Moscow: A fire at a vital Russian port in the Vysotsk area on the Baltic Sea was brought under control after Ukrainian drone strikes, and Moscow’s forces countered with attacks that left 380,000 Ukrainians powerless in the north, Bloomberg reported.
Russian air defences downed 27 unmanned aerial vehicles over the Leningrad region, Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko stated in a Telegram post on Saturday.
Located roughly 160 kilometres northwest of St Petersburg, the Vysotsk port serves as a major export point for oil products and other goods. It includes a terminal operated by Lukoil PJSC, Russia’s top private oil company.
The Leningrad region’s Baltic shoreline also features the ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, which channel about 40% of Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports. Ukrainian drone campaigns have intensified against these sites this year, with Kyiv aiming to stem the flow of petrodollars funding the Kremlin.
Such long-range strikes — targeting areas over 1,000 km from Kyiv — have lately interrupted oil loadings, a gas-processing unit, and a refinery.
Escalating air campaigns
On Friday, Drozdenko appealed to residents via Telegram, particularly military retirees and those with combat experience, “to join so-called mobile armed squads stationed at critically important facilities. They would be hired to help defend against air attacks.”
Ukraine also launched drones overnight at industrial targets in Novokuybyshevsk and Syzran, Samara region Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev told Interfax. RBC-Ukraine specified that the Novokuybyshevsk oil refinery was among the hits.
Ukrainian infrastructure hammered
In Ukraine, a Russian overnight operation damaged a critical energy site in the Chernihiv region near the Belarus border, knocking out electricity for about 380,000 consumers, regional utility Chernihivoblenergo stated via a Telegram post.
Russia further assaulted port and logistics assets in the Odesa region, igniting a blaze and inflicting damage, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba reported on Telegram.
The Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has entered its fifth year, shows no sign of abating.
Two days ago, a Russian assault on Kyiv and multiple other cities claimed at least 18 lives — including children — and injured dozens, with Ukraine’s air defences noting more than 40 ballistic and cruise missiles plus over 650 drones launched, “calling it one of the largest barrages this year.”
Drone attacks this week ravaged 60 residential buildings in Tuapse along Russia’s Black Sea coast, regional officials said. The strikes killed two people and wounded several more, authorities confirmed.
