Ukraine drones hit near St. Petersburg as Putin rejects talks
Ukraine conducted a large number of long-range drone attacks on Russian military and energy targets early Saturday.
Several hit sites near St. Petersburg and in the southern Krasnodar region just hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed a call for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin, meanwhile, said he saw “no point” in a face-to-face meeting.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian drones flew about 620 miles to reach targets in the St. Petersburg area, including what he described as naval arsenals and a base in Kronstadt. The drones also struck an oil depot in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Zelenskyy called the strikes “important results” and said Moscow must end the war.
The attack came on the final day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Ukraine had already targeted the region earlier in the week, when officials reported another wave of drones ahead of the gathering.
In an open letter published before the latest strikes, Zelenskyy proposed direct negotiations with Putin. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready for a ceasefire for the duration of talks, as well as an all-for-all prisoner exchange. He argued that the war should be ended “honestly, with dignity, and with guarantees” that it would not resume.
Putin rejected the proposal Friday while speaking at the forum. He said a leaders’ meeting would make sense only after negotiators had worked out the terms of a broader agreement. He accused Kyiv of trying to halt Russia’s battlefield momentum and described Zelenskyy’s letter as offensive in tone.
More than a dozen Republicans broke with GOP leadership Thursday to pass a bill that would provide more aid to Ukraine and slap new sanctions on Russia after forcing a vote on the matter through a discharge petition.
A discharge petition is a procedural tool used to circumvent leadership if it gathers 218 signatures.
The House voted 226 to 195 to approve the package, with 18 Republicans crossing party lines to send nearly $2 billion in aid to Ukraine. Only one Democrat, Minnesota’s Ilhan Omar, voted no, despite signing the petition.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
