Ukrainian long-range strike drones hit the NOVATEK gas condensate fractionation complex at Russia's Ust-Luga port in Leningrad Oblast overnight on 24–25 March — the first assault on the facility in 2026 — with both the SBU and Special Operations Forces claiming the strike. In the same overnight campaign, the General Staff confirmed a ship at the Vyborg Shipbuilding Plant in the same Leningrad Oblast was also struck and identified it as the FSB patrol icebreaker Purga. The Russian region borders Finland and Estonia and is about 900 km from Ukraine.
Strike on one of the largest gas processing plants on the continent
The attack fell on the night of 24–25 March. Local residents heard about a dozen explosions and saw a strong glow light the sky. By morning, a black column of smoke rose over the facility.
Leningrad Oblast Governor Alexander Drozdenko claimed air defense forces destroyed 56 Ukrainian drones over the region. He described the resulting blaze as a minor fire being brought under control.
The complex sits about 900–1,000 km from Ukraine's state border, near the Estonian border on the Gulf of Finland.
The target: NOVATEK's gas condensate facility
Geoint analysis by Dnipro Osint identified the NOVATEK-Ust-Luga condensate processing facility as the likely specific target within the port. The plant processes stable gas condensate — a byproduct of oil and gas extraction — and ships petroleum products to foreign markets.
This marks at least the third strike on the complex since early 2024. In January 2024, Ukraine's Security Service damaged gas condensate storage tanks, stopping the terminal's technological process. Ukrainian drones struck the complex again in August 2025, setting off a large-scale fire.
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Ship reportedly damaged at Vyborg shipyard
The same overnight campaign reached Vyborg — located across the Gulf of Finland from Ust-Luga, over 100 km away. Local residents reported a ship in the port had sustained damage, the Supernova+ Telegram channel wrote. A follow-up update with a photo placed the stricken vessel — visibly listed at at least 35 degrees — at the Vyborg Shipbuilding Plant.
Third Russian energy target in Baltics in three days
The Ust-Luga and Vyborg strikes followed a Ukrainian drone attack on Primorsk two nights earlier. Ukrainian drones hit Russia's largest Baltic oil export terminal on the night of 22–23 March, igniting a fuel depot and forcing evacuations.
Update: SBU claims Ust-Luga attack and earlier Primorsk strike
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) claimed responsibility for the Ust-Luga attack, saying it conducted the operation jointly with several other Ukrainian security and military agencies and targeted the oil terminal there. The SBU's Alpha Special Operations Center long-range drones covered over 900 km to reach the target. The strike hit "oil loading arms and a tank farm containing oil and petroleum products," the SBU said.
"Today's special operation is a symbolic 'gift' to the enemy on SBU Day. Another reminder that Russia now has no safe regions. We will continue long-range work to systematically reduce the enemy's military-economic potential," acting SBU head Major General Yevhen Khmara said.
The SBU also confirmed it was behind the Primorsk strike two days earlier.
"This is already the second this week SBU attack on Russian oil exports on the Baltic. On 23 March, the Service's drones successfully struck Primorsk port — the fire in which is still burning," the statement said.
The origin of the strike on the ship at Vyborg's shipyard remains unclear.
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Update #2: SSO and General Staff confirm NOVATEK as target
Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SSO) also claimed the Ust-Luga strike, saying their Deep-strike units joined the SBU, SBS, HUR, and State Border Guard Service in hitting facilities of gas giant NOVATEK — Russia's largest producer of liquefied gas and a company under EU and US sanctions since 2014. The SSO said long-range drones struck NOVATEK's gas fractionation and transshipment complex at Ust-Luga, which has a capacity of nearly 7 million tons per year and processes stable gas condensate into petroleum products that Russia exports by sea — including via its shadow fleet.
Ukraine's General Staff also confirmed the strike on the NOVATEK-Ust-Luga plant, saying the tank farm and oil loading arms were hit and a fire broke out on the facility's grounds.
"The facility is an important component of Russian energy infrastructure used for the export and transportation of petroleum products, the proceeds from which fund armed aggression against Ukraine," the General Staff said, adding that the scale of damage was still being assessed.
Update #3: Vyborg ship identified as FSB patrol icebreaker Purga
The General Staff said Ukraine's defense forces were behind the attack on a ship at the Vyborg Shipbuilding Plant, and identified the vessel as the patrol icebreaker Purga of Project 23550, planned for service in Russia's FSB Border Service.
Such vessels perform dual functions — as icebreakers and as warships.
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