Drone terror will continue at least until Russia's elections - Budanov
Russia will maintain its Shahed drone terror campaign at least until its Sept. 18–20 elections, Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Budanov said in an inteview with Novyny.LIVE news outlet on Sept. 1.
On September 1, 2026, a drone attack damaged Russia's Baltic oil port of Ust-Luga, prompting NATO to scramble Turkish F-16 fighter jets. The attack, which crossed into Estonia and Latvia, targeted a major outlet for Russian energy exports. Ust-Luga handles approximately 700,000 barrels of crude daily and exported 32.9 million metric tons of oil products in 2025.
Its terminals also serve tankers seeking to bypass sanctions. Leningrad Oblast Governor Alexander Drozdenko confirmed emergency crews were working in the port zone while damage was assessed, claiming Russian air defenses had downed 52 drones in the region with no casualties reported. However, no specific facility or extent of the fire had been identified.
Images purportedly showing a blaze near the port were published by Militarnyi, though their authenticity has not been independently verified. The attack occurred overnight, disrupting operations at Ust-Luga's port. No immediate information was available on whether this disrupted port activities.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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