The captain of the Tagor, a tanker suspected of belonging to Russia’s “ghost fleet” that was boarded in the Atlantic Ocean by the French Navy, was taken into custody on Tuesday, announced Brest prosecutor Stéphane Kellenberger.

Ukrainian drone attacks in St. Petersburg targeted military and energy infrastructure overnight into Wednesday, setting ablaze a Russian warship and oil depots on the Baltic coast. This attack deep in Russian territory came on the opening day of Putin's three-day economic forum held in the city and as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit.

NATO chief Mark Rutte said in Kyiv on Wednesday that Russia was growing desperate as it faced mounting military and economic difficulties in its four-year-long invasion of Ukraine. Earlier, Kyiv launched drone attacks on the Russian city of St. Petersburg where officials and visiting dignitaries were gathering for a flagship economic forum. Read about the day’s events as they unfolded on our liveblog.