Scores of Ukrainian drones target St Petersburg in attack Russia calls 'unprecedented'

Russian authorities accidental Ukraine has launched an "unprecedented attack" connected and astir St Petersburg, arsenic the metropolis hosts the last time of Russia's yearly economical forum.

More than 140 drones were changeable down implicit the surrounding Leningrad region, politician Aleksandr Drozdenko said, portion the city's governor, Alexander Beglov, urged residents to stay indoors for the archetypal clip since the opening of the war.

Ukraine's president said his forces deed Russia's arsenals and a naval basal successful what helium called a conscionable effect to Russian attacks.

It comes conscionable a time aft Russia's president delivered a code astatine the forum, successful which helium said determination was nary constituent successful gathering Zelensky, who had called for nonstop talks connected ending the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky posted connected societal media connected Saturday to accidental it was "time to extremity this war", but accused Putin of wanting to "keep fighting".

He said his country's drones had covered a region of 1,000km (620 miles) to the St Petersburg region, targeting "the force navy's arsenals and a basal successful Kronstadt".

An lipid depot successful the Krasnodar portion of confederate Russia - 500km (310 miles) distant - had besides been hit, helium added.

This follows an unfastened missive sent connected Thursday by Zelensky calling for face-to-face negotiations with Vladimir Putin to extremity the war, which began with Russia's full-scale penetration successful 2022.

He wrote that it would beryllium "wrong to simply wait" for the struggle to erstwhile again travel to the attraction of the US.

On Friday, Putin refused the petition for a meeting, reiterating his presumption that bid talks should precede immoderate ceasefire.

He said helium would lone extremity the warfare erstwhile Russia's goals had been met.

Russia's longstanding presumption is that Ukraine should retreat from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, arsenic good arsenic wantonness efforts to articulation Nato.

Meanwhile, successful the Russian-occupied Luhansk portion of eastbound Ukraine, the Moscow-installed authorities person suspended manager services connected 2 motorways pursuing a run of Ukrainian drone strikes targeting Russian logistics.

They urged section residents not to usage them "for information reasons".

The Russia-backed medication besides banned commuter bid services and proscription of groups of children wrong Luhansk.

Putin had said Russia was successful afloat power of the alleged "Luhansk People's Republic".

In caller weeks, Ukraine's drone forces person been targeting Russian logistics successful occupied parts of Ukraine.

An expert told the BBC that much than 200 lorries and implicit 30 substance trucks had been deed since the opening of May.