Russia under siege ahead of “Putin's Davos”. Dozens of Ukrainian drones shot down near St. Petersburg and Moscow
Russian defense systems shot down 50 drones over the Leningrad region, northwest of Moscow, overnight and continue to repel suspected Ukrainian attacks, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said on Wednesday, ahead of the start of an important annual economic forum.
The Leningrad region, home to crucial energy export infrastructure and a major oil refinery, is hosting President Vladimir Putin's “Russian Davos” economic conference in St. Petersburg starting Wednesday.
The investment forum, the fifth since Russia sent troops to Ukraine in 2022, opens just hours after a deadly Russian drone and missile attack on Kiev that Moscow said was in response to a deadly attack on a student dormitory in the Kremlin-controlled Luhansk region.
Putin's speech, scheduled for Friday
Putin is due to deliver the keynote address on Friday, in a session that will also include the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania, as well as China's vice president and Saudi Arabia's energy minister, according to the schedule.
An influential right-wing US representative, a sitting US official and a German retail billionaire are also expected to attend the forum.
In St. Petersburg, Russia's second-largest city and Putin's hometown, Pulkovo Airport temporarily restricted flights, Russia's aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said on the Telegram messaging app. More than 30 flights were delayed or canceled, local news agencies reported.
St. Petersburg has put security measures in place ahead of the event, Alexander Beglov, the city's governor, told the RIA news agency.
“All new challenges have been fully considered. Law enforcement has allocated personnel and equipment to ensure public safety and order,” he said.
Ukraine, intense attacks on Russian targets
Ukraine has recently stepped up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in an attempt to deprive Moscow of revenue. On Tuesday, it struck the Ilsky export oil refinery in southern Russia with drones.
At least 20 drones headed for Moscow were shot down overnight, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram. In the Tambov region of central Russia, outbuildings of an industrial facility in the city of Michurinsk were damaged, the governor said on Telegram.
The Latvian National Armed Forces, a member of the EU and NATO, briefly issued an airspace violation warning for the municipality of Aluksne near the border with Russia on Wednesday morning, then withdrew it.
Attacks in a Ukrainian area controlled by Moscow
A Ukrainian drone strike killed seven people and wounded 11 others in a Russian-held area of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region on Wednesday, the Kremlin-appointed head of the region said.
Denis Pusilin said on Telegram that the drone hit a passenger bus traveling between Moscow and Simferopol, in the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Reuters states that it could not independently verify all of this information.
