Ukraine Launches Second Drone Attack on St. Petersburg, Injuring Three

Ukraine carried out a second drone attack on St. Petersburg in a few days, with the strikes reaching the area around the city more than 1,000 kilometers north of the Russia-Ukraine border as the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum neared its end.

Il Post reported that Leningrad region governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said Russian forces had shot down at least 140 Ukrainian drones and that the attacks caused a fire in an unspecified military building, with people inside evacuated and damage described as minimal.

ABC News

DW said the barrage targeted the city on Saturday as the international economic forum in St. Petersburg came to a close, and Leningrad Region governor Alexander Drosdenko said air defenses shot down 141 drones in an "unprecedented attack."

DW also reported that the nearby island of Kronstadt in the Gulf of Finland, home to Russia's Baltic Fleet, was targeted and caused a fire, while local media said 600 people had to leave their homes in the coastal town of Bolshaya Ishora.

In the city itself, Il Post said St. Petersburg mayor Alexander Beglov reported three people were injured in the attack and urged residents to stay indoors, which Il Post said was the first time this had happened since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.

The renewed strikes came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected an invitation to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy for direct negotiations, with Il Post saying Putin had dismissed Zelensky's request and that Zelensky had posted on X that any expression of injustice toward Ukraine would receive a "giusta" response.

DW reported that Putin acknowledged the attacks were causing "some damage" to the economy at the forum and said "These attacks naturally lead to nothing good," while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on Saturday that things would "only get worse" for Russia.

ABC News

DW also said the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) claimed to have hit missile and ammunition arsenals in Kronstadt, and it described the attack as the second targeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in three days.

ABC News said St. Petersburg Gov. Alexander Beglov told residents not to leave their homes after the drone attack, adding that three people sustained minor injuries and warning of possible disruptions to mobile internet service.

In Ukraine’s own framing, DW quoted Zelenskyy describing the strikes as a "just response" to continued Russian aggression, while ABC News said Zelenskyy wrote on X that his drones covered about 1,000 kilometers to the enemy navy’s arsenals and a base in Kronstadt.

Beyond St. Petersburg, the sources described a broader wave of drone activity and countermeasures, with DW saying the Russian Defense Ministry reported 376 Ukrainian drones were "intercepted" over multiple regions including Leningrad and Moscow region, and with Al Jazeera saying Russia said air defences shot down 376 Ukrainian drones overnight.

Al Jazeera reported that the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum ended on Saturday with some 20,000 guests from more than 130 countries, while Russia said the drones were downed over 16 areas and regions including St. Petersburg, Crimea and over the Azov and Black seas.

In Ukraine, ABC News said one person was killed and three wounded overnight into Saturday in the Dnipropetrovsk region as Russian forces struck three districts nearly 30 times with drones and artillery, and it also said Zaporizhzhia saw seven people seek medical care after a Russian drone strike started a fire at a parking lot.

The sources also tied the next diplomatic steps to the continuing attacks, with DW saying Zelenskyy was set to travel to London to meet Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz, and with Tgcom24 saying London would host a peace summit involving Zelensky, Starmer, Macron and Merz.

In Russia’s stated response, NPR said Putin told the Associated Press that "To our regret, some of them break through" and said Russia would strengthen its air defenses to counter the drone attacks that had reached deep inside his country.