Ukrainian drones strike St. Petersburg, hours before ‘Putin’s Davos’ opens

Ukrainian drones [rained down](https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/01/europe/crimea-fuel-ukraine-russian-oil-intl) on St. Petersburg overnight, striking key infrastructure and wounding several people, just hours before Russian President [Vladimir Putin](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/20/politics/russia-losing-ukraine-mcgurk-analysis)’s signature economic forum drawing thousands of attendees opened in the city.

[Hundreds of drones](https://www.cnn.com/world/europe/ukraine) hit several Russian cities, with Kyiv claiming to have struck a naval warship and other key assets in a major attack reaching as far as [Moscow](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/08/europe/putins-victory-parade-moscow-intl).

Three districts of St. Petersburg were targeted in Ukrainian drone assault, according to its governor Aleksandr Beglov – shortly before the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, often dubbed Putin’s version of Davos, began on Wednesday.

Kyiv has [stepped up attacks](https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/18/europe/ukraine-strikes-russian-oil-refineries-us-waiver-intl) hitting key Russian oil assets in recent months, firing hundreds of long-range drones, squeezing fuel supplies and compounding [economic strains](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/02/business/putin-wartime-economy-mall-workers-intl-cmd) for residents. In May, Ukrainian forces carried out their [largest assault](https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/17/europe/russia-ukraine-moscow-attack-intl-hnk) on Moscow in more than a year, state media reported at the time.