy Sternenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister, wrote.
An Agence France-Presse reporter saw the smoke visible from the conference venue as delegates gathered for the first sessions.
Several flights from Moscow to Saint Petersburg were delayed.
Since Russia launched its full-scale assault on Ukraine in February 2022, SPIEF – previously Moscow’s premier economic event for courting Western investment – has been seen as a snapshot of Russia’s isolation on the world stage.

In the 2010s, French President Emmanuel Macron, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel and late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were among those who addressed the forum alongside Putin.
Now Russia can only rely on leaders of its closest allies to attend – this year, the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, alongside ministers from the likes of Cuba, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The Kremlin’s economy envoy Kirill Dmitriev said the forum was a gathering of “sovereign countries”, slamming “globalist” rivals like the annual Davos gathering in Switzerland.
“The countries of the Global South are building up their economic strength, actively moving toward partnership with Russia and will be strongly represented,” he said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres – who on Tuesday condemned Russian strikes on Ukraine – will speak at a panel on the environment on Friday.
Several fringe figures from Western countries have also been invited – including right-wing commentator Candace Owens, Putin-backing US actor Steven Seagal and representatives of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
Andrew Tate, the British-American self-described misogynist charged in Romania with human trafficking and accused of rape, landed in Moscow on Tuesday, triggering speculation he would also attend the forum.
Ukraine has escalated its strikes on Russian energy and military sites in recent months, calling them fair retribution for Russia’s nightly barrages against its cities.
Russian-installed officials in occupied eastern Ukraine said seven people were killed when a Ukrainian drone hit a bus travelling between Moscow and the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Overnight into Wednesday, Russia said its air defences intercepted 354 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions, including areas bordering Ukraine and annexed Crimea.
Meanwhile, Russian strikes killed two people in the southern frontline city of Kherson, Ukrainian officials there said.


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Russia

Ukraine drones target St Petersburg as ‘Russia’s Davos’ opens

Black smoke over St Petersburg after a Ukrainian drone attack. Photo: AP

Black smoke over the port of St Petersburg. Photo: AP

The St Petersburg International Economic Forum is being held this week. Photo: Reuters

Major Russian attack on Kyiv, other Ukraine cities kills at least 23, wounds dozens

The boom of explosions echoed through most of the night and into the early morning in Kyiv. Photo: Reuters

A woman in Kyiv looks at a damaged building. Photo: Reuters

People take shelter inside a Kyiv metro station. Photo: Reuters

A bandaged man in Kyiv. Photo: Reuters

Nato and Romania accuse Russia after drone hits block of flats

Investigators examine the rooftop impact zone of a building in Galați, Romania, after it was struck by an exploding Russian drone. Photo: AFP

A fire burns on the roof of the block after the drone hit. Photo: Romanian Department for Emergency Situations via Reuters

A Russian Geran 2 drone during an attack on Kyiv, Ukraine in April. Photo: Reuters

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Black smoke rises over major fuel terminal as city hosts Vladimir Putin’s global economic summit


Black smoke rises over major fuel terminal as city hosts Vladimir Putin’s global economic summit.


Ukraine drones target St Petersburg as ‘Russia’s Davos’ opens

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Black smoke rises over major fuel terminal as city hosts Vladimir Putin’s global economic summit

Black smoke rises over major fuel terminal as city hosts Vladimir Putin’s global economic summit