In a dramatic escalation, Ukrainian drones hit targets in St. Petersburg just before the opening of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), often called “Putin’s Davos.” Dramatic video footage circulated widely showing the strikes on Russia’s second-largest city. The timing appears deliberately provocative — striking at the prestige event that Russia uses to showcase its economic resilience and attract foreign investment. The attack represents one of the deepest and most symbolically charged Ukrainian strikes into Russian territory.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of that same forum, Indian pharmaceutical giant Hetero Labs signed a memorandum of cooperation with Moscow to build a new manufacturing plant in a special economic zone in the Russian capital, signaling that some international business partnerships with Russia continue despite Western sanctions.
