On Saturday, June 6, Ukraine launched a massive drone strike on St. Petersburg on the final day of a major investment forum—hours after Vladimir Putin addressed the event and rejected a proposal for talks with Kyiv.
The strikes on the city and the surrounding region set a Russian Defense Ministry facility on fire and disrupted operations for several hours at the country’s second-largest commercial airport.
According to Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko, Russian air defenses shot down 144 drones over the region. In a Telegram post, he called the attack unprecedented. A fire broke out at a Defense Ministry site in the Lomonosovsky district, prompting the temporary evacuation of some nearby residents.
Kronstadt—a naval base on Kotlin Island west of St. Petersburg—was briefly closed to traffic, the district administration said.
Leningrad Region remains one of Russia’s key export hubs in the country’s northwest. Ukraine has repeatedly struck the region this year, including attacks on energy export terminals. No damage to ports or export infrastructure had been reported after Saturday’s attack.
On Friday, speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin rejected Zelensky’s call for a meeting to discuss ending the war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year.
“I see no point” in meeting Zelensky, Putin said.
The forum, considered the Kremlin’s main economic and investment event, had already been overshadowed by Ukrainian attacks. This week, long-range drones struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg—another attack deep inside Russian territory. A base in Kronstadt was also targeted at the time.
Russia, meanwhile, continued its strikes on Ukraine. Over the past day, according to regional authorities on Saturday, at least 12 civilians were killed and more than 70 wounded.
In Donetsk Region, Governor Vadym Filashkin said 6 people were killed. Another 6 people were killed and 27 wounded in Kherson Region, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.