Russia says hundreds of Ukrainian drones downed as economic forum ends

Residents of Saint Petersburg were told not to leave their homes after a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack targeted Russia’s second-largest city at the end of a three-day international economic forum.

Russia said air defences shot down 376 Ukrainian drones overnight as attacks intensify on both sides with no clear end in sight, after Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was no point meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy for face-to-face talks.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Saturday that the drones were downed over 16 areas and regions, including St Petersburg, Crimea and over the Azov and Black seas.

According to Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, whose major city is St Petersburg and also includes key Baltic ports, 86 drones were shot down.

Zelenskyy said Kyiv’s drones covered a distance of “about 1,000 kilometers to the St Petersburg region – to the enemy navy’s arsenals and a base in Kronstadt”.

“Our long-range sanctions also reached about 500 kilometers into the Krasnodar region – and hit an oil depot,” he said in a post on X.

“Russia must end its war and stop its attacks on life. Any manifestation of injustice against Ukraine will receive a just response,” Zelenskyy said. “It is time to end this war.”

The St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) , with some 20,000 guests from more than 130 countries, ends on Saturday. On the first day of the summit on Wednesday, Ukrainian drones hit an oil complex and naval base in the city.