A fire erupted at a Baltic Sea terminal owned by Novatek, Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas producer, following a suspected drone attack believed to be conducted by Ukraine.
This incident has compelled the company to temporarily halt certain operations at the Ust-Luga complex, situated on the Gulf of Finland approximately 170 km (110 miles) west of St. Petersburg.
According to information available on Novatek’s website, the Ust-Luga complex is involved in the processing of stable gas condensate into various products, including light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil, and gas oil.
The port facilitates the shipment of these processed products to international markets.
As reported by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing undisclosed sources, the fire is purportedly the outcome of a special operation conducted by Ukraine’s security services.
The Ust-Luga Oil terminal, situated in the Leningrad region, holds strategic significance for the adversary.
This facility plays a crucial role in refining fuel, which, among other purposes, is also provided to the Russian military forces.
Novatek Ceases Operations, Blames ‘External Influence’
Novatek, through an official statement, conveyed the suspension of certain operations following a fire, attributing the incident to “external influence.”
According to reports from the Russian news outlet Shot, local residents reported the presence of a drone in the vicinity, accompanied by multiple explosions.
In the ongoing nearly two-year-old conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both nations have engaged in deliberate strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, aiming to disrupt supply lines and logistics, as part of broader efforts to undermine morale.
Notably, a drone attack targeted an oil depot in Russia’s Bryansk region, bordering Ukraine, on Friday. Moscow attributed this incident to Kyiv.
Additionally, there was an unsuccessful attack on a Russian Baltic Sea oil terminal the day before.
Baza, a Russian news outlet with connections to security services, shared footage on Telegram depicting significant flames rising from what appeared to be an industrial complex.
Despite the proximity of three international tanker ships to the fire, there were no reports of damage to them, as reported by the Fontanka outlet.
Governor Drozdenko declared a “high alert regime,” and an emergency meeting was convened by officials.