Ukraine's SBU Claims Drone Attack on Russian Gas Terminal Near St. Petersburg

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) conducted a successful overnight drone attack on the Ust-Luga gas terminal in the Leningrad region of Russia, sources have told Kyiv Post.

The source said the operation saw direct hits on the facility, causing a large fire which is still burning on Sunday.

The Ust-Luga oil terminal holds strategic importance for Russian troops, processing fuel crucial for military operations.

"The successful assault on this terminal not only inflicts substantial economic harm on the enemy, disrupting their revenue streams for the war in Ukraine, but also disrupts the logistical chain of fuel essential to the Russian military," the source told Kyiv Post.

"This move strategically hampers the occupiers' ability to sustain their forces, marking a significant setback in their ongoing aggression," it added.

The terminal, 110 kilometres (70 miles) west of St Petersburg near the Estonian border, is operated by Novatek, Russia's largest independent natural gas producer.

 Footage provided by Kyiv Post's sources.

Local official Yuri Zapalatski said the fire started just before 02:45 am local time. The Ria-Novosti news agency said a 100 cubic metre container was on fire. 

Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad Oblast, said in a post on Telegram: “No casualties as a result of a fire at Novatek's terminal in the port of Ust-Luga.

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“Personnel were evacuated.

“A high alert regime has been introduced in the Kingiseppsky district (which includes the port)," he added, noting that the blaze was “localised.”

The Ust-Luga complex processes natural gas condensate into naphtha, jet fuel and ship fuel components, according to Novatek's website.

The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline leading to Germany, which has never entered into service after a sabotage raid in September 2022, starts from the town of Ust-Luga.

Elsewhere, late on Saturday, Jan. 20, Ukraine successfully attacked a military factory in Russia’s Tula region, a source in the Special Services of Ukraine told Kyiv Post. Air defenses kicked into action in the cities of Orel and Smolensk.

Ukrainian drones targeted the Shcheglovsky Val defense enterprise in the Tula region, where Russia manufactured Pantsir-S surface-to-air missile systems and developed guided weapons for ground forces, air defense systems, quick-firing cannons and combat small arms.