Ukrainian drones strike St. Petersburg oil terminal and naval base

Ukrainian long-range drones struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg and set it ablaze on June 3, 2026, hours before the city opened President Vladimir Putin’s annual international economic forum. The same strikes also hit the Kronstadt naval base on an island in the Gulf of Finland, home of Russia’s Baltic Fleet.

Scores of flights were delayed or diverted at the city’s airport, and authorities cut cellphone internet service to limit further drone operations.

Forum and security context The forum is scheduled to open Thursday with Putin in attendance. Russia has used the event to promote foreign investment and present the country’s economic performance. Western officials and business representatives have largely stayed away since 2022, while delegations from Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, Tanzania, and China are participating this year.

Russian response A Kremlin spokesman said Russian forces were pressing inside Ukraine to prevent such attacks and noted that systematic strikes on Kyiv were underway. On Tuesday, Russia launched hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, killing 23 people and wounding 151 others, according to Ukrainian officials.

The St. Petersburg strikes occurred about 15 kilometers from the forum venue and followed earlier Ukrainian drone incidents, including a May 9 scaling back of Russia’s Victory Day parade and a June 1 attack on Moscow’s suburbs.