So when Sergei Lavrov told Marco Rubio that Russia would strike “decision-making centres”, the weekend attacks proved just how hollow that claim was.
Instead, Russia unleashed one of the largest aerial assaults of the war, firing 656 drones and 73 missiles, including Iskander ballistic missiles, Kh-101 cruise missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles, and Zircon hypersonic missiles.
The result was not the destruction of military headquarters, but the killing of at least 22 civilians and the injury of more than 100 others across Ukraine.
Apartment blocks, schools, and civilian infrastructure were hit. In my city of Dnipro, an apartment building partially collapsed and rescue workers spent hours digging civilians from the rubble.
Equally striking was the lack of any meaningful response from Washington as Russian missiles once again struck civilian areas.
Ukraine has since carried out a series of drone strikes against targets in and around St Petersburg overnight, casting a shadow over the opening of Russia’s flagship St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), an event often described as Vladimir Putin’s answer to Davos.
The attacks came less than 24 hours after Russia’s mass assault on Ukraine and served as a reminder that while the Kremlin talks of military targets and “decision-making centres”, the reality of the war it launched continues to reach far beyond the battlefield.
According to Russian officials, multiple drones reached the St Petersburg region, striking infrastructure and causing disruption across the area. Reports indicated that the St Petersburg Oil Terminal was among the targets, while flight operations at Pulkovo Airport were temporarily affected by the security response. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that both energy and military-related facilities had been targeted.
The timing was impossible to ignore.
For years, SPIEF has served as the Kremlin’s showcase event, designed to project an image of economic resilience despite sanctions, international isolation, and the continuing invasion of Ukraine.
This year’s forum carries particular significance as Russia attempts to reassure investors and partners amid mounting economic pressures, slowing growth, rising military expenditure, and the growing impact of Ukrainian long-range strikes on critical infrastructure.
Yet as delegates arrived and preparations were made for Putin’s keynote address, columns of smoke rising over parts of St Petersburg provided a stark reminder that the war the Kremlin launched more than four years ago is no longer confined to Ukraine’s territory.
The optics become even more striking given the attendance of Rodney Mims Cook Jr., Chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the man overseeing President Donald Trump’s controversial White House ballroom extension.
Cook is listed as leading the official U.S. delegation to SPIEF, making him the first U.S. official to attend the forum since 2017/18, according to the Kremlin, and the first since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
So as smoke rose over St Petersburg following Ukrainian drone strikes, the presence of a senior Trump appointee at Putin’s flagship economic forum provided a striking backdrop to an event taking place amid an ongoing war, mounting allegations of war crimes, and Russia’s continued attacks on Ukrainian cities.
A controversial attendee, to say the least, given that the forum takes place against the backdrop of countless documented allegations of war crimes, including the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children, the systematic torture of prisoners, attacks on civilian infrastructure, and the destruction of entire cities. International courts and investigators continue to examine many of these allegations as evidence continues to accumulate.
At the same time, international efforts to establish accountability continue to gather momentum. In 2025, a coalition of European states and Ukraine backed the creation of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, designed to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the decision to launch the invasion itself. The tribunal seeks to address a gap in international law by targeting senior political and military leaders responsible for the act of aggression, separate from individual war crimes committed during the conflict. While legal proceedings may take years, the initiative reflects a growing international consensus that accountability for the invasion cannot simply be negotiated away.
Ukraine hit by massive assault, but Crimea is the strategic flashpoint
At the same time, questions continue to be raised about Washington’s approach towards Moscow. Critics argue that the Trump administration has consistently applied pressure on Ukraine while offering little meaningful condemnation of Russia’s escalating attacks. Following Russia’s latest mass strike on Ukrainian cities, there has once again been an absence of strong political messaging from Washington directed at the Kremlin.
For Ukrainians sheltering from missiles and drones, that silence is increasingly difficult to ignore.
While diplomats debate negotiations and economic partnerships, the reality remains unchanged. Russia continues to invade a sovereign nation, Ukrainian civilians continue to come under attack, and now, as drones reach Putin’s home city during Russia’s premier economic gathering, the war has once again intruded on the image of stability that the Kremlin is so eager to project.
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