Ukrainian drones have attacked and damaged infrastructure at the Baltic sea port of Ust-Luga in northwestern Russia for at least the fourth time in a week, the local governor said Tuesday morning.
“There’s damage at Ust-Luga port,” Leningrad region Governor Alexander Drozdenko wrote in a post on Telegram without detailing the extent of the damage at the site.
Drozdenko said dozens of Ukrainian drones had been intercepted in the skies above the Leningrad region overnight.
Three people, including two children, sustained minor injuries in the village of Molodtsovo, located east of St. Petersburg. Several buildings were also damaged, the governor said.
Ukraine has ramped up its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure in recent weeks. Since late March, it has struck Ust-Luga and the nearby port of Primorsk multiple times in a bid to deprive Russia of windfalls from soaring oil prices.
Operations at Ust-Luga were halted last Wednesday after drones damaged a railway unloading rack used to transfer petroleum products from tank cars. The facility was targeted again on Friday and Sunday.
Ust-Luga, a sprawling oil processing complex and major export hub, usually handles around 700,000 barrels of oil exports per day. The port also exports coal, grains and fertilizers.
Ukrainian drone strikes on terminals and refineries have contributed to an estimated 40% loss in Russia’s oil export capacity this month, according to Reuters.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that he had received “signals” from unnamed “partners” to refrain from attacking Russian energy infrastructure.
Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to back a ceasefire on oil and gas sites if Russia agrees to halt its attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities.
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