St. Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov said that 3 districts of the city were targeted in a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the night of June 2, injuring many people and damaging some infrastructure.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the country's air defense forces intercepted and destroyed more than 350 Ukrainian UAVs in many areas, not only near the border but also in further locations such as Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novgorod in western Russia.
In Smolensk, a Russian western city near the Belarus-Ukraine border, "key infrastructures" were attacked," Governor Vasiliy Anokhin said. Two firefighters were killed while handling a fire caused by debris from a downed UAV. Two other firefighters and 1 civilian were slightly injured.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that long-range attacks hit "key targets", including the oil port of St. Petersburg - one of the largest oil transshipment centers in northwestern Russia.
Other targets of the attack include military facilities at the Kronstadt base - a naval port located on an island near St. Petersburg, and an installation in the Tambov region that Ukraine believes is related to Russian weapons production activities, the Ukrainian President added.
The Ukrainian leader also posted a video showing explosions and many fires at a facility in Russia, along with dense black smoke rising from behind a high-rise building.
This year, Ukraine has quickly developed medium and long-range UAV lines to attack targets deep within Russian territory, including oil and gas facilities in Moscow and many locations far from the battle lines.
Ukraine's long-range offensive strategy is being implemented as planned to bring peace closer," Zelensky declared.
Ukraine's latest attacks took place right at the time of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in St. Petersburg on June 3. This is Russia's most important economic forum, often likened to the "Davos Forum" version.
St. Petersburg International Airport had to restrict airspace operations on the morning of June 3, causing about 20 flights to be delayed.
This development occurred just one day after Russia launched a large-scale attack in the early morning of June 2, targeting the capital Kiev and the city of Dnipro in central Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials said that at least 23 people died in the airstrike, including 7 in Kiev and 16 in Dnipro, becoming one of the deadliest attacks in recent months.
According to the Ukrainian military, more than 600 UAVs and dozens of missiles have been launched into the country's territory, causing damage to many important civilian infrastructures.
