[UPDATED: March 25, 1:47 pm
, Kyiv time. Updated with reports of Ukraine admitting involvement in the attack.
Updated with a report from the Security Service of Ukraine on the details of the operation.]
Drones attacked a Russian oil export terminal on Wednesday at 3:43 a.m. local time, 150 kilometers (93 miles) southwest of St. Petersburg, on the Gulf of Finland.
Preliminary reports indicated that the NOVATEK-Ust-Luga plant was hit, setting it ablaze. The facility processes stable gas condensate – a byproduct of oil and gas production – and exports petroleum products to international markets.
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During the attack 56 drones were destroyed by air defense and electronic warfare systems, Leningrad Oblast Governor Alexander Drozdenko posted on Telegram.
A fire was being extinguished in the port area of Ust-Luga and the roof of a residential building was damaged in Vyborg, the governor said. According to preliminary reports, no one was injured.
Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the NOVATEK-Ust-Luga plant during a joint operation, the General Staff of Ukraine confirmed later on Telegram.
According to preliminary information, the tank farm and loading/unloading stands for oil and petroleum products were hit. A fire was reported at the site, the statement added.
The plant is a key part of Russia’s energy infrastructure, used for the export and transport of petroleum products. Revenues from these operations help fund Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The extent of the damage is still being assessed.
The Special Operations Forces (SSO) also revealed in a Telegram post that they struck the company’s facilities at the Baltic port near St. Petersburg.
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“Deep-strike units of the Special Operations Forces, together with the Security Service, Unmanned Systems Forces, the Main Intelligence Directorate, the State Border Guard Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service, struck the Baltic port in the town of Ust-Luga,” the report said.
Long-range drones reportedly targeted facilities belonging to Novatek, Russia’s largest liquefied natural gas producer, which has been under EU and US sanctions since 2014.
The port, located nearly 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine’s northern border, is a major infrastructure hub in Russia’s Baltic Sea trade network.
Novatek’s fractionation and transshipment complex at Ust-Luga, with a capacity of nearly seven million tons per year, processes stable gas condensate into petroleum products exported by sea, including via Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet.”
“Russia continues to develop this port, which is set to become the largest on the Baltic Sea and the second largest in the country,” the Special Ops said.
The report notes that strikes on Russian oil and gas infrastructure aim to weaken the Kremlin’s economic and logistical capacity to sustain the war and bypass international sanctions.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) later added that it had carried out a special operation targeting the infrastructure of the Ust-Luga port oil terminal.
“Today’s special operation is a symbolic ‘gift’ to the enemy for the Day of the SBU – another reminder that there are no safe regions in Russia now,” said Acting Head of the SBU, Major General Yevgeny Khmara.
“We will continue long-range operations to systematically reduce the enemy’s military and economic potential,” he added.
According to the SBU, long-range drones from its Alpha Special Operations Center struck targets at a distance of up to 900 kilometers.
Oil tankers, along with a tank farm containing oil and petroleum products, were hit. A large-scale fire was also reported at the port.
“The destruction of facilities such as Ust-Luga has not only a tactical but also a strategic effect, as it reduces foreign currency revenues to the Russian budget,” the SBU added.
Drones attacked the port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s Leningrad region.
Preliminary reports say the NOVATEK Ust-Luga plant was hit.
The facility processes stable gas condensate – a byproduct of oil and gas production – and exports petroleum products to international markets. pic.twitter.com/tove2xXTCW
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) March 25, 2026
This is the second time in a week that a Russian oil export terminal has been attacked. On Monday, March 23, Ukrainian drones struck Russia’s Primorsk port on the Baltic Sea, damaging a fuel tank and sparking a fire at one of the country’s key oil export hubs.
The attacks in Primorsk and Ust-Luga reflect Ukraine’s increasing capability for long-range attacks against Russian critical infrastructure.
Ust-Luga is one of Russia’s largest oil export terminals on the Baltic Sea and a major hub for crude and refined product shipments. Near Vyborg, in Vysotsk, Novatek’s gas terminal is located.
On August 24, 2025, Ukrainian drones attacked and caused a massive explosion at the industrial facilities of Ust-Luga port in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast.
The March 23 drone strike on Primorsk caused severe disruptions at the Russian Baltic port, where crude and diesel loading was delayed.
Both Primorsk and Ust-Luga have long been Russia’s most important hubs for exporting oil to the West.
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