Russian authorities have reported what they described as an “unprecedented attack” by Ukraine on St Petersburg and surrounding areas, coinciding with the final day of Russia’s annual economic forum.
More than 140 drones were intercepted over the Leningrad region, according to governor Aleksandr Drozdenko, while St Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov advised residents to stay indoors for the first time since the start of the war more than four years ago.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces targeted Russian military infrastructure, including arsenals and a naval base, describing the operation as a response to continued Russian strikes.
The strikes came a day after President Vladimir Putin told the economic forum there was no need for direct talks with Zelensky, who had earlier called for face-to-face negotiations to end the war.
A commander of a Ukrainian drone unit involved in the operation said Russian territory was now relatively easy to penetrate.
“We fly in Russia like it’s our own territory. Almost no resistance, not hard to reach a target,” said Yevhen Karas, commander of the 413th regiment Raid of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.
Governor Drozdenko said the attacks triggered a fire at an unspecified military facility and led to evacuations, although he added that damage to civilian infrastructure was “insignificant.”
Zelensky said Ukrainian drones travelled about 1,000km to reach targets in the St Petersburg region, including “the enemy navy’s arsenals and a base in Kronstadt,” where Russia’s Baltic Fleet is headquartered.
He also said an oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar region was hit as part of what he called Ukraine’s “long-range sanctions.”
“It is time to end this war,” Zelensky said, while accusing Moscow of wanting to “keep fighting.”
The strikes came shortly after earlier drone attacks near St Petersburg during the opening days of the economic forum, which attracted delegates from about 130 countries, including a small US delegation.
Zelensky, in an open letter to Putin, urged a ceasefire and direct negotiations, warning it would be “wrong to simply wait” for renewed US focus on the conflict, as Washington’s attention has shifted partly to tensions in Iran.
At the forum, Putin rejected the proposal for talks and insisted a truce would only allow Ukraine to regroup.
He maintained that Russia would only end the war once its objectives were achieved, including control over several occupied Ukrainian regions and Ukraine abandoning NATO ambitions.
Ukraine has rejected those conditions, arguing that conceding territory would encourage further Russian aggression.
In Russian-occupied Luhansk, Moscow-backed authorities said they had suspended transport services along key routes due to Ukrainian drone activity, urging residents not to travel “for security reasons.”
The administration also restricted commuter trains and transport of children in the region.
Putin has previously claimed Russia fully controls the so-called “Luhansk People’s Republic,” though Ukraine continues to challenge Russian positions with strikes on logistics and infrastructure.
Analysts say Ukrainian forces have intensified attacks on supply chains, with more than 200 trucks and dozens of fuel vehicles reportedly destroyed since May.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022, Ukraine has significantly expanded its domestic defence capabilities, increasingly targeting energy and military infrastructure inside Russia, which Kyiv says supports Moscow’s war effort.
Russia, however, continues to accuse Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilians.
