Night Fire at Baltic Sea Terminal: Attack on Novatek’s Facilities in Ust-Luga Region and Its Aftermath
A major incident unfolded in Russia last night, highlighting the ongoing tension surrounding strategic infrastructure in the Baltic Sea region.
On the night of August 24, in the Leningrad region, a fire broke out at one of Russia’s largest maritime hubs located in the port of Ust-Luga.
The incident specifically affected the terminal operated by Russian gas extraction company Novatek, a key player in the national energy sector.
Official reports indicated that the attack was carried out using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), whose debris fell directly onto the terminal premises.Regional authorities confirmed that fire brigades and the Ministry of Emergency Situations responded promptly to contain and extinguish the blaze.
Governor Alexander Drozdenko reported that at least ten UAVs were destroyed early morning, with falling drone debris igniting fires at the site.
Importantly, there were no reports of damage to fuel storage tanks, and the situation was under control.Russian services deployed a fire train equipped with over 183 tons of water and five tons of foam to assist in firefighting efforts.
Passenger train traffic in the area remained unaffected, and critical railway infrastructure sustained no damage.
Meanwhile, security analysts and military experts expressed concern over the precision and motivation behind such drone attacks, as highlighted by Ukrainian and Western intelligence sources.
Andriy Kovalenko from the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine noted that the strikes on Ust-Luga represent a broader destabilization effort, aligned with Kyiv’s strategic interests.In the broader context, Russian authorities reported that over 150 UAVs were shot down across ten regions in a single night, with several intercepted near airports including Pulkovo in St.
Petersburg, where over 60 flights were delayed or canceled.
There were also attacks near the Kursk nuclear power plant, damaging one of its transformers, and an industrial facility in Sizran, Samara region, was targeted, likely an oil refinery.These events underscore the growing complexity and multiplicity of threats in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, demonstrating Russia’s significant mobilization of resources on its territory to respond to current challenges and Ukrainian military actions.