A MASSIVE Ukrainian drone attack targeted St Petersburg, Russia’s second-largest city, at the weekend, underscoring Kiev’s growing ability to strike deep inside the country.

St Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov said three people had sustained minor injuries in the attack on Saturday morning. He advised residents not to go outside, while regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said that 141 drones had been shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region in an “unprecedented attack.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry said that air defences had shot down 376 Ukrainian drones.

“Last night, our drones covered a distance of about 1,000 kilometers to the St Petersburg region — to the enemy navy’s arsenals and a base in Kronstadt,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X, saying that drones had also hit an oil depot in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region.

A Ukrainian drone strike set ablaze an oil terminal in the city and hit a nearby naval base on Wednesday, hours before the opening of the annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Mr Putin told the forum on Thursday that Russia would strengthen its air defences.

The following day, Mr Putin rejected a Zelensky proposal for a face-to-face meeting to discuss the war, saying he saw “no point” in it.