In Russia’s Leningrad region, an oil depot at Primorsk port has been burning for a second day after an attack by Ukrainian drones, «Radio Svoboda» reports, citing satellite images.
According to the outlet, thick smoke from the fire is visible despite cloudy weather.
The Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channel Supernova+ also reports that the fire is ongoing.
Earlier, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said it had struck Transneft’s oil terminal at Primorsk port. At the same time, Leningrad region governor Alexander Drozdenko says that after the nighttime drone attack, a fuel tank caught fire in the port.
According to Bloomberg, loading of energy raw materials onto tankers at the port was suspended after the attack. Whether that process has resumed remains unknown.
Reuters says the port has resumed loading crude oil, but does not specify whether this includes diesel shipments. Sources cited by «Novaya-Europe» believe that tankers already being loaded at the time of the drone attack departed the port. The oil terminal is likely not yet accepting new supplies of oil and diesel.
The scale of the damage is still unknown. Sources cited by «Novaya-Europe» say that if the port does not fully resume operations soon, industry companies and the Russian budget will face significant losses.
Primorsk port is the largest export point for Urals crude. It can handle up to 1 million barrels of oil per day. Last year, after a Ukrainian drone attack, the port temporarily reduced oil loading volumes.