Ukraine Pummels Russia With 376 Drones on Final Day of SPIEF as Putin Rejects Peace Talks

The Scale of the Drone Assault

Russian air defenses intercepted 376 Ukrainian drones across multiple regions on the final day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Russian Defense Ministry reported interceptions over Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Leningrad, Novgorod, Oryol, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver and Tula, the Moscow region, the republic of Crimea, the republic of Abkhazia, and over the waters of the Azov and Black Seas.

More than 140 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region alone, according to Governor Alexander Drozdenko. The strikes marked the second Ukrainian attack on St. Petersburg in less than a week.

Putin Rejects Direct Talks at SPIEF

Russian President Vladimir Putin stated at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that he saw no point in meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky until a possible peace deal had been agreed. The forum, often described as Russia's Davos, provided the platform for this position.

Zelensky responded by accusing Putin of choosing war again and described the Russian leader as weak. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha added that Putin had lost his chance to exit a failed war and that any future diplomatic terms for Russia would be far worse.

Ukrainian Claims on Targeted Sites

Ukraine's SBU security service stated that the operation targeted the Kronstadt naval base in St. Petersburg and the Russian Navy's 15th Arsenal in the Leningrad region. The SBU described the strikes as a just response to Russian aggression.

Zelensky posted on X that Ukrainian sanctions against the aggression were working and that any manifestation of injustice against Ukraine would receive a just response. The attacks occurred amid intensified drone exchanges between the two sides in recent months.

Russian Defense Ministry Assessment and Local Impacts

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses prevented any damage from the intercepted drones. St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov issued a rare public call for residents to stay indoors during the attack.

Local officials reported three people injured, with their conditions assessed as minor before discharge. Drone debris killed one man in the western Tver region. A fire broke out at an oil depot in the southern town of Ust-Labinsk.

Russian Strikes on Ukraine and Civilian Toll

Russia renewed strikes on Ukraine early Saturday. A Russian drone killed a 64-year-old man in the southern Mykolaiv region. In the nearby Zaporizhzhia region, a strike wounded a 10-year-old boy and his father.

Regional Governor Oleksandr Ganzha reported that Russian drone and artillery attacks in the central Dnipropetrovsk region killed one person and wounded three others. These exchanges continue as U.S.-led diplomatic efforts remain stalled and sidetracked by developments in the Middle East.

Broader Context of the Conflict

The full-scale invasion launched by Putin in February 2022, which Russian officials refer to as a special military operation, has now entered its fifth year. Hundreds of thousands have been killed, swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine have been destroyed, and millions have been forced from their homes.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and maintains a military presence in Abkhazia, a region of Georgia. The latest drone wave underscores how both Moscow and Kyiv continue to rely on long-range strikes while official channels for negotiations show no immediate progress.

By Irina Volkov, Staff Writer