Russia's Ust-Luga seaport was attacked by Ukrainian drones

Russia's Ust-Luga seaport was attacked by Ukrainian drones and led to a fire, which was controlled shortly after.

Leningrad Governor Aleksander Drozdenko said a fire broke out at Ust-Luga port this morning, after a Ukrainian drone attack (UAV). "54 UAVs were shot down over the Leningrad province. There were no casualties. All consequences of the attack on Ust-Luga port have been resolved," he said.

Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin on the same day announced that air defense forces shot down more than 10 Ukrainian UAVs flying towards this city at night, with no damage on the ground.

AMK Mapping, an account "Alarms were sounded in many areas of eastern Latvia before the attack," this account said.

The Russian Ministry of Defense and the Ukrainian army have not commented on the information.

Ust-Luga is Russia's largest commercial port in Leningrad Oblast and an important logistics center near the Baltic Sea. Sources from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Russia uses this port to sell oil and gas abroad through the "shadow fleet", a term for ships specializing in circumventing sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow's energy export sector.

According to Reuters, the attack on Ust-Luga port continues to clearly demonstrate Ukraine's tactics of targeting oil processing and export facilities, as well as Russia's grain transportation routes.

Ukraine at the end of June launched a "40 days of pressure" attack campaign, with the main targets being oil refineries, oil depots, logistics centers, airports and many locations deep inside Russia and areas controlled by the country. Also during this period, Ukrainian forces raided many Russian commercial ships and logistics vehicles in the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Azov.

Analysts assess that Kiev achieved some tactical successes, but did not fulfill the campaign's highest goal of pressuring and forcing Moscow to end hostilities. On the contrary, Russia has stepped up its response with missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) raids targeting defense facilities specializing in producing UAVs used in Ukraine's campaign.

The Russian military responded by attacking a series of cargo ships suspected of carrying weapons and military supplies to the enemy in the Black Sea, as well as raiding seaport infrastructure in Odessa and Mykolaiv provinces. Ukrainian media described this operation as completely blocking seaports, affecting export activities and causing "the most serious economic problem" for Kiev.