Ukrainian Drones Strike Russian Naval Base Near St. Petersburg as 11 Civilians Die in New Attacks
Ukraine has expanded its drone war deep into Russian territory, striking a naval base near St. Petersburg for the first time, while Russian missiles and drones killed at least 11 civilians and wounded 61 others across Ukraine over the weekend.
On day 1,564 of the war, Ukrainian long-range drones hit the Russian naval base at Kronstadt on the Baltic coast, marking a significant expansion of Kyiv's ability to strike far beyond the front lines [168230]. The attack targeted a key military installation near St. Petersburg, though no official casualty figures have been released [168230]. The operation signals a new phase in the conflict, with Ukrainian forces tightening pressure on Russian military infrastructure from the Baltic Sea in the north to Crimea in the south [168230].
In a separate operation, Ukrainian special forces struck a fuel depot and a maritime terminal in occupied Crimea as part of an "asymmetric" strategy to disrupt Russian military supply lines [168227][168225]. The attacks aim to cut off key routes used by the Russian military to support its forces in southern Ukraine [168227].
Ukraine's drone campaign is also targeting the two major highways Russia depends on to supply its war effort, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). If those roads are cut, critical supplies—including fuel, artillery shells, and reinforcements—cannot reach occupied Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk [168222]. Ukrainian drones are actively working to sever those routes, with strikes expected to cause cascading disruptions across Russia's rear supply network [168222].
Meanwhile, Russian attacks killed at least 11 civilians and wounded 61 others across Ukraine on June 8-9, local authorities reported [169076]. In Chuhuiv, Kharkiv Oblast, missiles killed three people and wounded six [169076]. In Kharkiv city, drone strikes injured 15 people, including a one-year-old child [169076]. Additional attacks caused deaths and injuries in Kherson, Sumy, and Donetsk oblasts [169076].
A Russian drone also struck a central building at Ukraine's spent nuclear fuel storage facility in the Chernobyl exclusion zone, sparking a fire that emergency crews later extinguished [168229][168225]. No radiation leaks were reported, and the site remains secure [168229][168225]. The incident occurred as President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in London to meet European leaders and demand stronger air defense systems [168130].
On the production side, Ukraine has introduced a new drone interceptor called the Litavr, designed to shoot down enemy drones [169073]. The system combines small size, low cost, and smart technology, representing a shift away from relying only on large, expensive missiles toward building simple, fast, and replaceable drones to fight drones [169073]. Latvia and Ukraine have also signed a new agreement to expand joint drone production and defense cooperation, aiming to turn Ukraine's battlefield drone experience into structured cooperation with international partners [169065].
The Ukrainian government has also requested an international evacuation for the city of Oleshky, which has been under Russian occupation since 2022, where residents are cut off from the outside world and living in dire conditions with severe hunger reported [168281].