On the night of March 29, long-range drones from the Special Operations Center “Alpha” of the Security Service of Ukraine attacked the Ust-Luga oil terminal for the second time in a week, located in the Baltic region of the Leningrad Oblast of the Russian Federation. According to the SBU, the strike resulted in significant damage to the infrastructure of this strategically important port for Russia, which serves as a key logistics hub for oil exports, including through the so-called “shadow fleet.”
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Consequences of the Attack: Significant Damage and Fire
The SBU reported “serious damage” and the outbreak of a large fire at the terminal following the drone attack. This marks the fourth instance in the past week of Ukrainian drones targeting Russian oil infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. Previously, strikes were carried out on another important export hub—the Primorsk port—where fires and damage to tanks were also recorded.
“The SBU, together with the Defense Forces, continues systematic work to reduce the financial and logistical capabilities of the enemy. All oil facilities are essentially part of the Russian military-industrial complex and provide revenue to the Russian budget, which is used to fund the war against Ukraine. Therefore, special operations aimed at countering this will continue. Russia will pay a high price for its aggression,” stated acting SBU head Major General Yevheniy Khmara.
Response from the Russian Side and the Situation in the Region
The governor of the Leningrad Oblast, Alexander Drozdenko, reported that an air alert was declared in the region on the night of March 29, and the Ust-Luga port sustained damage. According to him, there were no casualties from the attack; however, a decrease in mobile internet speed was observed. He also mentioned the destruction of 31 drones over the region and noted that rescue services continue to extinguish the fire at the port.
Since the onset of the full-scale aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, a number of facilities within Russia, primarily oil refineries, have regularly become targets of air attacks. The Ukrainian Defense Forces emphasize that such strikes are aimed at weakening the combat potential of the Russian occupation forces and forcing the Russian Federation to cease its aggression.