31.05.03 15:00   The Russian Air Force has begun a massive attack on the approaching storm front heading towards St. Petersburg from Finland.

So far since early morning the sun has been shining over St. Petersburg where the Russia-EU summit is being held. However, a storm front is heading towards the city at 60 kilometers per hour.
After the command given by meteorologists, a couple of stand-by airplanes have taken off armed with freezing agents capable of dispersing rain clouds. After 4 p.m. (local time) a few more airplanes will join them. Their task is to not let the rain spoil the celebration on the Neva, which will begin today at 6 p.m. where the president of Russia and 40 foreign state leaders will be present.
According to meteorologists, the active measures taken on Friday to influence the rain clouds were not enough to completely protect the guests walking around the city’s historical center from St. Petersburg’s usual rainy weather. However, experts note that they were able to decrease by 10 times the amount of precipitation which would have fallen otherwise in natural atmospheric developments.
In order to sustain good weather during the St. Petersburg festivities, 29 million rubles were allotted from the federal budget.