Dramatic footage showed thick smoke billowing into the sky after Ukraine launched one of its boldest long-range drone attacks of the war on Russia's St Petersburg region overnight.Videos shared online appeared to show explosions ringing out across the area as Kyiv targeted sites linked to Russia's military infrastructure.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said drones flew around 1,000 kilometres to strike Russian naval arsenals and a military base in Kronstadt, a key naval hub near St Petersburg.Further strikes reportedly hit an oil depot in Russia's Krasnodar region, around 500 kilometres from Ukrainian-controlled territory.Praising Ukraine's armed forces, security service and military intelligence, Zelensky said the operation showed Moscow could no longer feel safe far from the front lines.'Russia must end its war and stop its attacks on life,' he wrote, warning that any 'injustice against Ukraine' would receive a 'just response'.Moscow and Kyiv have intensified drone strikes on each other in recent months as US-led diplomatic efforts to end the war, now in its fifth year, remain stalled and sidetracked by the conflict in the Middle East.The strikes come a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky's proposal for a meeting, drawing criticism from Zelensky, who accused him of 'choosing war again'. Dramatic footage showed thick smoke billowing into the sky after Ukraine launched one of its boldest long-range drone attacks of the war on Russia's St Petersburg region overnight Videos shared online appeared to show explosions ringing out across the area as Kyiv targeted sites linked to Russia's military infrastructure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said drones flew around 1,000 kilometres to strike Russian naval arsenals and a military base in Kronstadt, a key naval hub near St PetersburgRussian air defences intercepted a total of 376 drones over the regions of 'Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Leningrad, Novgorod, Oryol, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tver, and Tula, the Moscow region, Crimea Republic, Abkhazia Republic, and over the waters of the Azov and Black Seas,' the Russian defence ministry said.Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, while Abkhazia is a region of Georgia that Russia militarily occupies.St Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov advised residents not to go outside and warned of possible disruptions to mobile internet service following the airstrikes on Saturday.Regional governor Alexander Drozdenko said 141 drones were shot down over the surrounding Leningrad region.Although no casualties were immediately reported, the renewed attack on St Petersburg strikes a further blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts to cast the conflict as a distant event that does not affect Russian daily life.It comes as Sir Keir Starmer will host Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz for talks in No 10 on Sunday to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine.The Ukrainian leader will visit the UK with the French President and German Chancellor after a week of heightened hostilities and Vladimir Putin's rejection of his proposal of face-to-face talks on Moscow's war. Saturday's attack follows a seperate Ukrainian drone strike that set ablaze an oil terminal in the city and hit a nearby naval base on Wednesday, hours before the opening of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin's annual showcase for investment.stSpeaking at the forum, Putin said on Thursday that Russia will strengthen its air defences to counter recent Ukrainian drone attacks, which have reached deep inside his country and cast a cloud over the event in his home city of St Petersburg.With the front line barely moving as swarms of drones hinder advances, both sides have sought an edge by launching long-range strikes. Ukraine launched a drone strike on St Petersburg this morning. It comes after Kyiv set ablaze a key oil port in the Russian city earlier this week. Pictured: Smoke billows out into the sky in St Petersburg following a Ukrainian strike on Wednesday Russian President Vladimir Putin reacts during the plenary of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum SPIEF'26 on June 5, 2026 in Saint Petersburg, RussiaIn Ukraine, one person was killed and three were wounded overnight in the Dnipropetrovsk region, as Russian forces struck three districts nearly 30 times with drones and artillery, regional head Oleksandr Hanzha said on Saturday.In Zaporizhzhia, five people sought medical care after a Russian drone strike started a fire at a car park, according to regional head Ivan Fedorov.Russia targeted Ukraine overnight with 272 strike drones, and air defences shot down 249 of them, the Ukrainian air force said on Saturday.The latest attacks came a day after Putin rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a face-to-face meeting on the four-year-old conflict, saying he sees 'no point' in it.Thursday's letter, the first public message Zelensky has written directly to Putin since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, featured a sweeping critique of the Russian leader's 26 years in power, as well as some taunts about his age.Speaking at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin described Zelensky's open letter proposing the meeting as 'boorish'. 'Is it a way to create conditions for personal meetings and talks, or create an environment which makes any personal meetings impossible?' Putin said at a question-and-answer session at his annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum. 'I think it's the second.'Putin added that a Russian businessman whom he didn't identify travelled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelensky to hear his offer of a personal meeting. Image shows St Petersburg oil terminal ablaze following a drone strike earlier this week The latest attacks came a day after Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (pictured) for a face-to-face meeting on the four-year-old conflict, saying he sees 'no point' in itHowever, Putin said that he currently sees 'no point' in such a meeting, especially after a May 22 drone attack by Ukraine on a college dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region that Moscow said killed 21 and wounded scores of others.In response to Zelensky's remarks about his age and long stay in power, the 73-year-old Putin pointed at other global leaders who are older, adding that 'the main thing isn't age; the main thing is the ability to work.'He also mocked Zelensky's rocky Oval Office meeting in 2025 and thanked US President Donald Trump for 'educating' Zelensky 'before the eyes of the whole world' and teaching him a proper dress code.'There is still a lot to be done,' he said.Putin has previously offered for Zelensky to come to Moscow for talks, an offer that the Ukrainian leader pointedly rejected. Putin said last month he doesn't exclude a meeting in a third country, but only when there is a deal to sign.