NATO Secretary General on the shelling of St. Petersburg during the economic forum: Zelensky's permission is needed, as on May 9
Mark Rutte mocked Putin.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky walk towards the rostrum before a press conference in Kyiv, June 3, 2026. Photo: AP Photo / Evgeniy Maloletka
NATO sees no problems in Ukraine's shelling of St. Petersburg on the day the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) — a key international event for Putin — starts there. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte stated this on June 3 at a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, reports "European Pravda".
Rutte drew a parallel between this event and the Victory Day parade on May 9, the holding of which was very important for Putin.
"Ukraine has now achieved such successes that Putin can only organize the May 9 parade thanks to the official decree of this president," he stated, pointing to Zelensky.
The NATO Secretary General addressed the Ukrainian leader with memories of those events:
"It seems you then allowed him [Putin] to hold the parade for two hours. And he finished it in 1 hour and 55 minutes, meaning he decided not to take risks."
On the eve of the May 9 parade, Zelensky, responding to the appeal of partners, gave a guarantee that Moscow would not face shelling from Ukraine and officially, by his decree, gave Putin permission to hold the parade on Red Square.
Volodymyr Zelensky added that the target was not specifically an attack on Putin, who plans to visit SPIEF.
"Frankly, I don't follow, I don't have a schedule of where Putin goes on which day. We respond to strikes on Ukraine. I believe we are inflicting fair strikes. A day ago there was a massive attack, we responded accordingly. But we respond [with strikes] exclusively against oil refineries and military targets, legitimate targets. This is what Ukraine does," he added.
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а нехта некалі казаў, што ната (зша) не ваюе ва Украіне