New Delhi: Amid attacks on refineries in the escalating West Asian conflict, Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s largest western oil exporting hub in the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk over Sunday night.
The port with the capacity to export over 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, serves as key to Russia’s flagship Urals crude and premium diesel shipments. Primorsk was previously hit in September, when oil loadings were temporarily disrupted.
“A fuel tank was damaged, triggering a fire. Emergency crews are working to contain it, and personnel have been evacuated,” the Russian authorities said in a Telegram post.
Regional authorities said 35 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region in the latest wave of attacks, while the Russian defense ministry reported that a total of 249 drones were intercepted and destroyed across the country overnight.
Russian media reports described the port of Primorsk as a key transshipment hub for the country’s oil and Euro-5 low-sulfur diesel, with a daily loading capacity of roughly 1 million barrels of crude and 300,000 barrels of diesel.
The incident took place about 1 km from the VISKOM defense enterprise, which produces close-combat weapons, explosives, and specialized equipment, according to Kyiv Post.
Russia’s defense ministry said 249 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones were intercepted overnight across multiple regions, including Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Leningrad and Moscow, as well as over the Sea of Azov.
Ukraine’s Chief of General Staff Andrii Hnatov later confirmed that the Transneft-Port Primorsk oil terminal in the Leningrad region was struck. According to preliminary information, both storage facilities and oil-loading infrastructure were hit, and a fire was reported at the site.
Hnatov was quoted in the report saying that Ukrainian forces targeted the Bashneft-Ufaneftekhim refinery in Ufa, in Russia’s Bashkortostan region, confirming that a fire broke out there as well.
“These facilities support the refining, storage and transportation of fuel used by the occupation army,” the General Staff said, adding that the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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