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Russia Repels Drone Attack Over Leningrad Region as Economic Forum Kicks Off

Flags with the logo of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) fly in front of the State Hermitage Museum on the eve of the forum's opening in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Flags with the logo of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) fly in front of the State Hermitage Museum on the eve of the forum's opening in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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Russia Repels Drone Attack Over Leningrad Region as Economic Forum Kicks Off

Flags with the logo of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) fly in front of the State Hermitage Museum on the eve of the forum's opening in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 2, 2026. (Reuters)
Flags with the logo of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) fly in front of the State Hermitage Museum on the eve of the forum's opening in Saint Petersburg, Russia June 2, 2026. (Reuters)

Russia downed 50 drones over the Leningrad region northwest of Moscow overnight and continues to repel the suspected Ukrainian attacks, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said on Wednesday, as a major annual economic forum was about to start.

The Leningrad region, home to crucial energy export infrastructure and a major oil refinery, is hosting the economic conference, President Vladimir Putin's "Russian Davos", in St. Petersburg from Wednesday.

The investment forum, the fifth since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, opens ‌just hours after ‌a deadly Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv ‌which ⁠Moscow said was ⁠in response to a deadly attack on a dormitory in Kremlin-controlled Luhansk. Putin is to deliver his keynote speech on Friday.

In St. Petersburg, Russia's second-biggest city and Putin's hometown, Pulkovo ‌airport was temporarily restricting flights, Russian aviation watchdog ‌Rosaviatsia said on the Telegram messaging app.

More than 30 flights were delayed or ‌cancelled, local news outlets said.

St. Petersburg has put in place comprehensive safety ‌measures ahead of the event, Alexander Beglov, the city's governor, told the RIA news agency.

"All new challenges have been fully taken into account. Law enforcement forces have allocated personnel and equipment to ensure public safety and order," he said.

Ukraine has recently stepped up attacks ‌on Russian energy infrastructure as it tries to deprive Moscow of revenues.

On Tuesday, it hit the Ilsky export oil ⁠refinery in ⁠Russia's south with drones.

At least 20 drones heading to Moscow were downed overnight, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

In Russia's central Tambov region, outbuildings at an industrial facility in the city of Michurinsk were damaged, the governor said on Telegram.

The National Armed Forces of Latvia, an EU and NATO member, briefly issued an airspace violation threat for the municipality of Aluksne close to the Russian border on Wednesday morning, before withdrawing it.

A Ukrainian drone attack killed seven and injured another eleven in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on Wednesday, the Kremlin-installed head of the region said.

Denis Pushilin, posting on the Telegram messaging app, said the drone hit a passenger bus travelling between Moscow and Simferopol in Russian-occupied Crimea.

Reuters could not independently verify all the reports.

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World

Zelensky Speaks to US Envoys as Trump Lashes Out

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives for a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives for a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
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Zelensky Speaks to US Envoys as Trump Lashes Out

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives for a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives for a media conference at the EU summit in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with top US envoys Sunday to try to ease tensions, as Donald Trump accused his counterpart of not wanting to end the war with Russia.

Zelensky spoke to US officials Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as both Russia and Ukraine hit each other's energy sites, with Moscow leaving thousands without power and Kyiv carrying out the largest drone attack on Saint Petersburg since the start of the war in 2022, said AFP.

Trump and Zelensky have clashed as the US president blocked new sanctions on Russia and struck a diesel deal with Moscow, fueling fears in Kyiv and Europe that the White House was steering towards Moscow.

A Wall Street Journal report that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed a meeting on Ukraine with Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping -- but not Zelensky -- has set off more alarm bells.

On Sunday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he was in the process of negotiating peace between Russia and Ukraine and making "great progress," but claimed: "Zelenskyy doesn't care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him... he doesn't want to end this war, and probably never did."

"Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States," Trump said.

Earlier, after speaking to Trump's business partner Witkoff and son-in-law Kushner, Zelensky said "a lot depends" on the US position in the war but that "it is clear that there are many things that matter to all of us and that this war must be brought to an end."

Ukraine was ready to work "constructively" and "honestly", he said. "We expect exactly this approach from all our partners -- both from the Europeans and, of course, from the American side."

He said he discussed deliveries of US Patriot air defense systems, as Kyiv struggles to counter Russian missiles.

Zelensky earlier told US broadcaster NBC it would be a "historic mistake" if Washington formally supported Russia and that he hoped Trump would "change his decisions."

But he also said he was "thankful" the United States resumed intelligence sharing after a pause that left his country vulnerable to Russian missile strikes.

- Thousands without power -

A US-led push to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II has so far not brought about a breakthrough and Trump has in the past grown frustrated with both Zelensky and Putin because of their lack of progress.

Zelensky spoke to the American officials as he accused Russia of breaking Trump's "energy ceasefire" 76 times and warning Moscow planned to deprive Ukrainians of heat and electricity before winter.

Russian strikes left "tens of thousands" without power in several regions, he said, with Ukrainian officials reporting three people had been killed.

Ukraine's army launched drones at Putin's hometown of Saint Petersburg late Sunday, setting an oil refinery ablaze and killing one person, Moscow said.

Russia's VKontakte social network said its data center was hit and Ozon -- Russia's second largest retailer -- also reported a strike on its logistics center.

The head of the wider Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, said air defense shot down 144 Ukrainian drones, with state media saying this was the largest attack on the city since the start of the war.

- 'Dreadful routine of war' -

The Kremlin, however, said Ukrainian attacks on its cities will not change its war aims.

Putin has repeatedly said Moscow intends to seize the rest of eastern Ukraine and, in a fifth year of war, few see a way out of the conflict.

"There's a general feeling: they're attacking, we're attacking -- it's become the dreadful routine of war," 58-year-old Galina told AFP in Saint Petersburg.

Moscow has rained drones and missiles on Ukrainian cities daily and Kyiv says its strikes are fair retribution.

Sergei, another Saint Petersburg resident who is also 58, said he felt his apartment block shake and quickly realized it was a drone attack.

"I don't know if I was scared, what must be will be," he said.

Ukrainian strikes caused nationwide fuel shortages in Russia earlier this year.

World

Iran's Guards Say Oil Tanker on Fire after Hitting Mine in Hormuz

Oil tankers sail near the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters)
Oil tankers sail near the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters)
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Iran's Guards Say Oil Tanker on Fire after Hitting Mine in Hormuz

Oil tankers sail near the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters)
Oil tankers sail near the Strait of Hormuz (Reuters)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Monday an oil tanker caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting a mine, the latest such incident since Tehran tightened its grip of the waterway.

Iran seized control of the strait after war broke out against the United States and Israel late February, choking off the vital shipping route which normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil.

The Iranian republic has demanded that all ships seek its authorization before transiting.

"An oil tanker, which was in violation, struck a naval mine south of the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in an explosion and a fire in its engine room," Iranian state media quoted the Guards as saying.

The tanker was travelling in the strait's "unauthorized southern route" and had disabled its positioning and navigation systems, the statement said.

It came a day after the Guards said two oil tankers caught fire in the strait, both after hitting mines.

The Guards' naval commander Admiral Ali Ozmaei warned this week that any vessel that deactivated its navigation systems would be considered "hostile".

The United States has imposed a naval counter-blockade on Iranian oil exports in response to Tehran's blockade on the waterway.

World

France’s Macron Declines Interior Minister’s Offer to Resign

A French firefighter responds to a street barricade burns as clashes between riot police and demonstrators continue for the second day during nationwide protests against the high cost of living in Paris, France, 18 October 2026. (EPA)
A French firefighter responds to a street barricade burns as clashes between riot police and demonstrators continue for the second day during nationwide protests against the high cost of living in Paris, France, 18 October 2026. (EPA)
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France’s Macron Declines Interior Minister’s Offer to Resign

A French firefighter responds to a street barricade burns as clashes between riot police and demonstrators continue for the second day during nationwide protests against the high cost of living in Paris, France, 18 October 2026. (EPA)
A French firefighter responds to a street barricade burns as clashes between riot police and demonstrators continue for the second day during nationwide protests against the high cost of living in Paris, France, 18 October 2026. (EPA)

French President Emmanuel Macron has declined Interior Minister Laurent Nunez's offer to resign after widespread weekend rioting, the Elysee presidential office said on Monday.

The demonstrations have been sparked by ‌public anger ‌over rising living ‌costs, ⁠faltering public services ⁠and also the state of schools.

Macron said Nunez should stay to ensure a chain of command is retained within ⁠the police and security ‌forces, ‌and has also asked Nunez ‌to set up as ‌quickly as possible new approaches to deal with looters, the Elysee added.

Nationwide demonstrations erupted ‌into riots on Saturday, with a town hall ⁠torched, ⁠shops pillaged and buildings covered in graffiti as violent groups clashed with police in cities.

More clashes also broke out in Paris and Marseille on Sunday, where riot police intervened to prevent attempts to ransack businesses.