Ukraine’s drone barrage sparks fire at another Russian export hub

Ukraine’s persistent drone campaign struck a key export hub in Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea yesterday, as Russia and Ukraine kept up attacks on each other during US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi.

IMAGE: Flags of Russia and Ukraine. Getty Images

Ukraine’s latest drone campaign has struck the port area of Ust-Luga in the Kingisepp district, sparking a fire, Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko said on social media platform Telegram.

“Several UAVs struck, causing a fire and injuring three workers,” Drozdenko said. The attack forced an emergency shut-down of a transformer substation in Ust-Luga, the regional governor added.

Over the course of the war, Ukraine has repeatedly targeted key export hubs like Novorossiysk and Tuapse, as well as Ust-Luga and Primorsk on the Baltic Sea.

Satellite imagery captured by NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) revealed multiple new thermal anomalies across the Ust-Luga port complex, signalling potential widespread fires at the facility.

The Ust-Luga port loads crude oil, fuels and coal, among other things, and is the primary export hub out of the Baltic Sea. Previous attacks during the course of the war halted shipments from the port.

Nine of Russia’s 35 major refineries experienced disruptions over the past week, Reuters reported citing industry sources. Refineries hit by drone attacks since late October have a combined capacity of about 2.2 million b/d, the report added.

The latest drone strike adds to the list of several attacks launched by Ukraine in recent weeks, as Kyiv presses its campaign against Russian energy infrastructure.

Yesterday’s drone strikes occurred even as Ukrainian and Russian delegations engaged in US-mediated talks to negotiate further on a peace deal to end the war, now in its fifth year.

“I think that tomorrow the teams will discuss the possibility of meeting at the level of leaders. I’m not sure that Russia is ready, but we will raise this topic,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X on Tuesday.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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