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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, Putin rejected Zelenskyy’s call to meet and negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, now well into its fifth year.
“I see no sense” in holding a meeting with Zelenskyy, Putin said.
The forum, the Kremlin’s premier economic and investment event, was overshadowed earlier in the week when Ukrainian long-range drones struck a St. Petersburg oil terminal — the latest barrage deep into Russia territory. The Kronstadt base was also targeted at that time.
Read more: St. Petersburg Faces Drone Attack as Putin’s Forum Starts
Russia, meanwhile, kept up its own attacks on Ukraine. At least 12 civilians were killed and over 70 injured across the nation over the past day, regional authorities said on Saturday.
Six people were killed in the Donetsk region, Governor Vadym Filashkin said in post on Telegram. Another six people were killed and 27 others were injured in Kherson region, according to Governor Oleksandr Prokudin.
