Oil from Russian port reaches protected nature reserve after drone strikes

Russian state media reports that oil has washed ashore on the Kurgalsky (Kurkolanniemi) nature reserve near the Ust-Luga oil terminal in the Gulf of Finland, according to the independent Fontanka news outlet.

Volunteers are already working to clean up the oil, which has spread along a two-kilometre stretch of coastline, Fontanka reported, publishing images of the cleanup efforts. The reserve lies adjacent to the Ust-Luga port, severely damaged in recent Ukrainian drone attacks.

Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad Oblast, confirmed to regional lawmakers that oil had reached shores in some areas but stressed the spill was not large-scale. The Ust-Luga terminal—known in Finnish as Laukaansuu—suffered major fires following Ukrainian drone strikes in late March and early April, disrupting operations.

Finland’s Gulf of Finland maritime border lies just tens of kilometres from the affected area, with direct sea routes to Kotka and Hamina roughly 60–80 km away. Erik Garand-Sulander, field chief of Finland’s coastal guard, told Yle no oil had been observed in Finnish waters.