Ukraine hits St. Petersburg after Putin rejects talks

Ukraine launched another drone attack on St. Petersburg hours after Vladimir Putin dismissed Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s offer for direct peace talks, returning the war to Russia’s second city during the Kremlin’s flagship economic forum.

The venue mattered.

St. Petersburg was hosting a forum Putin uses to argue that Russia can withstand sanctions and keep foreign investors engaged despite the war. The strike also showed the reach of Ukraine’s drone campaign at a moment when Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart on terms for ending the conflict. That put the attack in front of officials and business delegates, rather than only military audiences.

Putin told reporters he was not prepared to hold direct talks with the Ukrainian president.

“I don’t see any point for now”

• Vladimir Putin, Russian president

Zelenskyy said Ukraine had sent drones nearly 1,000 kilometers to targets near St. Petersburg, including naval facilities in Kronstadt. He described the operation as an answer to Russia’s continued attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure.

“Last night, our drones covered a distance of about 1,000 kilometers to the St. Petersburg region — to the enemy navy’s arsenals and a base in Kronstadt”

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian president

Kyiv was pointing to a long-range operation near one of Russia’s most prominent cities, far from the areas where cross-border strikes have become more routine.

The Associated Press reported that Leningrad region Governor Alexander Drozdenko said air defenses shot down 141 drones over the region. Russia’s Defense Ministry said 376 Ukrainian drones were downed across the country, according to the same report.

St. Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov said the city came under what he called a large-scale attack by military drones. Regional officials reported three minor injuries.

CNN reported that Russian authorities described the latest St. Petersburg attack as unprecedented. The outlet said the strike followed an earlier wave before the economic forum opened, when Russia said it downed 60 drones over the region.

Economic forum disrupted

Moscow wanted a week of speeches and business meetings to project stability. Instead, Russian officials were talking about air-defense alerts near a city closely tied to Putin’s political career.

Ukraine has increasingly used long-range drones to hit oil, military and logistical targets inside Russia. The St. Petersburg operation stood out for the distance involved and for the reference to Kronstadt, west of the city, where Russia has naval facilities in the Baltic.

The AP report said the renewed strike came after Putin rejected Zelenskyy’s offer for a direct meeting. Kyiv has pressed for such talks to test whether Moscow is willing to negotiate, while Russia has continued to demand terms Ukraine has rejected as surrender.

Both governments kept diplomacy in public view. Their actions moved in the other direction: Russia rejected a leader-to-leader meeting, and Ukraine answered with a strike meant to show it can still reach high-profile targets deep inside Russia.

No direct meeting is scheduled. The conflict is still moving on two tracks: public calls for diplomacy and expanding attacks aimed at changing the battlefield before any negotiating table changes.