Russia: Fire breaks out at gas terminal in Ust-Luga port; Ukrainian drones sighted in area

A fire broke out at a natural gas terminal in Russia's Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, Leningrad early Sunday (Jan 21). In a post on Telegram, Leningrad's Governor Alexander Drozdenko said there were no casualties due to the fire at the Novatek terminal and all personnel were evacuated. Drozdenko shared a video that showed massive fire and smoke at a chemical complex.

Drozdenko pointed out that the blaze was localised, and said, "A high alert regime has been introduced in the Kingiseppsky district (which includes the port)." The Russian ministry of emergency situations and the local fire service were involved in fighting the blaze, the governor added. 

According to Russian media, two storage tanks and a pumping station had been damaged.

It is not yet known what caused the fire. However, a report by the Shot news outlet said that residents heard a drone operating nearby followed by several explosions. Citing local media, the news agency Reuters reported that at least two drones were spotted in the sky flying towards St. Petersburg before the gas terminal caught fire. 

The Russian defence ministry said on Sunday that Ukrainian attacks overnight had been foiled but made no mention of the incident in Ust-Luga. 

According to Novatek's website, the Ust-Luga complex processes stable gas condensate into light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil, and gas oil. The port is used to ship processed products to international markets.

The company processed 3.4 million tonnes of stable gas condensate at the complex in the first half of 2023. This was up 0.6 per cent from the same period in 2022. 

Since the war between Russia and Ukraine started in February 2022, both countries have targeted each other's energy infrastructure in strikes designed to disrupt supply lines and logistics.

Reuters reported a drone attack hit an oil depot in Russia's western region of Bryansk on Friday. Moscow blamed Kyiv for this incident. This came a day after an attack on a Russian Baltic Sea oil terminal that Moscow said was unsuccessful.