Strategic Russian Sea Port in Ust-Luga On Fire After Drone Strike

• 21.01.2024, 8:39

Drones powerfully attacked the Leningrad region.

On the night of Sunday, January 21, a new UAV attack was reported in the Leningrad region of the Russian Federation.

Residents heard the sounds of drones, after which explosions were heard near the terminal of the sea trade port in the village of Ust-Luga, located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, according to Ukrainian media.

A fire broke out there. Russian media reported that either the oil or coal depot of the port was on fire.

"We are standing in the port. Explosion and fire. The barge was taken from Peter [St. Petersburg - Ed.]. Now everyone is being driven out to sea," the Russians wrote online.

Later, the governor of the Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, said that the fire occurred in the terminal of the Novatek company. According to him, there were no casualties, personnel were evacuated.

"In the Kingisepp district of the Leningrad region, a high alert mode was introduced due to a fire in the Novatek terminal," he added.

According to eyewitnesses, during the UAV strikes on the terminal, some cargo was being loaded onto ships under the flag of Panama.

Later, Russian media reported that at the time of the strike, the loading was on eight ships flying the flags of Panama, Malta, Liberia, Gabon, Greece, the Marshall Islands, the Cayman Islands and Hong Kong.

The port in Ust-Luga is strategically important for the Russian Federation. It supplies Russian oil to world markets with the help of many tankers that sail through the Baltic, providing both legal and grey exports of Russian oil.

This port is a supply base for the Kaliningrad region, not only for civilian products, but also for the main Baltic Fleet base in Baltiysk.

Recall that on the night of January 18, Ukrainian drones attacked the enemy's oil depot in the Leningrad region of Russia.