Russias Primorsk Port and Nizhny Novgorod Oil Refinery Targeted by Ukraine

Russian Authorities Report Damage at Primorsk Port and NORSI Oil Refinery

Ukrainian drone forces have reportedly struck Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Primorsk and the NORSI oil refinery in the central Nizhny Novgorod region, according to Ukrainian authorities. The overnight attacks were first reported by Russian officials on Sunday.

According to Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Russia’s northwestern Leningrad region, a fuel reservoir in the port area leaked after being hit by shrapnel. In a subsequent post on Telegram, he stated that a pipeline was initially damaged at Primorsk, one of Russia’s main oil exporting outlets.

In Nizhny Novgorod, Governor Gleb Nikitin reported that a fire had broken out at the NORSI oil refinery, with two facilities reportedly hit. The governor also mentioned that a power station and several houses were damaged during the attack, although there were no injuries according to preliminary information.

Primorsk is used by Russia’s oil transport company Transneft to ship oil abroad. NORSI, which is also Russia’s second-largest producer of petrol, can process 16 million metric tonnes of oil per year.

Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure have increased in recent months as part of efforts to disrupt a key source of revenue for Moscow’s war on Ukraine. In the past month, approximately 40 percent of Russia’s oil exporting capabilities were shut down due to these attacks, as well as the closure of the Druzhba pipeline and the seizure of Russia-linked tankers.

Recent diplomatic efforts to end the conflict have stalled, with high-level talks held in Abu Dhabi and Geneva this year. A fourth round of talks scheduled for last month was postponed due to the US-Israel war on Iran.

Source: Al Jazeera