Another Baltic Sea port in flames as Ukrainian drones strike major natural gas port in Ust-Luga

Russia’s Leningrad Oblast came under a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack overnight on March 25, inflicting major damage on an energy terminal in the port town of Ust-Luga, Ukraine’s military has confirmed.

Regional authorities claimed that air defense systems shot down 56 drones over the region, part of a broader mass Ukrainian drone attack on Russian territory, with the country’s defense ministry reporting 389 Ukrainian drones shot down over 13 Russian regions, as well as occupied Crimea.

Earlier in the morning, Leningrad Oblast governor Aleksandr Drozdenko had reported a fire at the terminal, while an unnamed source told Reuters that the port area was quickly closed off, with several oil storage tanks set alight.

Emergency crews were working to extinguish the fire at the port, Drozdenko said, adding that preliminary reports indicated no casualties.

Later, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces reported a successful strikes on the facilities of Novatek, Russia’s second-largest producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), at the port.

“Novatek’s fractionation and transshipment complex in the port of Ust-Luga, with a capacity of almost seven million tons per year, processes stable gas condensate into various petroleum products that Russia exports by sea, including through the shadow fleet,” the Special Forces’ press release said.

The strike, carried out almost 900 kilometers from Ukraine’s northern border, was a joint operation between the Special Forces, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), military intelligence agency (HUR), Border Guard Service, and foreign intelligence agency.

According to Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, the branch’s 1st Unmanned Systems Center and 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment also took part in the attack.

The Kyiv Independent can’t immediately verify the claims of the damage to the facility.

The attack also disrupted air traffic, with Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg temporarily suspending operations.

Ust-Luga is one of Russia’s largest ports on the Baltic Sea and a major hub for exporting crude oil and petroleum products. Located west of St Petersburg in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast, far from Ukraine’s border, the port plays an important role in generating revenue for the state budget.

Earlier, on March 22, a separate drone attack in the Leningrad region sparked a fire at the port of Primorsk after a fuel tank was damaged, Drozdenko said, adding that personnel were evacuated. Primorsk is Russia’s largest oil-loading port on the Baltic Sea and the endpoint of the Baltic Pipeline System, making it a key hub for the country’s energy exports.

Kyiv has not yet commented on the attacks.