Ukrainian drone attack shuts Russian Novatek plant

Russia’s Novatek plant, located in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, has halted its operations following a Ukrainian drone attack.

That’s according to Bloomberg, Ukrinform reports.

As noted, the attack was a special operation of Ukrainian security forces. An official source in Kyiv it didn’t identify, said special forces struck the plant with drones.

According to Novatek, the Ust-Luga gas condensate-processing plant has ceased all technological operations. There were no casualties. The blaze was the result of “external influence,” Novatek said.

Fontanka, a local media outlet, said drones struck the facility, in the Leningrad region, early local time on Sunday morning, although Russia’s defense ministry reported no attacks in the area.

The Ust-Luga port is one of the country’s two main Baltic Sea energy-export outlets, located about 130 kilometers southwest of St. Petersburg, hometown of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and not far from the Estonian border.

As reported by Ukrinform, Russia reported a drone attack on the Tula, Smolensk and Orel regions. Russian social networks reported explosions in Tula. Later, Russian TV channels reported attacks and shootdown of allegedly Ukrainian drones in three regions of the Russian Federation.