NPR
Ukrainian drones strike a St. Petersburg oil terminal ahead of Putin visit
+776 words added -468 words removed
By
The Associated Press
A plumes of black smoke is seen over the port of St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, after a Ukrainian drone attack. AP Photo hide caption
Ukrainian long-range drones struck an oil terminal in St.
Petersburg and nearby ports.
In the Smolensk region, two firefighters were killed by a Ukrainian drone attack, according to the regional governor, Vasily Anokhin.
Meanwhile, Russia fired 198 long-range drones at Ukraine last night, according to Ukraine's air force, with air defenses neutralizing 189.
In the southern Kherson, Russian overnight shelling and drone strikes killed an 86-year-old woman and wounded five other people, according to regional authorities.
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− Petersburg and set it ablaze, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday, as the Russian city hosted an annual international economic forum promoted by President Vladimir Putin.
+ Petersburg and set it ablaze, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday, sending smoke billowing over the city where Russian President Vladimir Putin was born as it hosts Russia's leading event for attracting foreign capital.
− The Picture Show Scenes from the aftermath of Russia's latest massive attack on Kyiv The drones flew more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to hit the terminal, Zelenskyy said on social media.
+ The Picture Show Scenes from the aftermath of Russia's latest massive attack on Kyiv The drones flew more than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) to hit the terminal in Russia's second-largest city, Zelenskyy said on social media, a day after Moscow launched a major drone and missile attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
Russian authorities said only that the Ukrainian drone strike targeted St.
− Clouds of black smoke rose over the city's port after the attack.
+ Petersburg's infrastructure, without providing details. The city's airport briefly suspended flights overnight because of the attack. Authorities cut off mobile internet services.
− Russian authorities said only that the Ukrainian drone strike targeted the city's infrastructure, without providing further details.
+ State of the World from NPR 40 years after families survived the Chernobyl accident, they face war With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes.
− The airport of St.
+ The war that followed Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor is more than four years old, with no end in sight.
The latest strikes are another embarrassment for Putin, weeks after he pruned back an annual Victory Day parade in Moscow because of fears of Ukrainian drone attacks.
Putin is set to speak on Friday at the economic forum in St.
− Petersburg briefly suspended flights overnight because of the attack.
+ Petersburg that the Kremlin views as a prestige event.
− Authorities also cut off mobile internet services.
+ The gathering is sometimes called Russia's Davos, likening it to the World Economic Forum held in Switzerland.
− Putin is set to speak Friday at the economic forum in St.
+ Major Western investors and officials have stayed away since Russia launched its all-out war against Ukraine on Feb.
− Petersburg that the Kremlin views as a prestige event, although major Western investors and officials have stayed away since Russia invaded Ukraine more than four years ago.
+ 24, 2022.
− Saudi Arabia is a special guest country this year and is due to send a large business delegation.
+ Saudi Arabia is a special guest this year and is due to send a large business delegation.
− The strikes are an embarrassment for Putin, weeks after he had to prune back an annual Victory Day parade in Moscow due to fears of Ukrainian drone attacks.
+ Zelenskyy said Ukraine aimed only at "legitimate targets" related to Russia's war effort and indicated that Kyiv plans to escalate its long-range drone attacks. "It is only a matter of time when we will be able to increase the scale of our own mass strikes," he told reporters.
− The strikes came a day after Russian forces launched a massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, killing at least 22 civilians and wounding 138, as Moscow followed through with its threat of escalating its regular barrages.
With the front line changing little as swarms of drones hinder battlefield movement, both sides have sought an edge by increasingly launching long-range strikes.
+ The strikes on St.
− The war that followed Russia's invasion of its neighbor has now stretched into its fifth year, with no end in sight.
+ Petersburg came a day after Russia's attack on Ukraine killed 23 civilians and wounded 151 other people, as Moscow followed through with its threat of escalating its barrages.
− State of the World from NPR 40 years after families survived the Chernobyl accident, they face war Ukraine's attacks are aimed at diminishing Russia's oil production, which is a key source of funding for Moscow, and disrupting weapon production.
+ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that Russia's deep strikes have already taken on a "systematic" character.
− Ukraine has repeatedly targeted oil facilities at the port of St.
+ Ukraine's own long-range attacks are aimed at diminishing Russia's oil production, which is a key source of funding for Moscow, and disrupting weapon production.
+ Kyiv has repeatedly targeted oil facilities in St.
− Ukrainian drone attacks overnight also hit the Kronstadt naval base, an old base for Russia's Baltic Fleet, and a manufacturing plant involved in weapon production in Russia's Tambov region, 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.
+ But Ukraine is short of American-made Patriot air defense missiles, in part because of U.S. stocks being depleted by the Iran war, leaving Ukrainian territory vulnerable to Russia's ballistic missiles.
− Russia's Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 354 Ukrainian drones overnight.
+ Zelenskyy on Wednesday expressed frustration with his own government's officials, saying there's an agreement "at the highest political level" for the purchase of Patriot systems, but implementation is being held up by financial, legal and technical considerations.
− In the Russia-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region, a Ukrainian strike hit a bus that was traveling from Moscow to Crimea, killing seven and injuring 11, according to the Kremlin-appointed head of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin.
+ State of the World from NPR How drones are being used globally: in conflicts and by criminals "The wait has taken too long," he said on social media, demanding that officials unblock the purchase or there will be "serious personnel decisions."
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, visiting Kyiv on Wednesday for talks with Ukrainian officials, said the flow of interceptor missiles from the U.S. to Ukraine continues. The U.S. is "doing what it can" to keep supplying them although it is limited by the production rate, he told a news conference.
+ Rutte also said young Russians and their families "are being sold a raw deal" by Moscow, as incorporation in the Russian military dooms soldiers to poor training and equipment and low chances of surviving battlefield wounds.
Other Ukrainian drone attacks overnight set fire to the Russian guided-missile corvette Boikiy, which was in dry dock at the Kronstadt naval base, according to Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces. Kronstadt is an old base for Russia's Baltic Fleet located west of St. Petersburg. Satellite images showed fire crews working to control the fires onboard.
Drones also hit a Russian manufacturing plant involved in weapon production in the Tambov region, 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Ukraine, Zelenskyy said.
Russia's Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 354 Ukrainian drones overnight.
In the Russia-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region, a Ukrainian strike hit a bus that was traveling from Moscow to the Crimean Peninsula, killing seven people and wounding 11 others, according to the Kremlin-appointed head of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin.
− He said two other firefighters and a local resident were injured.
+ He said that two other firefighters and a local resident were wounded.
− State of the World from NPR How drones are being used globally: in conflicts and by criminals Authorities in Ukraine's northern Sumy region said that over the previous 24 hours one civilian was killed and 15 more were injured, including three children, by Russian strikes.
+ Authorities in Ukraine's northern Sumy region said that over the previous 24 hours, one civilian was killed and 15 more were wounded, including three children, by Russian strikes.