The BBC's Russia editor saw Putin's flagship economic event overshadowed by Ukrainian drones attacks.

"When this forum became a big event, around 15 years ago, there was this idea that this would be a kind of a platform where Russia meets the world, and Putin meets world leaders," said Konstantin Sonin, an exiled Russian economist and speaker at past editions of the St. Petersburg forum.

A massive black cloud rising above the St. Petersburg skyline from a Ukrainian drone strike set a gloomy tone for the opening of President Vladimir Putin’s annual showcase of Russia’s economic achievements.

By Gleb Bryanski and Darya Korsunskaya ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, June 1 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin will host his fifth wartime economic conference in St.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will host his fifth wartime economic conference in St. Petersburg, with his government struggling for a growth strategy as Ukrainian drone attacks hit the economy and businesses see no end to the war.

Ukrainian long-range drones have struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg, setting it ablaze, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"We hear criticism from all sides that everything has gone downhill. Yes. But we have fallen to the very level at which eurozone countries have been living all these years. And we are feeling growth," Putin said.

President Vladimir Putin delivered his keynote address at the annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Friday, leaning heavily on familiar talking points about a “multipolar” world while downplaying the mounting economic headwinds hitting Russia amid its war against Ukraine.