A fire broke out at the Novatek terminal in the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on Sunday, 24 August, following reported drone activity over Leningrad Oblast.

Regional officials said debris from intercepted drones caused the blaze. No casualties were reported, and fuel storage tanks were said to be unaffected.

Alexander Drozdenko, the Leningrad Oblast governor, said ten drones were shot down over the port area. Novatek’s Ust-Luga complex handles gas condensate, producing light and heavy naphtha, jet fuel, fuel oil and gasoil for export. Reuters reported earlier that the site has previously suspended operations after fire damage.

The incident coincided with Ukraine’s Independence Day, when Russian authorities said multiple regions came under attack. At the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, an auxiliary transformer was reportedly damaged overnight, prompting a reduction in output at Unit 3; plant officials said a fire was extinguished with no injuries and radiation levels normal. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was aware of the reports but could not independently verify them.

Further south-east, regional authorities in Samara reported strikes on an industrial enterprise in Syzran. Local channels and media said the target was the city’s oil refinery, though officials did not immediately confirm the facility. There were no official reports of injuries.

Aviation was also disrupted. St Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport temporarily suspended operations amid drone alerts, with dozens of flights delayed as restrictions were lifted in stages.

Ust-Luga is a key node in Russia’s energy export network. The port and its processing facilities have been targeted before: in January 2024 a large fire at Novatek’s gas-condensate complex forced a partial shutdown, according to company statements at the time. Separately, Gazprom and its venture RusKhimAlyans are building a major gas processing and LNG complex at Ust-Luga—designed to handle about 45 billion cubic metres of gas a year and produce roughly 13 million tonnes of LNG—but commissioning is not due before 2026–27. Sunday’s reports did not indicate damage to that construction project.

The strikes came amid a broader pattern of long-range attacks deep inside Russia. Kyiv has invested heavily in domestic unmanned systems, with officials saying Ukraine is producing thousands of long-range drones capable of reaching targets far from the front. Recent reports have highlighted further efforts to scale production through partnerships.

Energy trade remains an important backdrop. The European Union has tightened measures against Russian LNG since mid-2024, including a prohibition on trans-shipment via EU ports after a transition period, but it has not imposed a blanket EU-wide ban on Russian LNG imports. Analysts and official briefings note that Russian LNG still accounts for a notable share of EU gas imports, even as overall Russian gas volumes have fallen sharply since 2021.

In the United States, policy on Ukrainian use of U.S.-made long-range weapons inside Russia has been under renewed scrutiny. The Wall Street Journal reported—cited by multiple outlets—that the Pentagon has, in recent months, required case-by-case approval for such strikes under a mechanism overseen by the policy undersecretary, with final decisions by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. This has restricted the use of ATACMS for deep strikes, and may also affect allied systems reliant on U.S. intelligence.

As of late morning on 24 August, regional authorities said emergency services were working at Ust-Luga and that the Kursk plant fire had been put out. Independent assessment of the full extent of damage at the Novatek terminal, the Syzran refinery and associated infrastructure was not immediately available. Russia’s defence ministry said it intercepted at least 95 drones over more than a dozen regions; that claim could not be verified.

The immediate operational impact will depend on the duration of any shutdowns. Ust-Luga’s Novatek facilities supply refined products and condensate-derived fuels to export markets via the Baltic, while the Kursk plant’s reduction was described as precautionary and limited to one unit.