Third Time’s the Charm: SBU Drones Hit Lukoil Oil Platform in the Caspian Sea

Long-range drones from the Security Service of Ukraine’s (SBU) Alpha Special Operations Center have hit oil extraction platforms operated by Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft in the Caspian Sea for the third time within a week.

This was reported by Ukrinform on December 15, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The latest strike targeted a platform at the Korchagin oil and gas condensate field. The attack damaged critical equipment, forcing a shutdown of production at the site.

According to the source, the SBU is continuing operations designed to cut Russia’s oil revenues and weaken its ability to fund the war against Ukraine. The source added that Russian facilities supporting the war effort remain vulnerable regardless of where they are located.

Previously, on December 12, the Security Service of Ukraine reportedly carried out another successful strike on Russian oil platforms in the Caspian Sea, Ukrainian Pravda reported, citing its sources.

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The attack targeted the Filanovsky and Korchagin platforms, both operated by Lukoil-Nizhnevolzhskneft. According to the report, long-range SBU drones damaged key equipment on the facilities, forcing production to stop.

Ukrainian Pravda noted that the Filanovsky field is among Russia’s largest oil projects in the Caspian Sea, with estimated reserves of about 129 million tons of oil and 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

Earlier, the European Union agreed to speed up the imposition of sanctions on ships belonging to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet that transport Russian oil, separating these measures from the broader timetable for general sanctions packages against Moscow.

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