Ukrainian drones attack Russia’s largest oil port for first time (updated)
Drone Industry
On the night of September 12, more than 30 Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s Leningrad region.
The strike hit the port of Primorsk, the largest oil terminal hub in Russia, The Moscow Times reported.
According to regional governor Alexander Drozdenko, the attack caused a fire on one vessel and at a pumping station. He assured there was no risk of flooding or an oil spill.
Later, Ukrainian drones attacked Russia's largest oil loading port on the Baltic Sea, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) sources confirmed to Interfax-Ukraine.
According to the agency's interlocutors, as a result of a successful attack by SBU drones, fires broke out on one of the vessels in the port and at the pumping station, and crude oil loadings were suspended. Estimated daily budget losses for Russia from the suspension of exports could reach up to $41 million, the sources added.
SBU sources also reported that drones struck several Russian oil pumping stations — NPS-3, NPS "Andreapol," and NPS-7. These facilities are key elements of the main pipeline system that supplies crude oil to the Ust-Luga port terminal, the intelligence service noted.
This is the first drone strike on one of Russia's largest oil and fuel export terminals, Reuters notes. At the same time, Russia earlier increased its planned oil exports from western ports in September to 2.1 million barrels per day, 11% higher than the original plan, as Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian refineries reduced domestic demand for crude oil, the agency noted.
Primorsk port, located in the Vyborg district, is the terminus of the Baltic Pipeline System. It handles exports of Russian crude oil and diesel. The port contains 18 crude oil tanks with a capacity of 50,000 tons each, storage for light petroleum products, and emergency discharge tanks. It can accommodate tankers with a deadweight of up to 150,000 tons, with an annual cargo turnover of about 58 million tons.
In addition, due to the drone attack, Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg activated the "Kover" plan and temporarily suspended flight operations. A total of 28 flights were delayed, 13 were canceled, and 11 planes were diverted to alternate airfields. The airports of Ivanovo, Pskov, Yaroslavl, and Kaluga also suspended operations overnight.
Russia’s Defense Ministry claims 221 UAVs were shot down or intercepted overnight across the country. The highest number was over Bryansk region (85). They also reported shootdowns over Smolensk (42), Leningrad (28), Kaluga (18), Novgorod (14), and Moscow and Oryol regions (9 each). Attacks were recorded in Belgorod, Rostov, Tver, Pskov, Tula, and Kursk regions.
Earlier reports said that due to Ukrainian drone strikes on oil refineries, the gasoline shortage in Russia—recorded in late August in Zabaykalsky Krai, Primorye, the Kuril Islands, and the temporarily occupied Crimea—spread to 10 more regions in September.
