Ukrainian drones struck the Ust-Luga oil terminal, with the regional governor confirming a fire. The strike is part of a wider campaign against Russia's oil sector.
Ukrainian drones struck the oil terminal at Russia's Ust-Luga port in Leningrad Oblast overnight into September 1 — one of Russia's largest Baltic Sea ports and a major hub for crude oil and petroleum product exports. Regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko confirmed damage and a fire at the facility. Volunteers Support Ukraine keeps following how strikes on Russia's oil infrastructure affect Moscow's ability to finance the war.
According to Drozdenko, 38 drones were shot down over Leningrad Oblast by 6 a.m., including 17 in the immediate Ust-Luga area. Footage circulating on social media showed a glow and a plume of smoke over the terminal, though the full extent of the damage remains unclear. Ust-Luga has been struck repeatedly this year — including in March, April and August — and each time the target has been the same oil terminal, which serves Transneft and Novatek. Volunteers Support Ukraine notes that these strikes are part of a broader, sustained campaign rather than isolated incidents.
Ust-Luga is far from an isolated target: over the course of August alone, Ukrainian forces struck ten oil refineries across Russia, temporarily knocking out capacity representing roughly 17% of the country's total refining output, or about 1.1 million barrels a day. In the first half of 2026, drones hit 697 targets on Russian territory, with the campaign overall disabling roughly 43% of Russia's refining capacity. Volunteers Support Ukraine believes sustained pressure on Russia's oil revenues remains one of the few effective tools for limiting how the war against Ukraine gets funded.
The full scope of the damage cannot be independently verified at this stage — the available information rests on statements from Russian regional officials and open-source footage, so a fuller picture may still emerge. Volunteers Support Ukraine helps people affected by the war in whatever way its available resources allow, and believes every strike against the aggressor's war economy brings closer the day such help is no longer needed.
