Russia Shoots Down Dozens of Ukrainian Drones Over Putin's Birthplace

Russian air defences shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones over Saint Petersburg, the birthplace of President Vladimir Putin. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack followed a massive Russian strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that killed 30 people this week. Ukraine has increasingly targeted Russian cities far from the border in retaliation for Moscow’s daily attacks in the war that erupted in February 2022. “The attack hit an oil terminal area in the city’s Kirovsk district. The technical consequences have been dealt with. There were no casualties,” Saint Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov wrote on social media. “Air defence forces shot down 72 UAVs, one of which fell in Peterhof. There were no casualties or damage,” he added. The Peterhof Palace is a sprawling park complex and palace built in the 18th century under the rule of Russian Tsar Peter I. Drone debris also fell around the port of Vysotsk, north of Saint Petersburg and near the border with Finland, said Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko. “Debris has been reported in the port area of Vysotsk. Details are being confirmed,” Drozdenko said on social media. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed the Kronstadt naval base in Saint Petersburg was hit in the drone attack. “Ukrainian defence forces struck the port’s oil infrastructure that generates revenue for Russia’s war, and there was also a successful strike on Kronstadt – an important military target,” Zelensky wrote on social media. Kyiv has stepped up its attacks inside Russian territory, targeting sites as far as the Ural Mountains. Putin has acknowledged that Moscow needs to improve its air defences as part of the strikes, which have become the worst conflict in Europe since World War II.