The Most Striking One Was the AFU Pavilion." Russian Officials Reacted Indifferently ...

"The Most Striking One Was the AFU Pavilion." Russian Officials Reacted Indifferently to Drone Attacks in the Vicinity of SPIEF

Officials and top managers taking part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2026) reacted indifferently to the first wartime attacks by the AFU on St. Petersburg during the forum. In a conversation with Verstka, they said the attacks "shocked no one."

Officials and top managers of Russian companies who came to SPIEF said they were not surprised by the attacks on the city.

"Well, yeah, you can see some black smoke over there. We’ve somehow already gotten used to the fact that something is constantly reaching somewhere. Being impressed by that is like being impressed by a tornado in Alabama. It’s burning, so it’s burning," said a top manager of one of the Russian companies, who was already walking around the SPIEF grounds.

According to him, at the forum itself, "there is no feeling of anxiety at all," and overall "everything is as normal as it could possibly be."

The results of the Ukrainian drone strikes prompted irony from some officials. "The most striking one was the AFU pavilion," joked the head of one of the Russian state media outlets. He later added that the "strikes shocked no one."

"There’s a war on. Obviously, the enemy will create an unpleasant backdrop for an event like this," he explained.

The phrase "there’s a war on" in one form or another was also used by several other Verstka interlocutors among forum participants. One of them was even surprised by the question about the shelling: "The war has been going on for the fifth year, there’s shelling every day, you’re talking as if nothing had hit neighboring residential complexes in Moscow."

At the same time, one Moscow official in a conversation with Verstka was worried not by the consequences of the attacks, but by the expectation of them.

"If something hits there [the SPIEF grounds], then was our panel [discussion event] really worth it?" he said.

🟪On the night of June 2 to 3, the AFU carried out a massive raid on St. Petersburg and its surroundings. More than any other site, the St. Petersburg Oil Terminal suffered damage; it is one of the largest operators of Russian petroleum product exports. In addition, Kronstadt was hit, where, according to AFU statements, a drone damaged the corvette Boykiy while it was standing in dock.

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