San Francisco Frontiers - Ukrainian drones hit Saint Petersburg as 'Russian Davos' opens

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strikes as "fair" retaliation for Russia's bombardment of Ukraine and threatened to launch more.

Some 20,000 people from 130 countries were to attend the three-day annual Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) -- an event once dubbed "Russia's Davos" -- which began Wednesday.

The Kremlin vowed to respond to the strikes, which came a day after a barrage of Russian missiles and drones killed 23 people across Ukraine.

The attacks on Saint Petersburg damaged "several" infrastructure facilities, the city's governor Alexander Beglov said.

"Several people were injured. There were no fatalities," he said.

Ukraine said it had hit the Saint Petersburg Oil Terminal and the city's Kronstadt military base.

An AFP reporter saw a plume of black smoke rising from behind the Peter and Paul Fortress, among the city's most popular tourist attractions.

The commander of Ukraine's drone forces said a Russian warship was hit at the Kronstadt naval base, posting black-and-white footage from the drone of what he said was the attack.

Saint Petersburg's main airport closed for hours overnight, while several flights from Moscow to the northern capital were delayed.

Ukrainian officials said the attack was aimed at disrupting the SPIEF forum, where President Vladimir Putin will make a keynote address on Friday.

"The Petersburg forum is opening with a nice plume of black smoke in the background after Ukrainian strikes," said Sergiy Sternenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister.

Smoke was visible from the conference venue as delegates gathered for the first sessions.

Valeria, a 32-year-old businesswoman travelling from Moscow to SPIEF told AFP she had got used to the threat of attacks.

"We have been living under such attacks for many years now," she said.

During a press conference in Kyiv with NATO chief Mark Rutte, Zelensky said Ukraine was responding "accordingly" to deadly Russian bombardment.

"It's just a matter of time before we can scale up the intensity of our responses," Zelensky said.

Rutte said Ukraine was showing success taking out "some of the key capabilities and capacities of the Russians".

Russian strikes on frontline regions of Ukraine killed four people earlier in the day, officials said.

- Russia's Davos -

Since Russia launched its full-scale assault on Ukraine in February 2022, SPIEF -- previously Moscow's premier economic event for courting Western investment -- has been seen as a snapshot of Russia's isolation on the world stage.

French President Emmanuel Macron, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe were among those who addressed the forum alongside Putin.

Now Russia can only rely on its closest allies to attend. This year, the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania will be present, alongside ministers from Cuba, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

The Kremlin's economy envoy Kirill Dmitriev said the forum was a gathering of "sovereign countries", slamming "globalist" rivals like the annual Davos gathering in Switzerland.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres -- who on Tuesday condemned Russian strikes on Ukraine -- will speak at a panel on the environment on Friday.

The United States is sending Rodney Mims Cook Jr, head of the US Commission of Fine Arts who is overseeing President Donald Trump's new White House ballroom, to the event. He will speak on a panel titled "Russia–US: A Cultural Dialogue".

Several fringe figures from Western countries have also been invited -- including right-wing commentator Candace Owens, Putin-backing US actor Steven Seagal and representatives of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.

Andrew Tate, the British-American self-described misogynist charged in Romania with human trafficking and accused of rape, landed in Moscow on Tuesday, triggering speculation he would attend the forum.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov vowed Russia would respond to Ukraine's attack. "Our responses will be systemic in nature," he told reporters, including AFP.

Ukraine has escalated its strikes on Russian energy and military sites in recent months, calling them fair retribution for Russia's nightly barrages against its cities.

A drone strike on a bus in Russian-occupied east Ukraine killed at least seven people early Wednesday, Russian-installed officials said.

Russian strikes killed two people in the southern frontline city of Kherson and two in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian officials said.

N.Wilson--SFF