Satellite images of one of Russia’s key Baltic oil ports have revealed the destruction caused by Ukrainian strikes. Kyiv’s drone swarms hit oil hubs in Russia’s Baltic Sea region four times over five consecutive nights this week, sending 100m-high walls of flames into the sky and creating smoke plumes that could be seen from Finland. In new satellite pictures of Ust-Luga, one of Russia’s main export hubs for refined products, which handles some 18 million tons of fuel oil annually, thick curtains of smog could be seen rising from a pulverised oil loading pier, while damage could also be seen at storage tanks and technical trestles, according to the Ukrainian military analysis website Militarnyi.

Source: The Times March 29, 2026 13:03 UTC