Ukrainian drone strikes set a key Russian oil hub on fire

Ukrainian drones targeted a major Russian oil export hub on the Baltic Sea overnight, intensifying the fires that have been burning since a series of attacks started on Wednesday.

Leningrad region Gov. Alexander Drozdenko said three people were injured, two of them children, and that the Ust-Luga Port and residential properties in a village had sustained damage, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

He did not detail the extent of the damage to the port 70-miles west of Saint Petersburg and which handles around a fifth of Russian oil exports, saying only that Russian air defenses had downed 38 drones.

Ukraine drone forces commander Robert Brovdi said Ust-Luga had been hit again "to keep the fire going."

Brovdi earlier stated that an operation targeting Russian oil facilities on the Baltic Sea got underway more than a week ago with the goal of "demilitarizing Russia's oil arteries, refining capacity and crude export infrastructure."

Ukraine's military has said the Kirishi refinery is among the three largest oil‑processing plants in Russia, including the production of "fuels that support the armed forces of the aggressor state".

News.Az 

By Ulviyya Salmanli