Ukraine targets St. Petersburg after Putin refuses talks

Ukraine launched a drone barrage at St. Petersburg on Saturday, the final day of a major investment forum, hours after President Vladimir Putin spoke there and refused a proposal for talks with Kyiv. The strikes on the city and the surrounding region set a defense ministry facility ablaze and disrupted operations at Russia’s second-largest commercial airport for several hours. Russian air defense shot down 144 drones over the Leningrad region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said in post on Telegram, describing it as an unprecedented assault. A fire broke out at a defense ministry site in the Lomonosovsky district, prompting a partial evacuation of nearby residents. Kronstadt, the naval base on Kotlin Island, west of the city, was briefly closed to traffic, the district administration said. Read more: Putin Rejects Zelenskyy Call for Peace Talks Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed strikes on St. Petersburg region and said they were targeting the Russian navy’s arsenals as well as Kronstadt. An oil depot in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia was also struck, Zelenskyy said on social media. Explosions were recorded at Kronstadt naval base, a hub for the basing, repair and support of Russia’s Baltic Fleet, Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement on Facebook. The Petergofskaya oil depot and Neste oil terminal in the city of Lomonosov in the Leningrad region were hit, as well as a logistics support center in Bolshaya Izhora. Separately, Russian authorities reported that the area affected by a fire at the Ust-Labinsk oil depot in the Krasnodar region of southern Russia is about 5,000 square meters (54,000 sq feet). Leningrad region is a key commodities export hub in northwestern Russia that has been repeatedly targeted by Ukraine this year, including attacks that damaged energy export terminals. No damage to ports or export infrastructure was reported from Saturday’s attack so far. Speaking Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Put