Ukraine drones target St Petersburg as Russia’s flagship economic forum opens

Ukraine drones target St Petersburg as Russia’s flagship economic forum opens Black smoke rises over major fuel terminal as city hosts Vladimir Putin’s global economic summit 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 – an event that was once Russia’s premier gathering to court Western investors and businesses – which starts Wednesday. St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said “several” infrastructure facilities were damaged, but no one was killed in the attack. 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.