Satellite imagery and verified videos show Ukraine has repeatedly struck key Russian oil export infrastructure near the Baltic Sea in the past week, leaving some facilities burning for several days.
BBC Verify has confirmed at least three oil sites in Russia’s Leningrad region were attacked near the city of St Petersburg, about 500 miles (800km) north of the Ukrainian border, since 23 March.
This includes several separate strikes on the key Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk as well as an attack on the nearby inland Kirishi oil refinery.
According to analysis by the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (Crea) 22% of Russia’s total oil exports in 2025 departed from Primorsk and 20% from Ust-Luga.
Recent data shows no ships were loaded with oil in any of Russia’s three Baltic ports on 26 and 27 March, which Crea said is the first period of two consecutive days with no such activity since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Satellite images show enormous plumes of smoke rising from burning oil facilities in Primorsk on 24 March, as well as fires at Ust-Luga and extensive damage to Kirishi on 27 March.
BBC Verify’s analysis of the pictures indicates:
- Primorsk – at least eight storage tanks destroyed or damaged
- Ust-Luga – at least eight tanks destroyed or damaged
- Kirishi – at least two storage tanks damaged
Nasa’s satellite resource FIRMS, used to detect heat signatures on the Earth’s surface, indicates Primorsk was still burning as of 02:54 BST on Monday.
A heat signature was also detected by FIRMS at Ust-Luga at 12:28 on Monday. Leningrad region’s governor, Alexander Drozdenko, had said the fire had been contained on Sunday. He did not report any casualties.
BBC Verify has also confirmed several videos showing the aftermath of attacks on all three facilities in the past week, including clips showing massive smoke plumes rising into the sky from Primorsk.
The commander of Ukrainian military drone forces, Robert Brovdi, has said that an operation targeting these three Baltic oil export facilities was carried out between 23 and 28 March.
Brovdi added the strikes were aimed at “demilitarising 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”.
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