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Ukraine’s Drones Strike Russia’s Key Baltic Oil Hub Ust-Luga Again, Disrupting Critical Exports
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![Photo of Ivan Khomenko]( "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
Russian authorities reported another drone attack on the Ust-Luga port in the Leningrad region early on April 7, marking the latest in a series of strikes against one of Russia’s primary energy export hubs.
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According to Head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation Andrii Kovalenko, “the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region of Russia was attacked again.”
Russian regional governor Alexander Drozdenko also confirmed the incident, claiming that air defenses shot down more than 20 drones during the early morning attack, which reportedly began around 4 a.m.
According to OSINT monitoring channels Exilenova+ and Astra, the attack targeted the port area directly, with footage showing air defense activity, including the use of ground-based machine gun units. Russian authorities also reported temporary restrictions at airports in St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad following the drone activity.
Ust-Luga is one of Russia’s largest Baltic Sea ports and a critical node for energy exports. It serves as the endpoint of the Baltic Pipeline System-II (BPS-II) and is used for shipping crude oil and petroleum products, including via vessels associated with Russia’s shadow fleet.
The port is also linked to the Gazprom Ust-Luga complex, which processes up to 45 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually and produces liquefied natural gas and other petrochemicals for export.
Earlier, ABC News reported on April 6 that Ukraine launched more long-range attack drones than Russia in March for the first time since the start of the full-scale invasion, citing data from the Ukrainian Air Force and the Russian Ministry of Defense, signaling a shift in the scale and balance of aerial warfare.
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