Following a drone attack by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) on Russian gas giant Novatek’s terminal in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, tankers nearby moved far out to sea with their loading disrupted, Ukrainian outlet NV reported citing its sources. Additionally, Russians are forced to redeploy even more air defense systems from the front to protect the rear areas.
The Ust-Luga port is a key node in Russia’s energy export system, including a gas processing plant and major port for shipping petroleum products abroad.
“The targeted terminal is one of the newest and most important in Russia. It works on exports but also supplies fuel for Russian troops. This SBU attack caused significant material but also reputational damage to Russia. The vaunted Russian air defenses have shown their porousness,” an NV source said.
Russian natural gas producer Novatek has suspended operations at its terminal in the Ust-Luga port after an attack by 🇺🇦 drones, Bloomberg reports. Novatek is one of the world's largest private natural gas companies. 🎞️ https://t.co/hmU0FjfU1w pic.twitter.com/wZAxWMQELD — Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) January 21, 2024
On the night of 21 January, explosions and fire broke out at the Ust-Luga port near Saint Petersburg. The flames engulfed a terminal owned by Novatek – one of the world’s largest private natural gas producers. Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing SBU sources, that it was a Ukrainian drone attack.