On the night of March 24–25, drones struck russia's Leningrad region, with local residents reporting explosions and flashes in the sky. A fire subsequently broke out at the port of Ust-Luga, one of the key hubs for russian oil exports in the Baltic Sea.
Later, Ukraine's Security Service (SSU) confirmed the strike, stating that long-range drones operated by the Alfa Special Operations Center had successfully hit their targets after flying more than 900 kilometers.
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"Today's operation is a symbolic "gift" to the enemy on SSU Day. It is yet another reminder that there are no safe regions left in russia. We will continue long-range operations to systematically reduce the enemy’s military and economic potential," said acting SSU head Major General Yevhen Khmara.
Following the attack, Ukrainian OSINT communities verified imagery showing a large-scale fire at the Ust-Luga oil terminal. The findings were published on March 25 by the CyberBoroshno and Dnipro Osint (Harbuz) projects.
Analysts confirmed the geolocation of footage capturing the blaze and described the strike as one of the most effective attacks on russia’s port export infrastructure to date.
Additional footage shared by Dnipro Osint (Harbuz), reportedly filmed inside the port, further illustrates the scale of the fire at one of russia’s key maritime oil export facilities.
"Ust-Luga is hell for russia’s oil exports," the analysts concluded.
This marks the second drone strike within a week targeting major russian ports involved in oil exports via the Baltic Sea. On March 23, drones hit the port of Primorsk in the Leningrad region, causing a fire at the Transneft oil terminal and damaging both storage tanks and loading infrastructure, as later confirmed by Ukraine's General Staff.
Notably, Ust-Luga had already been targeted by Ukrainian drones in 2025, forcing a temporary suspension of operations. The port had only recently resumed activity before this latest strike.
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