One of the biggest aerial assaults in months strikes deep inside Russian territory, disrupting energy hubs and exposing vulnerabilities in Moscow’s war strategy.
Ukraine has launched one of its largest drone offensives in months, striking Russia’s most important oil terminal on the Baltic Sea and targeting multiple energy facilities across the country.
The overnight assault focused on the Primorsk oil port in the Leningrad region—a crucial hub for Russia’s maritime exports and the final station of the Baltic Pipeline System. Ukrainian security services confirmed the strike, describing it as part of a wider strategy to cripple Russia’s energy infrastructure and drive up war costs.
According to Russia’s defence ministry, more than half of the 221 drones launched were intercepted, particularly over Bryansk and Smolensk, where Lukoil facilities were also hit. Officials in the Leningrad region reported that 28 drones were shot down, but not before a fire broke out at a pumping station and on a vessel at the port. Authorities claimed the blaze was quickly contained without casualties or leaks.
The Primorsk terminal plays a central role in Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” a network of ageing tankers used to bypass international sanctions. Ukraine also claimed strikes on pumping stations feeding the Ust-Luga terminal, near Estonia, while Russian energy firm Rosatom confirmed a drone attack on the Smolensk Nuclear Power Plant’s power unit.
The scale of the offensive stretched across at least nine Russian regions, including Moscow, Kaluga, and Novgorod. In Bryansk, a drone strike on a bus injured seven people, while operations at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport were briefly suspended. Moscow has called the assault one of the most significant in the Leningrad region since the full-scale invasion began over three and a half years ago.
This wave of drone warfare comes amid Ukraine’s intensifying campaign against Russian energy assets. Over the past year, Ukrainian strikes have reached refineries, depots, and pipelines deep inside Russia, temporarily disabling up to 20% of the country’s refining capacity in August, according to US officials. Reports in Russian media now warn of “near critical” fuel shortages, with rationing and long queues emerging in the country’s far east.
Meanwhile, Russia has responded with its own barrage of drone and missile strikes against Ukrainian cities and power stations, as peace talks remain stalled. The Kremlin has accused Western allies of obstructing negotiations, while joint military exercises with Belarus signal Moscow’s intent to harden its military posture.
As Ukraine’s drone raids stretch further into Russian territory and fuel supply disruptions mount, the strikes on Primorsk underscore the growing role of long-range aerial warfare in reshaping the battlefield and the economic underpinnings of the conflict.