Ukrainian drone strikes reaching deep into Russian territory are triggering “panic” within the Kremlin and prompting intensified attacks on Ukrainian cities, according to the European Union’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas, as the war enters a new phase marked by expanding long-range capabilities, energy infrastructure targeting, and rising geopolitical friction.
In an interview this week, Kaja Kallas, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, argued that Russia’s escalating strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine reflect strategic disarray rather than battlefield confidence.
“It clearly shows also panic on the Russian side — why they are increasing the terrorist attacks that they’re doing in Ukraine is because they don’t know what to do with these things,” Kallas said, referring to Ukraine’s growing capacity to strike targets far inside Russian territory.
Her remarks come amid a notable increase in Ukrainian drone operations against oil refineries, logistics hubs, and military installations deep within Russia, including areas far from the front lines. Kyiv has framed these attacks as a direct attempt to weaken Russia’s war economy by targeting the energy revenues that fund its military operations.
“Ukraine has really increased the deep strikes against the oil facilities, because oil is something that is funding the war in Ukraine,” Kallas said. “We see at the same time that Putin is losing money, men, and momentum, and that’s why he’s increasing attacks on civilians.”
The EU diplomat accused the Kremlin of deliberately escalating violence against non-combatants in response to military and economic pressure. “He’s clearly terrorizing more to create fear, and because he’s on the back foot in the battlefield,” she said. “But I think they haven’t been able to break the resilience of Ukrainians so far, and I doubt that they’re going to do this with these attacks.”
Her comments reflect growing concern in Brussels over Russia’s shifting war strategy, particularly its intensified missile and drone campaigns targeting Ukrainian cities, energy systems, and infrastructure. EU officials increasingly describe these strikes as part of a broader coercive strategy aimed at exhausting Ukrainian society rather than achieving rapid territorial gains.
Kallas also highlighted the economic dimension of the conflict, stressing that upcoming EU measures aim to further constrain Russia’s ability to finance its war effort, particularly through energy exports.
A key element of the proposed sanctions package, she said, focuses on suppressing Russian oil revenues at a time when global energy markets have been volatile due to wider geopolitical tensions, including unrest in the Middle East and disruptions affecting the Strait of Hormuz.
“We have a very clear goal in mind targeting the military industry, targeting the financial institutions, so that they can’t raise capital to finance this war,” Kallas said.
She added that the EU must simultaneously increase military and financial support for Ukraine to ensure it can withstand sustained Russian pressure. “At the same time, we also need to increase support to Ukraine, so that they can defend themselves, because these attacks are atrocious.”
As diplomatic efforts led by the United States to broker an end to the war have stalled, European leaders are under increasing pressure to define their own role. However, Kallas reiterated that the EU cannot act as a neutral intermediary.
“We cannot be a neutral mediator between aggressor and victim,” she has argued previously, emphasizing the bloc’s firm alignment with Ukraine.
She also noted that global attention has been partially diverted by crises in other regions, including tensions in the Middle East, but insisted that Russia’s reluctance to negotiate remains the central obstacle.
“More important so far we haven’t seen the willingness from the Russian side to actually negotiate,” she said. “That’s the most important, how we can push them to talk to the Ukrainians, so that they also make concessions that make Europe secure.”
The diplomatic debate coincides with a sharp escalation on the ground. Ukrainian drones struck multiple targets in Saint Petersburg this week, including energy and military-related facilities, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials.
The strikes occurred as thousands of delegates gathered in the city for the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), a high-profile annual event long used by the Kremlin to project economic engagement and international influence.
The governor of Saint Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, said several infrastructure sites were damaged and multiple people were injured, though no fatalities were reported. Ukrainian officials claimed responsibility for hitting the Saint Petersburg Oil Terminal and the Kronstadt naval base, where elements of Russia’s Baltic Fleet are stationed.
The commander of Ukraine’s drone forces said a Russian warship was struck at Kronstadt, sharing black-and-white footage purporting to show the impact. The claims could not be independently verified.
Local authorities briefly closed Saint Petersburg’s main airport, and flights from Moscow to the city were delayed due to air defense activity.
The timing of the attack appears deliberately symbolic. Ukrainian officials said the operation was intended to disrupt SPIEF proceedings, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to deliver a keynote address.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the strikes as justified retaliation for Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. He also warned that Ukraine’s long-range capabilities would continue to expand.
“It’s just a matter of time before we can scale up the intensity of our responses,” Zelenskyy said during a press conference alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
Rutte, in turn, said Ukraine had demonstrated increasing effectiveness in targeting key Russian military capabilities.
The escalation comes amid continued heavy casualties on both sides. Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least 23 people earlier in the week, according to Ukrainian officials, while Ukrainian regions remain under near-daily bombardment.
Officials in Russian-occupied parts of eastern Ukraine said a drone strike on a bus killed at least seven people, while Ukrainian authorities reported additional casualties in Kherson and Kharkiv regions due to Russian shelling and missile attacks.
The Kremlin has vowed retaliation for the Saint Petersburg strikes. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia’s response would be “systemic in nature,” signaling potential further escalation in long-range strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure.
Russian officials framed the attacks on Saint Petersburg as an attempt to undermine SPIEF, which in previous years attracted Western political and business leaders but has become increasingly isolated since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Once considered “Russia’s Davos,” SPIEF previously hosted figures such as former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. This year, attendance is largely limited to delegations from countries maintaining close ties with Moscow, including Uzbekistan, Tanzania, Cuba, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
The Kremlin has attempted to reframe SPIEF as a “sovereign countries” forum, with Kremlin economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev criticizing Western economic summits as “globalist.” However, analysts note that the forum increasingly reflects Russia’s pivot toward non-Western partnerships.
The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is expected to speak at a panel on environmental issues during the forum, despite condemning Russian strikes on Ukraine earlier this week. Meanwhile, the presence of a US delegation led by Rodney Mims Cook Jr has drawn attention, particularly given planned participation in a panel titled “Russia–US: A Cultural Dialogue.”
The forum has also attracted controversial and fringe Western figures, underscoring Moscow’s continued outreach to non-mainstream political voices as traditional diplomatic channels remain constrained.
As both Ukraine and Russia intensify strikes on each other’s infrastructure, analysts say the conflict is evolving into a prolonged war of economic attrition and technological adaptation.
Ukraine’s focus on energy infrastructure aims to reduce Russia’s ability to finance military operations through oil exports, while Russia’s continued missile and drone attacks seek to erode Ukrainian morale and strain its air defense systems.
Kallas emphasized that despite the escalation, Ukraine’s societal resilience remains intact.
“They haven’t been able to break the resilience of Ukrainians so far,” she said, expressing skepticism that intensified Russian strikes would achieve their intended psychological effect.
With diplomatic negotiations stalled, battlefield dynamics shifting toward long-range strike capabilities, and both sides escalating attacks on strategic infrastructure, the conflict appears to be entering a more volatile and geographically expanded phase—one in which economic pressure, technological warfare, and political messaging are increasingly as decisive as territorial control.
