The attacks on Primorsk and Ufa mark a significant feat in Kyiv’s long-range strike campaign against Russian energy targets to undermine its war economy.
With its mass-produced drones, Kyiv has been striking such targets with increasing frequency and efficiency for months.
But amid the war in the Middle East that broke out on February 28, that effort has taken on a new urgency.
Russia earned about £6.6 billion ($15b) in fossil fuel exports in the first two weeks of the conflict as a result of rising energy prices and the easing of US sanctions on Moscow’s oil.
According to industry data, that is roughly 14% higher than in February, offering the Kremlin an economic lifeline for its strained war machine.
However, analysts say Moscow is struggling to capitalise on the surging oil prices because of persistent Ukrainian drone attacks and bad weather.
Alexander Drozdenko, the Governor of the Leningrad region, said several fuel reservoirs in Primorsk had been set ablaze after drone attacks, but did not mention the suspension of oil exports.
Satellite images of the site showed several reservoirs ablaze and billowing thick black smoke.
Ukraine’s unmanned forces systems claimed responsibility, saying the export hub – which serves as the endpoint of the Baltic pipeline system – was “used by the enemy to bypass international sanctions”.
Kyiv’s drones had already attacked the heavily guarded Primorsk oil hub in September, interrupting loadings of oil, but this time the damage appears more severe.
Ukraine’s general staff later confirmed both “the tank farm and the oil loading infrastructure were hit”. A fire was also reported at the Ust-Luga export hub, which handles 700,000 barrels of oil a day.
Both facilities – Russia’s largest petroleum export outlets – had previously suspended exports at the start of the week following drone attacks.
According to Reuters, citing sources, Ust-Luga exported 32.9 million tonnes of oil products last year, and Primorsk 16.8 million tonnes.
This month, oil exports from Novorossiysk, Russia’s largest Black Sea port, were also affected by drone attacks.
Late last week, sources told Reuters that oil export and transit flows through Novorossiysk were running up to 10 days behind schedule amid both persistent storms and drone strikes.
The latest attacks on Russia’s oil infrastructure will add to the global shortages caused by Tehran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital water artery through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows.
Yet, with the war in Iran dominating global attention, Kyiv is concerned that its fight against Russia has started to slip from the agenda.
It came at a critical moment as Russian forces intensified their offensive across multiple fronts in Ukraine, carrying out 619 assaults in four days, albeit failing to make inroads.
Russian troops attempted to breach Ukrainian defences across several sectors of the front line between March 17 and 20, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Kyiv’s military chief, said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President, had warned that Ukraine had been repelling a large-scale Russian offensive planned since late 2025 and set for early March.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.
