Fire breaks out three kilometers from St. Petersburg economic forum venue
Fires broke out following a drone attack on St. Petersburg where the SPIEF is being held on June 3-6 (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)
Drone strikes set St. Petersburg ablaze just three kilometers from Putin's major economic forum and hit the Kronstadt naval base on the eve of a cultural festival, the independent Russian outlet Agensto.Novosti reported on June 3.
Ukrainian drones reportedly struck the Russian Baltic Fleet based in Kronstadt. The city, located on Kotlin Island in St. Petersburg, is scheduled to host the Sails of Kronstadt music, sports, and gastronomy festival tomorrow as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The forum venue, located at 14 Tsitadelskoye Shosse, is situated just three kilometers from where a fire broke out due to the drone strikes.
The publication also identified the locations of other fires in St. Petersburg. Most of the blazes broke out at the Petersburg Oil Terminal (POT), located 17 kilometers from ExpoForum, the primary SPIEF venue. The strikes sent four plumes of smoke billowing from the oil terminal, while at least one drone crashed into the Gulf of Finland near the facility.
During the attack, one drone struck the facade of a building within the Zhemchuzhny Kaskad residential complex in St. Petersburg’s Krasnoselsky District. The building is situated two kilometers from the Petersburg Oil Terminal and 16 kilometers from ExpoForum.
Russian media reported that St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast suffered one of their largest attacks since the war ourbreak.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is set to take place on June 3-6. This year, U.S. representative Rodney Mims Cook Jr., Commission of Fine Arts chair, is attending. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is expected to speak at the forum on June 5.
June 3 St. Petersburg strikes
Overnight on June 2-3, Ukrainian forces conducted precision deep strikes against the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal, military targets at the Kronstadt naval base, and a defense plant in Russia’s Tambov Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported.
He added that the strikes were jointly conducted by Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, the Security Service, Special Operations Forces, the Main Intelligence Directorate, and the State Border Guard Service.
The St. Petersburg Oil Terminal is one of the largest on the Baltic Sea, featuring 31 reservoirs. SBU reported that four fires broke out as a result of the strikes on the terminal.
Ukrainian drones also struck two ships at Russia’s Kronstadt naval base. One of the vessels was the Boikiy, a patrol warship most likely used to escort Russian shadow fleet oil tankers, and was equipped with guided-missile launchers.
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