For the first time since the conflict began, Ukrainian drones have struck St Petersburg, a city synonymous with Russian imperial power and now a stark symbol of the war's reach. The attack came as President Vladimir Putin prepared to open his flagship St Petersburg International Economic Forum, an event meant to showcase Russia's resilience. Instead, it laid bare the vulnerability of its second city, 700 miles from the front lines.
Residents reported a series of explosions in the early hours of Thursday. Russia's defence ministry said it shot down three drones, but debris caused minor damage to a building and no casualties were reported. Ukrainian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the operation was carried out by the security service, describing it as a "special operation" targeting a military facility. The strike, they said, was intended to disrupt the forum and demonstrate that Russia's war machine cannot keep its own cities safe.
The timing is politically charged. The St Petersburg forum is Putin's answer to Davos, a platform to court foreign investment and project stability. But the guest list has shrunk dramatically since the invasion of Ukraine. Western investors are gone. Chinese and Middle Eastern delegations remain, but deals have been slow to materialise. This year's theme, "The New World Order", sounds less like a promise and more like a concession.
For ordinary Russians, the symbolism is heavy. St Petersburg is Putin's hometown, a city of palaces and canals, of imperial grandeur. To have it struck by enemy drones is a psychological blow. It shatters the illusion that the war is something happening elsewhere, in the Donbas, in Crimea, in border villages. Now the fear arrives by air, in the dead of night.
On the streets, reactions are mixed. Some queue for longer at cash machines. Others shrug, accept it as part of the new normal. A market trader, who gave his name as Mikhail, told me: "We knew this could happen. The war comes to everyone eventually." His tone was resigned, not defiant. There is no patriotic rallying here, just a grey acceptance that the cost of war is creeping home.
The attack also raises questions about the reach of Ukraine's drone programme. Kyiv has developed a fleet of long-range drones, some capable of flying 1,000 kilometres. The strike on St Petersburg suggests that Moscow is no longer out of range. It is a message that no Russian city is safe, not even the bastions of power.
Meanwhile, the forum proceeds. Putin is expected to give a speech later today, likely vowing to press on with the war and touting Russia's economic resilience. But the numbers tell a different story. Inflation is running at over 15 per cent. The rouble is volatile. Labour shortages are acute as men are sent to the front. The war is eating the economy from the inside.
For the workers left behind, the anxiety is palpable. Wages have risen in some sectors, but only because employers are desperate. The cost of living is climbing faster than pay packets can keep up. A nurse in St Petersburg, who asked not to be named, told me she is working double shifts to afford basic groceries. "They say the economy is strong," she said. "But I see it in my empty cupboards."
The drone strike will not derail the forum. But it has punctured the veneer of normalcy that the Kremlin works so hard to maintain. As Putin speaks of a new world order, the old one is crashing in. And it sounds less like a new dawn and more like a long, cold night.
