Ukrainian Drones Target St Petersburg as Putin Attends Scaled-down Navy Day
St. Petersburg usually holds a large-scale, televised navy parade on Navy Day, which features a flotilla of warships and military vessels sailing down the Neva River and is attended by Putin.
Last year, Russia suspected a Ukrainian plan to attack the city's parade, according to state television.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Sunday that this year's parade had been cancelled for security reasons, following first reports of its cancellation in early July.
Putin arrived at the city's historic naval headquarters on Sunday by patrol speed boat, from where he followed drills involving more than 150 vessels and 15,000 military personnel in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans and Baltic and Caspian Seas.
'Today we are marking this holiday in a working setting, we are inspecting the combat readiness of the fleet,' Putin said in a video address.
The Russian Defence Ministry said air defence units downed a total of 291 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones on Sunday, below a record 524 drones downed in attacks on May 7, ahead of Russia's Victory Day parade on May 9.
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region surrounding St. Petersburg, said that over ten drones were downed over the area, and falling debris injured a woman. At 0840 GMT on Sunday Drozdenko said that the attack was repelled.
St. Petersburg's Pulkovo airport was closed during the attack, with 57 flights delayed and 22 diverted to other airports, according to a statement. Pulkovo resumed operations later on Sunday.
Russian blogger Alexander Yunashev, part of an official group of reporters travelling with Peskov, said Peskov had told him their flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg had been delayed by the drone attack for 2 hours on Sunday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Japan Foreign Ministry reorganization to focus on economic security
Japan's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it will set up new divisions to further promote economic security as part of its structural reforms, highlighting its increasing focus on the policy field. In the biggest reorganization of the ministry in around two decades, it is set to establish on Aug. 1 an economic security division by upgrading an existing section and an economic diplomacy strategy division to handle issues related to artificial intelligence and digitalization. Economic security has been gaining attention in recent years, with concern growing over stable supply chains for critical materials including rare earth metals and semiconductors in the face of rising geopolitical tensions, such as the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry on various fronts. With growing economic ties between Japan and Europe in mind, a director-level economic strategy post will be created in the ministry's European Affairs Bureau. Amid the prolonged war between Russian and Ukraine, a new division will be formed comprising specialists from the European Affairs Bureau focusing on Central and Eastern Europe including the Baltic states. The ministry will also create a division dedicated to dealing with terrorism, natural disasters, political uncertainty and other contingencies that could threaten the safety of nationals living overseas by reorganizing sections in the Consular Affairs Bureau. © KYODO
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Man arrested over death of Russian mother
Osaka Prefectural Police have arrested a 21-year-old man on suspicion of killing his 50-year-old Russian mother and stealing her money at her apartment in June. Police said Kaneki Ito, a company employee from Omaezaki City, Shizuoka Prefecture, has remained silent during questioning, NTV reported. According to police, Ito is accused of punching his mother, Elena Ito, in the face several times and strangling her with his hands on June 26. He is also accused of stealing about 15,000 yen in cash from her apartment in Naniwa Ward. The victim lived alone. Her estranged husband, who is a Russian national, told police he had not been able to contact her for several days and went to her apartment on the night of June 27 to see if she was alright. Police said that security camera footage showed Ito entering the apartment building adjacent to the one where the crime occurred. He is believed to have jumped from the hallway of the apartment building to the balcony of his mother's apartment. Despite the bruises on her face, an autopsy revealed that Elena's cause of death was heatstroke. Police said there was subcutaneous bleeding on her right hand that appeared to be from a defensive wound, and it is believed that she developed heatstroke after being punched and unable to move. Police said they have learned from a neighbor that Ito had visited his mother in the past and had beaten her on more than one occasion. © Japan Today
NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
Ukrainian child abductions are Russian 'war crime'
Nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children have been taken to Russia since the 2022 invasion, in what Ukraine calls a war crime and Russia claims is a rescue operation. We spoke with one teenager about his abduction, indoctrination and eventual escape. The question remains, what can be done to bring the rest home?
