Photo: REUTERS/Stringer
“Air defense systems are active. In accordance with the recommendations of the Operational Headquarters, I ask the residents of St. Petersburg to stay in their homes and not go outside until the drone threat has been lifted,” said St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov on his Telegram channel.
According to the city’s governor, mobile internet service may be disrupted due to the attack.
According to RBC, a drone threat alert was declared in the Leningrad Region around 4:00 a.m. Moscow time. Later, the region’s governor, Alexander Drozdhenko, reported that air defense forces had shot down 67 drones. Debris was reported to have fallen near the port of Vysotsk. As of 8:00 a.m. Moscow time, the repulsion of the attack was ongoing, and there were no reports that the drone threat alert had been lifted.
Due to the aerial threat, Pulkovo Airport temporarily suspended flight arrivals and departures. Later, Rosaviatsiya announced that the airport had switched to a coordinated operations mode, and by 09:06 Moscow time, the restrictions had been lifted.
The previous large-scale drone attack on St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region occurred on June 3, on the eve of the opening of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. At that time, according to regional authorities, air defense forces destroyed 59 drones.
