Russia repels drone attack over Leningrad region as economic forum kicks off

Another 13 drones heading to ⁠Moscow were ⁠downed in the early hours of Wednesday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.

​Russia has downed three ​drones over the ‌Leningrad region ​to the northwest of Moscow and continues to repel the attacks, ‌regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said on the Telegram messaging app, 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 its fifth wartime 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 drone and missile attack on ​Kyiv which Russia said was in response to ⁠a deadly attack on a dormitory in Russian-controlled Luhansk.

In St. Petersburg, ⁠Russia's ​second-biggest city and Putin's hometown, the Pulkovo airport was temporarily restricting incoming and departing flights, Russian ⁠aviation watchdog, Rosaviatsia, said on Telegram. Another 13 drones heading to ⁠Moscow were ⁠downed in the early hours of Wednesday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.