Ukrainian drones strike an oil terminal and a warship in St. Petersburg. NATO Secretary General addresses young Russians. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant loses power after a drone strikes Nikopol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukrainian drones hit an oil terminal and a warship in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, hours before an international economic forum was due to open. The event will run until June 6. Russian leader Vladimir Putin is scheduled to attend the forum on June 4 and June 5, and give a keynote address on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A series of drone strikes that hit an oil terminal in St Petersburg was a joint operation of Ukraine\u2019s Special Operations Forces, Security Service, Unmanned Systems Forces, defense intelligence and State Border Guard Service, the Special Operations Forces said in a post to social media on Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The terminal is one of the largest in the Baltic Sea. Its 31 oil tanks have 324,000 cubic meters of overall storage capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The facility has a throughput capacity of 12.5 million tons a year. It ships oil, oil products, liquefied natural gas and other chemical liquids, the Special Operations Forces said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Major Robert Brovdi who goes by the call sign Magyar said the unit had struck a project 20380 corvette, the Boikiy, at the Kronstandt naval base and released a video of the attack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The vessel is part of Russia\u2019s Baltic Fleet. It was launched in 2011 and has been in service with the Russian navy since 2013, Brovdi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The corvette \u201chas an incredible record of missions and adventures along the NATO borders. It escorted [Russia\u2019s] shadow oil fleet,\u201d he added. It has been in dry dock undergoing repairs since February 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone as well as permanent representatives and deputy permanent representatives of the 32 NATO member states visited Kyiv on Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The delegation started its visit by honoring Ukraine\u2019s fallen soldiers by the memory wall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in a post to X on Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe deeply appreciate this sign of respect from the Alliance representatives toward our warriors, who defended our country and all of Europe from Russian evil. It is profoundly important to remember every single man and woman thanks to whom we have the opportunity to live freely and choose our own way of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The North Atlantic Council is the principal political decision-making body within NATO. It oversees the political and military process relating to security issues affecting the whole Alliance. It brings together representatives of each member country to discuss policy or operational questions requiring collective decisions, providing a forum for wide-ranging consultation between members on all issues affecting their peace and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking at a news conference alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte addressed young Russians, warning them against joining the army. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rutte cited Russia\u2019s \u201cstaggering\u201d battlefield losses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs Ukraine continues to stand strong \u2013 to innovate and to make battlefield gains, Russia is increasingly desperate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRussian losses are substantial \u2013 over 30,000 per month. This means losing more men in one month than the Soviet Union did in 10 years in the 1980s in Afghanistan. Absolutely staggering numbers,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He then said he\u2019ll address \u201cyoung Russians and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re being sold a raw deal. Men like you who join the fight \u2013 you won\u2019t be trained. The equipment they\u2019ll provide you is substandard. There is a very high chance you\u2019ll die or be wounded while you\u2019re out there \u2013 and odds are that if you are wounded, you\u2019ll be left to suffer in the mud and die. So when we talk about tens of thousands of casualties \u2013 that\u2019s not abstract. That will probably be you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking after a meeting of NATO foreign affairs ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden in late May, Rutte said allies made \u201ca lot of encouraging comments\u201d during the gathering on the prospects of sharing the burden of military aid to Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rutte also said he had invited Zelenskyi to join this year\u2019s NATO summit in Ankara in July. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine\u2019s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russia lost power overnight on Wednesday. The incident happens for the 17th time since the invasion, Ukraine\u2019s state-owned nuclear energy company Energoatom said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plant lost external power at 23:44 on Tuesday after the Ferosplavna-1 power line was cut off, the company said. The facility\u2019s critical systems ran on reserve diesel generators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Energoatom said, citing the International Atomic Energy Agency, that the incident was caused by a drone strike on the Nikopol power substation that sits on the opposite river bank from the plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnother outage at Europe\u2019s largest nuclear power plant demonstrates yet another time critical risks caused by illegal occupation of the facility by Russian troops. Each time external power is lost, it creates a direct threat to nuclear and radiation safety,\u201d the company said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plant\u2019s safe operation is only possible under Ukraine\u2019s restored control of the facility, it added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"