Ukrainian drones overshadow Putin’s St. Petersburg economic forum

Black smoke rising over St. Petersburg set the tone for Vladimir Putin’s flagship economic forum, as Ukrainian drones struck a nearby oil terminal and military-linked sites just hours before the event opened. The contrast was stark: Russia was trying to stage a display of resilience and global reach, while the war was visible in the city’s sky.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum opened on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, at the Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Center, with about 20,000 guests from 130 countries expected before it closed on Saturday, June 6. Its theme, Pragmatic Dialogue: the Path to a Stable Future, was meant to signal confidence, with a heavy emphasis on Russia’s ties to the Global South and on technology, including artificial intelligence. Yet the forum remained notably isolated from the Western business community that once gave it much of its cachet. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western companies and executives have largely stayed away.

The attacks underscored how vulnerable Russia’s rear areas remain despite the Kremlin’s effort to portray control. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the latest strikes hit an oil depot in St. Petersburg that supports Russia’s war effort and reached about 1,100 kilometers from Ukraine’s border. St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said infrastructure in the Kronstadt, Kirovsky and Krasnoselsky districts had been attacked, several facilities were damaged and several people were injured, but there were no fatalities.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it downed more than 700 Ukrainian drones overnight, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said responses were already part of Russia’s systematic military work. Those claims did little to blunt the visual impact of the attack, which sent plumes of smoke over a city hosting one of the Kremlin’s biggest annual showcases.

Putin was scheduled to deliver his keynote speech on Friday, June 5, alongside leaders including Uzbekistan’s and Tanzania’s presidents, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud. The Saudi delegation was the guest of honor, with around 200 Saudi officials and corporate executives reported to be attending, a reminder that Moscow is leaning harder on partners outside the West as sanctions bite and investor risk rises.

The forum’s organizers wanted a stage set for pragmatism and confidence. Instead, the opening days of SPIEF exposed a deeper reality: even in a city tied closely to Putin’s political image, the war could still interrupt the Kremlin’s script. The smoke over St. Petersburg turned the forum’s message of stability into a lesson in vulnerability.