Fires at Russia's Primorsk oil terminal continued burning into Tuesday, more than 36 hours after Ukrainian drones struck fuel storage tanks at what is Russia's largest Baltic Sea oil export hub. Satellite imagery confirmed at least four tanks ablaze. Tanker loadings remain suspended. [1][2]

This paper's earlier report detailed the overnight strike on March 23, when dozens of drones hit storage facilities serving the terminal. Primorsk handles a significant share of Russia's seaborne crude and fuel exports to European and Asian markets. Reuters reported that the nearby Ust-Luga terminal, also struck in recent weeks, has restarted oil exports — but Primorsk remains shut, and no timeline for resumption has been given. [3]

Bloomberg reported that the strike caused Primorsk to suspend all tanker loadings, a disruption visible in real-time shipping data. The New York Post described the attack as having "crippled" Russia's largest oil port. [4] Ukraine's military confirmed the strike, calling it part of a systematic campaign against Russian energy infrastructure that has expanded from refineries to export terminals.

Russia's spring offensive on the ground continues despite the mounting damage to its energy export capacity. The contradiction between military ambition and economic vulnerability is not new — but Primorsk, still burning, makes it visible from space.

-- KATYA VOLKOV, Moscow