St. Petersburg Economic Forum Opens; Russia Says It Shot Down 30 Drones

Russia's annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is set to open today (June 3). Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of the Leningrad region, said Russia had shot down 30 drones in the region and was continuing to repel attacks.

According to Reuters, the Leningrad region, located northwest of Moscow, holds key energy export facilities and large oil refineries. The 5th wartime economic conference will be held today in St. Petersburg.

This is the 5th investment forum held in the region since Russia's military deployment in Ukraine in 2022. Hours before the opening, Ukraine's capital Kyiv was hit by deadly drone and missile attacks. Russia said it was retaliating for a Ukrainian attack on a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied area of Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.

St. Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city and the hometown of President Vladimir Putin. Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) said on the Telegram messaging platform that the local Pulkovo Airport had temporarily restricted flight takeoffs and landings.

Ukraine has recently intensified attacks on Russian energy infrastructure, continuing its efforts to cut off revenue sources for the Moscow authorities. Ukraine attacked the Ilsky oil refinery in southern Russia with drones yesterday.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that another 13 drones heading for Moscow were shot down early this morning. The governor of the Tambov region, southeast of Moscow, also posted that an auxiliary building of an industrial facility in the city of Michurinsk was damaged.

Reuters could not independently verify all of these reports.