ST. PETERSBURG, June 6 -- The smoke had been visible from the ExpoForum congress hall since Tuesday morning, and Vladimir Putin finally addressed it on Friday - from the stage where it was always going to matter most.

Speaking at the plenary session of the 2026 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 6, Putin offered his first extended public comment on the Ukrainian strike that had sent black columns of smoke over Russia's second-largest city as his showcase economic gathering opened three days earlier. His characterization was precise and pointed: Kiev had struck the Ugolnaya Gavan - the coal harbour inside the Port of St. Petersburg - and what Ukraine had achieved, Putin said, was "a certain amount of noise and smoke when ...