Ukraine reportedly launches fresh strikes on Russia’s Ust-Luga port, intensifying attacks on Russian oil infrastructure
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Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.
Ukraine's military reportedly struck Russia’s Ust-Luga port in Leningrad Oblast overnight on April 7, Russian Telegram media channels reported, renewing its attacks on the oil terminal.
The attack is the latest in a string of Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russia's most important oil terminals on the Baltic and Black Sea coasts in recent weeks, as Kyiv looks to restrict the windfall gained by Russia from soaring world oil prices.
The latest attack comes just one week after Kyiv last launched a full-blown assault on oil terminals in the region, including the Ust-Luga port which was struck on at least five separate occasions between March 22 - 31.
Photos and videos posted to social media appear to show explosions ringing out in the area of the port beginning around 5 a.m. local time, according to resident accounts.
Regional governor Aleksandr Drozdenko claimed that 22 Ukrainian drones had been downed amid the attack on the region, without specifying the target of the attack.
The Kyiv Independent cannot immediately verify the reports nor claims made by Russian officials.
The extent of the damage caused was not immediately clear. Ukraine's military has not yet commented on the reported attack.
Ust-Luga is one of Russia's largest ports on the Baltic Sea and a major hub for the export of crude oil and petroleum products. Located west of St Petersburg, far from Ukraine's border, the port plays an important role in generating revenue for the state budget.
The latest attack comes mere hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky proposed an energy ceasefire to Russia through U.S. intermediaries.
"If Russia is ready to stop strikes on our energy infrastructure, we will be ready to respond in kind. This proposal has been conveyed to the Russian side through the Americans," Zelensky said in an evening address.
The ceasefire offer comes as Ukrainian officials have acknowledged that foreign allies have asked Kyiv to pause drone attacks on Russian oil refineries as the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran continues.
Kyiv has thus far shown it is unwilling to ease attacks without an agreement in place.
Just one night prior on April 6, Ukrainian drones attacked an oil terminal in the southern Russian port city of Novorossiysk. Six of the terminal's seven oil-loading stands, used to load and unload tankers, were damaged, the source told the Kyiv Independent. The attack also hit key ground infrastructure, including the pipeline control unit and the oil metering station.
Reuters reported on March 25, citing its calculations on market data, that at least 40% of Russia's oil shipping capacity has stopped after repeated Ukrainian drone attacks.
