In brief

• Ukrainian drones reportedly struck oil storage and pumping infrastructure at the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga overnight, starting a large fire.
• Ukraine's security service said five tanks with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes each were hit and oil products leaked.
• The same night, an explosion was reported on a Russian Baltic Fleet ship in the Gulf of Finland, which Estonia could not link to a cause.

Attack on the Ust-Luga oil complex

Ukraine's armed forces said they had hit port and oil infrastructure at Ust-Luga, a major export hub in Russia's northwest, in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday. The General Staff described the operation as a night when the Baltic itself caught fire (Ogromny pożar w ważnym rosyjskim porcie. "Noc, gdy zapłonął Bałtyk" – Polsat News).

According to the Security Service of Ukraine, drones struck five tanks holding oil products, each with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes (Ukraina przyznała się. Płonący port na Bałtyku to jej dzieło – Wirtualna Polska). The service also reported damage to pumping stations, pipelines and transshipment equipment, and said oil products had leaked.

Fire visible from across the sea

A large fire broke out at the port after the strikes, and the glow was reported to be visible from the coast of Estonia. Ukrainian sources also cited a total storage capacity of 150,000 cubic metres for the damaged tanks.

Wider context

The attack came the same night as reports of an explosion on a Russian Baltic Fleet ship in the Gulf of Finland, which Ukraine's security service said was caused by a drone operation (Wybuch na rosyjskim okręcie wojennym. Minister potwierdza incydent – Polsat News) (Eksplozja na rosyjskim okręcie w Zatoce Fińskiej – Wirtualna Polska). Estonia's defence minister said he could not confirm who was responsible for that incident.

What comes next

No official Russian assessment of the damage or the cause of the fire at Ust-Luga has been reported so far. Ukraine has not said whether further strikes on the port are planned.

Read also

• Drone Attack Sets Fire at Ust-Luga Port in Russia's Leningrad Region