Drone Attack Halts Operations at Primorsk, Russia’s Largest Oil Port on Baltic Sea

The Primorsk oil port in the Leningrad Oblast  the Russian Federation’s largest oil port on the Baltic Sea, has halted shipments after Ukrainian drones struck oil storage tanks.

This was reported by Reuters.

The attack took place on the night of March 23, 2026. Local residents reported a large number of explosions in the port area and posted numerous videos of a massive fire in the morning.

The governor confirmed damage to “fuel storage tanks” and the outbreak of a fire. According to him, Russian air defense systems allegedly intercepted more than 60 attack drones.

Overnight, Ukrainian forces successfully struck Russia’s main Baltic Sea oil export terminal at the port of Primorsk, setting it ablaze.

Pillars of black smoke and fire could be seen rising from the area this morning. pic.twitter.com/SUvQClmvgY

— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) March 23, 2026

High-resolution satellite images published by Mark Krutov, editor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s news service and news programs, showed damage to 5 of the 18 large storage tanks, each with a capacity of 50,000 tons.

Judging by the port diagram, the strike hit the crude oil transshipment terminal. Tanks for light petroleum products and emergency discharge systems operate separately. The terminal’s total capacity is approximately 921,000 tons of crude oil and 240,000 tons of petroleum products.

It is noteworthy that approximately 1.5 kilometers west of the damaged storage tanks is a stationary air defense position, likely a Pantsir system, which was supposed to protect this strategic facility; however, this did not save the port from a massive drone strike.

Primorsk is Russia’s largest oil export port on the Baltic Sea and a key hub for the export of crude oil and petroleum products.

The port is the terminus of the Baltic Pipeline System, and its throughput capacity reaches about 1 million barrels per day.

The port’s maritime section includes nine berths, most of which serve exclusively oil tankers. The water depth of up to 18.2 meters allows the port to accommodate vessels with a deadweight of up to 150,000 tons and a length of over 300 meters.

According to Reuters, the Ust-Luga oil port, located on the opposite shore of the Gulf of Finland, also suspended operations but resumed oil loading after the alert regarding the drone attack was lifted.

This is not the first attack on the port in Primorsk. The previous one took place on the night of September 12, 2025. At that time, a fire broke out on one of the ships in the port as a result of the attack. A fire also broke out at the pumping station.