Ukraine claims drone attacks on St. Petersburg during Russian economic forum; Russia vows retaliation

Ukraine has claimed responsibility for drone attacks deep inside Russian territory, including strikes targeting St. Petersburg on the opening day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), often dubbed the 'Russian Davos.' The attacks occurred as foreign dignitaries began arriving for the event.

Simultaneously, Moscow accused Ukrainian forces of killing at least 12 civilians in other attacks, notably an incident involving a passenger bus en route to occupied Crimea, which reportedly killed eight people. The Kremlin has vowed that "inevitable" punishment awaits those responsible for these alleged civilian casualties.

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I believe these are just attacks, just one day ago there was a massive attack, we responded accordingly.

Black smoke billowed over St. Petersburg on the morning of the forum's opening, visible to arriving guests. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Kyiv's drones struck "important targets" in the Baltic metropolis, 1,100 kilometers from the border, including an oil terminal and "purely military targets" in Kronstadt, a historic naval base where a military corvette was reportedly hit. Dozens of flights were delayed or canceled at Pulkovo Airport.

Ukraine asserts its strikes were justified responses to recent Russian bombardments. Zelensky referenced a massive Russian attack that killed over 20 people and injured 120 in Kyiv and Dnipro. Russia, in turn, claims its strikes are retaliation for a May 22nd attack on a student dormitory in the Luhansk region, which it controls, resulting in 21 deaths and 42 injuries among students. The narrative of retaliation and counter-retaliation continues, with each side accusing the other of targeting civilians.

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It is necessary to punish those behind such crimes, and the punishment, as the president said, should be inevitable.