Ukrainian Drones Strike St. Petersburg Oil Terminal

Ukrainian drones struck oil storage facilities near St Petersburg early Wednesday, setting an oil terminal ablaze hours before the city’s flagship economic forum opened. Russian air defenses attempted to shoot down the long-range drones but were unsuccessful. Loud explosions were heard and black smoke rose high above the city from the burning facility.

Participants The event, sometimes called Russia’s Davos, opened Wednesday with sessions on economics, culture, and family policy. Several U.S. participants are listed on the schedule. Candace Owens is scheduled to speak on balancing parenthood and career and told organizers she also plans to visit churches during the trip.

Steven Seagal is listed for a panel on culture. Rodney Mims Cook Jr. leads the official U.S. delegation. He told Russia’s TASS news agency he is attending as a minister of culture and as a Christian, not as a politician. Cook said he has restored churches in Russia and presented an icon to a monastery in St Petersburg on Tuesday.

Owens, 37, faces a defamation lawsuit filed in the United States by French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife. She has been critical of U.S. funding for Israel and of feminism. Seagal backed Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and has supported its military operation in Ukraine.

Cook chairs the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and is overseeing an extension of the White House ballroom. Cook is the first U.S. official to attend the forum since 2017-2018, according to the Kremlin.