Ukraine Attacks Russia’s Baltic Oil Terminals and Starts Fire at Primorsk
Ukrainian and Russian officials are both acknowledging a large attack overnight from March 22 to March 23, focusing on Russia’s oil infrastructure on the Baltic. It comes after Ukraine protested the Trump administration’s waiver of Russian oil sanctions as Ukraine urged Europe to keep the pressure up on Russia.
Operations at both the ports of Primorsky and Ust-Luga were reportedly suspended as the barrage unfolded. The governor for the Leningrad region, Alexander DroZdenko claimed that more than 70 aerial targets were destroyed in his region. Nationwide, Russia is claiming that 249 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones were intercepted overnight.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine later issued a statement claiming that they had damaged the Transneft operations at the Port of Primorsk. They claimed to have hit both the tank farm and oil loading infrastructure, and started fires at the terminal. Russian officials said that another drone had been struck and it fell, damaging power lines in one of the neighboring villages and starting a brush fire. Air traffic was also suspended at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport during the attack.
DroZdenko confirmed the damage at Primosk, saying that they were fighting a fire at the oil tanks. He said more than 50 pieces of equipment were deployed in the firefighting effort, but there were no indications of casualties. Later reports said operations had been resumed at Ust-Luga after the barrage ended, while the firefighting was continuing at Primosk.
The online news source Exilenova+ claimed the targeting had appeared to be focused on the light petroleum products terminal, some of Russia’s highest value products. They said it involved gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel products. Other media sources were saying that satellite photos appeared to show at least four oil tanks on fire. Reports highlighted that Primosk handles up to one million barrels a day and exports more than 60 million tons annually. Ust-Luga is smaller, handling approximately 700,000 barrels a day and up to 3.9 million tons of oil products annually.
It is the latest in a series of long-distance attacks for Ukraine. Primorsk lies more than 675 miles north of Ukraine. It was also the target of an attack in September 2025 that reportedly damaged part of the docks and delayed oil shipments.
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The General Staff also said they had targeted the Bashneft-Ufaneftekim oil refinery located inland, approximately 870 miles from the border. They asserted that the refinery is used to store and supply fuels for the Russian army.
Ukraine, in recent months, has increased its targeting of the Russian energy industry and its export infrastructure. Ukraine is attempting to disrupt the income from the energy industry, which it says continues to fund the war. It was critical of Trump’s order to permit the sale of Russian oil that had already been loaded on tankers, but today, Trump said it was a small amount of money and critical to ensure that there was as much oil in the system while the fight in Iran continues.