Drones Hit Fuel Tanks at Primorsk, Russia’s Largest Baltic Oil Port

Strike drones successfully hit Primorsk, the main oil port on the Baltic Sea in Russia’s Leningrad region.

The region’s governor, Alexander Drozdenko, confirmed the attack.

It occurred overnight on March 23, 2026, with local residents reporting numerous explosions in the port area.

Around 4 a.m., the governor confirmed that a fuel storage tank had been damaged and a fire had broken out. Photos from eyewitnesses also showed thick black smoke rising over the facility.

He also claimed that Russian air defense systems had intercepted more than 60 strike drones.

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

The port is the terminal point of the Baltic Pipeline System, with a capacity of about 1 million barrels per day.

The port’s marine section includes nine berths, most of which are dedicated exclusively to oil tankers. The harbor depth of up to 18.2 meters allows it to accommodate vessels with a deadweight of up to 150,000 tons and lengths exceeding 300 meters.

Key infrastructure is concentrated in the tank farm, where 18 large storage tanks operate, each with a capacity of 50,000 tons.

Additional storage tanks for light petroleum products and emergency drainage systems also operate at the site. The terminal’s total capacity reaches approximately 921,000 tons of crude oil and 240,000 tons of petroleum products.

Militarnyi previously reported that on the night of September 12, drones attacked Russia’s largest oil-loading port, Primorsk, on the Baltic Sea.

As a result of the attack, a fire broke out on one of the vessels. A blaze also occurred at a pumping station in the port.