Ukraine drone attack targets St. Petersburg again after Putin rejects Zelenskys offer for direct talks

Residents of St.Petersburg were told not to leave their homes after a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack targeted Russia’s second-largest city Saturday morning, underscoring Kyiv’s growing ability to hit deep inside Russia.The attack came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin refused an offer to meet his Ukrainian counterpart.St.

Petersburg Gov.Alexander Beglov advised the residents not to go outside and warned of possible disruptions to mobile internet service, while regional Gov.

Alexander Drozdenko said 141 drones were shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region.Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 376 Ukrainian drones.“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,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X.Although no casualties were immediately reported, the renewed attack on St.

Petersburg is the latest embarrassing blow to Putin’s efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that doesn’t affect Russian daily life.A Ukrainian drone strike set ablaze an oil terminal in the city and hit a nearby naval base Wednesday, hours before the opening of the St.Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin’s annual showcase for investment.Speaking at the forum, Putin said Thursday that Russia will strengthen its air defenses to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over the event in his hometown of St.

Petersburg.Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting on the 4-year-old conflict, saying he sees “no point” in it.Thursday’s letter, the first public message Zelenskyy has written directly to Putin since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, was a sweeping critique of the Russian leader’s 26 years in power, as well as some taunts about his age.Responding to Putin’s dismissal of the proposed meet...