Ukraine launched hundreds of drones at targets across Russia, including scores over the St. Petersburg region, on the final day of Russia’s most important investment forum.
St. Petersburg authorities briefly ordered residents to remain inside, and suspended public transportation during the June 6 attack. The Defense Ministry said many of the drones were downed or intercepted.
One district west of St. Petersburg was on lockdown after a drone hit some unspecified military facility.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed responsibility for the attack, which was the second of its kind launched during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, an event that was once dubbed “Russia’s Davos.”
He claimed a Russian base and a naval facility on the island of Kronshtadt had been targeted.
“It’s time to end this war. But the Russian leader wants to fight. Therefore Ukrainian ‘sanctions’ are working against this aggression,” he said in a post to Telegram. “Any acts of injustice against Ukraine will be met with a just response.”
On the first day of the forum, Ukrainian drones hit an oil complex and military base in the city, sending plumes of black smoke drifting over the region.
That attack was seen as a signal by Kyiv aimed at either spooking potential investors, as well as showcasing Kyiv’s ability to evade antiaircraft defenses.
In total, Russia officials said more than 376 Ukrainian drones were detected over more than a dozen regions.
An oil depot in the southern Krasnodar region was set partially ablaze by a Ukrainian drone, officials said.
Many of Ukraine’s attacks in recent months have targeted Russia’s oil infrastructure, trying to prevent Moscow from selling oil abroad, as well as squeeze its ability to refine gasoline.
A growing number of Russian regions have reported gasoline shortages in recent weeks, though some of it is attributed to seasonal factors.
In Ukraine, meanwhile, at least nine people were killed in three separate locations as Russia launched nearly 300 drones and missiles at Ukrainian targets.
Kherson, a southern Ukrainian region on the west bank of the Dnieper River, was the worst hit, with six deaths reported and more than two dozen injuries, officials said.
