Ukrainian drones target Russia’s Baltic ports

Ukraine has launched a new series of drone strikes targeting Russia’s key Baltic export terminals, seeking to curb Moscow's gains from the recent surge in oil prices.

IMAGE: Flags of Russia and Ukraine. Getty Images

The ports of Primorsk and Ust-Luga, located in the Leningrad region, caught fire from the falling drone debris on Friday, Bloomberg reported. The news has put some upward pressure on Brent’s price.

The governor of the Russian region of Leningrad, Alexander Drozdenko, later said on the social media platform Telegram that Russian forces had destroyed 36 drones on Friday.

Oil loadings at the port of Ust-Luga have been suspended due to the drone strikes, Reuters reported. Official suspension notice did not specify when loading will resume, the report added.

Meanwhile, the port of Primorsk – that plays a key role in Russia’s export system, handling shipments of its flagship crude to global markets – was also damaged during the attacks.

Last week, a tanker carrying Russian crude oil was hit in the Black Sea near Istanbul, Turkish media reported.

The Sierra Leone-flagged oil tanker, Altura – sanctioned by the EU and the UK – had loaded crude oil from Russian port of Novorossiysk, tanker-tracker MarineTraffic reported.

As much as 40% of Russia’s oil export capacity has been cut due to port closures, pipeline issues and tanker-related disruptions following the attacks, according to a Reuters calculation.

The outages are limiting Moscow’s ability to capitalise on higher oil prices, while also tightening the availability of Russian barrels at a time when global supply is already compromised due to the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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