Ukraine launched one of its largest drone offensives of the war on Saturday, sending hundreds of unmanned aerial vehicles deep into Russian territory and striking targets near St Petersburg — Russia's second-largest city — in an attack Moscow described as "unprecedented". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that his forces had hit naval arsenals and a military base at Kronstadt, the historic island fortress that serves as the main outpost of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet, located roughly 30 kilometres west of St Petersburg. An oil depot in the southern Krasnodar region, some 500 kilometres from Ukraine's border, was also struck. Russia's defence ministry said its air defences had shot down or intercepted 339 Ukrainian drones since early Saturday morning across multiple regions, while Russian state media reported the total number of drones involved exceeded 350. The governor of the Leningrad region — the administrative area surrounding St Petersburg — said more than 140 drones were downed over the region, and the city's governor urged residents to stay indoors, a rare precaution not taken since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
The timing of the strikes was pointed. St Petersburg was hosting the final day of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), an annual event often described as Russia's answer to the World Economic Forum in Davos, which draws thousands of business and government figures from around the world. Satellite imagery verified by media outlets showed thick plumes of black smoke rising from a damaged oil terminal in the city's vicinity, visible to forum attendees. At the forum itself, a Russian deputy prime minister acknowledged for the first time publicly that the country's oil production had fallen this year, attributing it to "unplanned maintenance" at several refineries — language widely seen as a reference to Ukrainian strikes. At least 17 oil facilities have been hit since the beginning of May alone, according to open-source tracking data, with some targeted multiple times to hinder rapid repairs.
Ukraine's commander of one drone unit involved told reporters that operating inside Russian airspace had become surprisingly straightforward. "We fly in Russia like it's our own territory. Almost no resistance, not hard to reach a target," said Yevhen Karas, commander of the 413th Regiment Raid of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces. Ukraine also released footage it said showed a Russian naval vessel, the corvette Boiky, being struck and catching fire at Kronstadt, a claim verified for location by Reuters.
The strikes came at a moment of sharp diplomatic tension. Just a day before, President Vladimir Putin — speaking at the same St Petersburg forum — had rejected Zelensky's call for direct ceasefire negotiations, insisting Russia would only end the war once its objectives were achieved. Russia's stated position remains that Ukraine must withdraw from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, which Russia largely occupies, and abandon any ambitions to join NATO. Ukraine has refused to cede territory, arguing that doing so would only invite further aggression. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte made an unannounced visit to Kyiv alongside ambassadors from all 32 NATO member states, meeting with Zelensky in a show of alliance solidarity.
Zelensky framed the strikes as a legitimate response to Russian attacks, describing them as part of Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" — his term for deep strikes on infrastructure he says enables Moscow's war machine. Ukraine also reported that Russia attacked two civilian search-and-rescue vessels on a humanitarian mission in the Black Sea, injuring crew members, though Russia did not comment publicly on the incident. Zelensky is expected to travel to the United Kingdom on Sunday for meetings with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and French President Emmanuel Macron, as European allies continue to coordinate support for Kyiv.