Russia's Leningrad region on high alert, major fuel terminal shuts down

"In all districts of Leningrad, a high alert regime has been declared for important infrastructure facilities... Security units and law enforcement agencies have received orders to destroy drones if they are detected in nearby areas," the government of Russia's northwestern Leningrad region said on Telegram.

The fire at the Ust-Luga complex in Leningrad was the result of a special operation by Ukrainian security services, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported, citing unnamed sources. The giant fuel export terminal is located on the Gulf of Finland (part of the Baltic Sea), about 170 kilometers west of St. Petersburg (Russia's second largest city). The facility is used to export Russian oil and gas products to international markets.

Vùng Leningrad của Nga báo động cao, nhà ga nhiên liệu lớn dừng hoạt động- Ảnh 1. — Fire at Ust-Luga Fuel Export Terminal on January 21

Novatek, Russia's largest liquefied natural gas producer, said on January 21 that it had been forced to suspend some operations at Ust-Luga because of the fire, which it said was caused by "external influence." "Technological processes at Novatek-Ust-Luga have been halted and an operations headquarters has been set up to deal with the consequences. An assessment of the damage will be carried out later," Reuters quoted the company as saying.

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It is unclear how long the disruption will last, how many tankers will be idled outside the port and what the knock-on effects will be for international energy markets. Ust-Luga processes stabilized gas condensate — a light oil — into naphtha, kerosene and light and heavy diesel for shipping, according to Reuters.

On Telegram, Leningrad Oblast Governor Alexander Drozdenko said there were no casualties in Ust-Luga and all workers had been safely evacuated. Russian news agencies reported that two storage tanks and a pumping station were damaged by the fire but the fire was under control.

If the fire was indeed started by a Ukrainian drone, it would be further evidence of Kyiv’s ability to strike deeper into Russian territory than usual with domestically produced Ukrainian equipment. It comes at a time when Ukraine is on the defensive on the battlefield and struggling to get more Western support.

"The Ust-Luga oil port... is an important facility for the enemy. The fuel processed there, among other things, is also supplied to the Russian military," Interfax-Ukraine quoted a source as saying.

“Success in attacking such a station would not only cause economic damage to the enemy… but also significantly complicate the fuel logistics of the Russian army,” the source said.

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A series of apparent attacks on Russian energy facilities in recent days has raised questions about the quality of Russia's air defense systems around critical infrastructure.

Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other's energy infrastructure in attacks aimed at disrupting supply and logistics routes, and each side has sought to demoralize the other.

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