On the last day of the International Economic Forum, the Ukrainian armed forces again attacked the northern Russian metropolis of St. Petersburg. According to data from the governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, over 140 drones were repelled during the night. Some of the falling debris damaged the facades and windows of buildings. In addition, a fire broke out near a military facility.
According to data from the governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, three people in the city received minor injuries. Early in the morning, take-offs and landings at the international airport “Pulkovo“ were temporarily suspended due to the threat of drones. There have also been reports of attacks in the eastern seaport of Kronstadt, part of St. Petersburg, which is used by the Russian Navy.
The city has been hosting an economic forum since Wednesday - on the first day, after an attack on the oil refinery, black clouds of smoke rose above the old part of the city, German public broadcaster ARD reported.
Moscow: Hundreds of drones downed
Drone attacks have also been reported from other Russian regions. The Russian news agencies „TASS“ and „Interfax“, citing the Defense Ministry in Moscow, reported that a total of 911 drones and 13 guided bombs had been downed within 24 hours - 376 last night alone. The attacks reportedly affected nearly 20 regions, including Moscow, Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod, Rostov, Ryazan, Tula, and the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula.
Russian media also reported a fire at an oil depot in the Krasnodar region as a result of a drone attack. The port of Mariupol, located in the Donetsk region annexed by Moscow, was also reportedly hit. Oil depots were hit and burst into flames, the media reported.
Videos from independent sources that cannot be verified are circulating on social media showing huge fires and clouds of smoke. A fire also broke out at the “Antipinsky“ refinery in the Tyumen region, the largest non-state oil refining facility in Russia. However, according to the authorities, the cause was violations of procedures at a purification plant, and not a Ukrainian drone attack.
Strikes against the Russian oil industry
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on the X platform that strikes had been carried out against the oil terminal in Krasnodar and the military base in St. Petersburg. “Russia must end the war and stop its attacks on life“, he wrote. Any injustice against Ukraine will receive a fair response.
Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian oil industry and military targets also became a topic of the economic forum, which ends today in St. Petersburg. With these counterattacks, Ukraine is defending itself against Russia's aggressive war, which has been going on for more than four years.
On Friday evening at the forum, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin admitted that the attacks were causing “certain damage“ to the economy. "These attacks, of course, do not lead to anything good," he said. It is important to strengthen air defense. But according to the president, there are no risks to the Russian economy.