Drone strike sets NOVATEK facilities ablaze at key Russian port PHOTO

Facilities belonging to Russian energy company NOVATEK were reportedly damaged and caught fire following a drone attack on the Ust-Luga port in Russia’s Leningrad Region, says an OSINT analysis by ASTRA.

Eyewitness footage showed smoke rising over the port on August 14 as the area came under attack. An OSINT analyst assessed that the strike may have hit the NOVATEK-Ust-Luga production complex, which handles the fractionation and transshipment of stable gas condensate.

At around 6 a.m. local time, Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko said that “damage was recorded in the area of the Ust-Luga port.” About 30 minutes later, he reported that “a fire was recorded at the Ust-Luga port as a result of the damage.”

By shortly after 8 a.m. local time, Drozdenko said that “all consequences of the attack at the Ust-Luga port have been eliminated,” adding that there were no casualties.

According to the governor, Russian air defences shot down 54 drones overnight.

Ust-Luga is one of Russia’s key ports for exporting oil and other raw materials and has been repeatedly targeted in recent months. The port was attacked on July 6, May 3, April 7 and March 31, while its facilities were reportedly targeted five times in March alone.

Drone attacks on Ust-Luga have continued for more than two years. The first reported strike occurred on January 21, 2024, when a fire broke out at a NOVATEK terminal and burned for several hours.

The port has also been the subject of heightened security concerns. In May 2026, Russia’s Investigative Committee said magnetic mines had been discovered aboard a gas carrier that had arrived in Ust-Luga from Antwerp.

By Vafa Guliyeva