Russia’s Primorsk oil port exports halt after Ukrainian drone strike

Oil exports from Russia’s Primorsk port on the Gulf of Finland appear to have stopped following a Ukrainian drone attack, with tankers anchored offshore awaiting loading, according to maritime tracking data reported by Finnish broadcaster Yle.

No vessels were docked at the port’s terminals as of Wednesday evening, satellite imagery and ship-tracking services showed. The attack early Monday triggered massive fires, with smoke plumes visible as far as Finland. NASA satellite images indicated blazes still burning strongly in multiple areas of the facility two days later.

Kimmo Naski, former CEO of the Port of HaminaKotka, told Yle that while individual storage tanks can be replaced relatively quickly, damage to surrounding infrastructure—such as pipelines and docking structures—could significantly delay the resumption of full operations. “If the surrounding infrastructure, like oil pipelines and pier structures, is damaged, repairs will take much longer,” he said.

Primorsk, also known as Koivisto, is one of Russia’s three major European oil export hubs, alongside Ust-Luga on the Gulf of Finland and Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. Ukraine also targeted Ust-Luga with drones this week. The strikes mark an escalation in attacks on Russian energy infrastructure amid the ongoing conflict.