Satellite imagery showed flames and thick black smoke rising from the oil terminal in Primorsk, a town on the Gulf of Finland approximately 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the EU and NATO territory, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Russia has been conducting near-daily air strikes against Ukraine, repeatedly targeting energy infrastructure and causing widespread blackouts that left millions in cold and darkness during the winter months.
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In retaliation, Ukraine has launched drone attacks against Russian energy and military sites, including in Moscow.
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Russia’s western Leningrad region, confirmed that a fuel tank at Primorsk had been damaged, causing the fire. He also stated that Russian air defenses had destroyed over 70 drones in the area, which is not considered a major frontline in Russia’s war with Ukraine.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine informed that it had struck key fuel and energy infrastructure across Russia, including the Primorsk port.
Preliminary information indicated that both the tank farm and the oil-loading infrastructure had been hit.
Satellite images appeared to show fires and smoke rising from multiple cylindrical fuel tanks at the site.
Primorsk handles around 60 million tonnes of oil annually. Ukraine emphasized that revenue from these oil sales is used by Russia to continue its military operations against Ukraine.
In addition, Ukraine claimed a drone strike on an oil refinery in the central Russian city of Ufa, roughly 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) from the frontline, causing a fire on the facility’s grounds.
Ukraine’s air force reported that Moscow fired 251 drones overnight against Ukraine, of which 234 were intercepted and shot down.
