Drone barrage hits Russia: Ukraine pounds St Petersburg region; civilians killed on both sides

Ukraine fired hundreds of drones astatine Russia aboriginal Saturday, leaving 1 idiosyncratic dormant and mounting an lipid depot ablaze connected the last time of the country’s flagship economical forum successful Saint Petersburg, officials said.

The onslaught comes hours aft President Putin spoke determination and refused a connection for talks with Kyiv.The strikes connected the metropolis and the surrounding portion acceptable a defence ministry installation ablaze and disrupted operations astatine Russia’s second-largest commercialized airdrome for respective hours. Russian aerial defence changeable down 144 drones implicit the Leningrad region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said successful a station connected Telegram, describing it arsenic an unprecedented assault.A occurrence broke retired astatine a defence ministry tract successful the Lomonosovsky district, prompting a partial evacuation of adjacent residents. Kronstadt, the naval basal connected Kotlin Island, was concisely closed to traffic, the medication said.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed strikes connected the St. Petersburg portion and said they were targeting the Russian navy’s arsenals arsenic good arsenic Kronstadt.An lipid depot successful the Krasnodar portion of confederate Russia was besides struck, Zelenskyy said connected societal media. Separately, Russian authorities reported that the country affected by a occurrence astatine the Ust-Labinsk lipid depot successful the Krasnodar portion of confederate Russia is 54,000 sq ft.Russia, meanwhile, kept up its ain attacks – astatine slightest 12 civilians were killed and implicit 70 injured crossed Ukraine implicit the past day, authorities said connected Saturday.