Russia's Ust-Luga port damaged by more Ukrainian drones, fire under control
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A satellite image shows smoke rising from Russia's Baltic port of Ust-Luga after a Ukrainian attack, in Ust-Luga, Leningrad Oblast, March 27, 2026. Vantor/Handout via REUTERS
MOSCOW, March 29 - Russia's Baltic Ust-Luga port, one of its largest petroleum export hubs, was damaged again on Sunday by a Ukrainian drone attack which sparked a blaze later brought under control, Russian officials said.
It followed several Ukrainian drone strikes last week on Russia’s western energy corridor when facilities at the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk came under fire, igniting storage tanks and forcing a suspension of oil and oil product loadings.
The regional governor of Leningrad said firefighters had brought the fire at the port and nearby sites on Sunday under control.
Ukraine's SBU security agency said long-range drones struck an oil terminal at Ust-Luga. It added in a statement that the strike caused "serious damage" and a fire at the port.
The recent attacks have caused severe oil supply disruption for Russia, the world's second-largest oil exporter, and have come just as oil prices exceeded $100 a barrel due to the Iran war.
"Additional firefighting resources from the Leningrad region and St. Petersburg, including two fire trains, have been involved in extinguishing the fire at the port," Regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko wrote on Telegram on Sunday.
A residence had been damaged in a nearby settlement, he said.
Drozdenko had earlier in the day said waves of Ukrainian drones had hit the area.
The port, operated by Russian oil pipeline monopoly Transneft, handles around 700,000 barrels per day of oil exports, and, according to sources, shipped 32.9 million metric tons of oil products in 2025.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the scale of the damage. REUTERS
