MOSCOW (Reuters) – A drone attack on Russia’s northwestern port of Primorsk set fire to a vessel and a pumping station on Friday, the regional governor said, the first reported drone strike on one of the country’s largest oil and fuel export terminals.
Since early August, Ukraine has intensified attacks on Russia’s energy infrastructure, including refineries and pipelines, as peace talks remain stalled.
Other ports, including nearby Ust-Luga and the Black Sea’s Novorossiisk, have been repeatedly targeted in recent months.
Russia has revised its September crude export plan from western ports to 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd), an 11% increase from the initial schedule, as drone strikes on domestic refineries have reduced local demand for crude.
Governor Alexander Drozdenko said the fire on the vessel at Primorsk, which he did not identify, was extinguished, and there was no risk of an oil product spill.
More than 30 drones were destroyed over the region, he added in the Telegram post, without mentioning the war in Ukraine.
Comments under his post reflected local anxiety.
“How long will this go on for? I haven’t slept all night and all morning. I only wish everything would be okay. The child doesn’t sleep, just tries to fall asleep, then bang, bang — it’s just awful. I wish it would all end soon,” wrote a user named Sashulya.
Primorsk is located on the Gulf of Finland near St. Petersburg. Russia’s air transport agency Rosaviatsia said Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg suspended operations for several hours on Friday morning.
Russia’s military said its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 221 Ukrainian drones overnight, including nine over the Moscow region.
Asked for comment, Ukraine’s General Staff spokesperson said the military did not have immediate information.
(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin in Moscow; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)
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