Drone strikes on St. Petersburg and a letter to Putin: Zelenskyy's new strategy
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has launched a new military-diplomatic campaign involving long-range drone strikes on Russian infrastructure and an open letter to Putin, aimed at forcing Russia into serious negotiations.
At the beginning of June, St. Petersburg hosted the International Economic Forum, but Ukraine's presence took an unexpected form – long-range drone strikes on energy facilities on the city's outskirts and the Kronstadt naval base. Simultaneously, President Zelenskyy published an open letter to Putin, timed to coincide with the Russian leader's press conference, thereby setting the media narrative.
According to Ukrainska Pravda's sources in the Verkhovna Rada, these strikes were part of a broader summer military-diplomatic campaign intended to make the Kremlin realize that there is no alternative to serious negotiations. A source from the president's team noted that there are no visible signs that Putin wants swift talks, but there are many indirect signals that by autumn the situation may change in a way that leaves him no choice.
The negotiation process mediated by the US has stalled. Kyiv is skeptical of the US role as mere couriers rather than moderators. Ukraine is trying to regain the initiative by increasing long-range strikes against Russian defense enterprises and energy infrastructure, as well as denying Russia access to Starlink technology. Production of medium-range drones operating via Starlink is being ramped up.
Military sources report that Ukrainian forces are gradually implementing a logistics blockade of Crimea, destroying air defense systems and logistics routes without a large-scale ground offensive. Zelenskyy has also intensified the diplomatic offensive by sending letters to Washington, Berlin, Brussels, and Putin. These letters serve to capture international attention and shape the narrative.
At the same time, the Ukrainian president in direct communication with US envoys expressed frustration that US attention is too focused on Iran. He urged the US to become more actively involved as moderators, not just message carriers. The Ukrainian delegation is already conducting direct talks with Russia, and Zelenskyy sent Putin a message that Russian commanders are misleading him about the true situation on the front and that capturing Donbas by autumn is impossible.
