Ukraine Hits Russia’s Biggest Baltic Port as 516 Drones Reportedly Swarm Russian Skies

Ukrainian drones targeted Russia’s Leningrad Region early Tuesday, Sept. 1, striking the Ust-Luga port and sparking a fire as Moscow claimed more than 500 drones were intercepted nationwide.According to regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko, 52 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region within four hours.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“Damage has been recorded in the Ust-Luga port area, and there is a fire. Emergency services are working at the scene. Information on the consequences is being clarified,” Drozdenko initially wrote on Telegram.He later said the fire caused by the drone attack had been extinguished and that there were no casualties.The drone attack also prompted Estonia to scramble NATO fighter jets after several drones reportedly entered Estonian airspace, according to Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.The incident triggered air raid alerts in areas near the border.Ust-Luga, Russia’s largest port on the Baltic Sea and the country’s second-largest port after Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, was previously targeted on Aug. 14.The port is a major export hub for oil, naphtha, fuel oil, jet fuel and gas oil.According to Reuters, oil exports through Ust-Luga averaged around 700,000 barrels per day in 2025, while the port handled 32.8 million metric tons of petroleum product exports.Grain traders have also increasingly redirected shipments to Baltic ports, including Ust-Luga, following Ukrainian strikes on Russian ports in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov. Other Topics of Interest India-Russia: A Changing Equation Energy, trade, and transport connectivity are reshaping the India-Russia relationship amid shifting geopolitical and economic realities. Separately, the Russian independent outlet Astra, citing local residents, reported a large fire in the town of Koltushi in the Leningrad Region, near the Vyborzhets agricultural company.Residents reportedly heard an explosion shortly before the fire broke out. There were no casualties reported in the incident. Emergency services were working at the scene, and the circumstances were being investigated. Drones also target Samara regionUkrainian drones also attacked Russia’s Samara Region overnight.“Currently, there is damage to civilian facilities. According to preliminary data, there are no casualties,” regional Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said, without specifying which facilities were damaged.According to local Telegram channels, Tolyatti and Novokuibyshevsk were targeted.Ukrainian monitoring channels Supernova+ and Exilenova+ published photographs showing a damaged multi-story building in Novokuibyshevsk. An OSINT analysis by Astra found several oil infrastructure facilities near the damaged building.“The damaged building is located at 9 Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Street. The Novokuibyshevsk Oil Refinery is approximately 3 kilometers away. Also 3 kilometers away, directly along the expected route, is the Novokuibyshevskaya 220 kV electrical substation,” the outlet reported.Astra also identified the Voskresenka Line Operational Dispatch Station approximately 1.7 kilometers away. The facility is part of Transneft-Druzhba and handles the receipt, storage, accounting and transportation of petroleum products through main pipelines. Russia claims 516 Ukrainian drones destroyedRussia’s Defense Ministry claimed that its air defenses destroyed 516 Ukrainian drones overnight over 18 Russian regions, the Moscow region, occupied Crimea and the Black Sea.The ministry said drones were intercepted over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Leningrad, Novgorod, Oryol, Pskov, Rostov, Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Tver, Tula and Ulyanovsk regions.The Ukrainian government has not yet commented on its involvement in the attacks.Ukraine reports strikes on Russian military facilitiesMeanwhile, Ukraine’s General Staff reported strikes on several Russian military facilities carried out on Aug. 31 and early Sept. 1.In Donetsk and Gvardiyske in occupied Crimea, Ukrainian forces struck facilities used to store, train and launch attack drones used by Russian forces against Ukraine.Ukrainian units also disabled a Russian communications hub in Myrne, occupied Crimea.In Polohy, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian forces struck a Russian command-and-observation post used to coordinate troops operating in the area.In Verkhnekamyanka, Luhansk region, Ukrainian forces hit an area where Russian military equipment was concentrated.In Borisovka, Russian Belgorod Region, Ukrainian forces destroyed a fuel and lubricants depot used to supply Russian military equipment.