There has been a rise in drone assaults on Russian territory. St. Petersburg’s port has halted saltpeter transshipments out of concern that another drone strike might have catastrophic effects on the city.
According to local officials, Ust-Luga, a massive fuel export terminal and processing complex on the Baltic Sea, will replace the Big Port of St. Petersburg as the new location for saltpeter transshipment. An impurity in salt utilized in gunpowder and pyrotechnics is known as saltpeter, also called sodium/potassium nitrate. When it comes into touch with specific agents, such as chemicals based on charcoal or sulfur, it can cause an explosive and exothermic reaction.
Russian oil terminals and refineries have been under increased pressure from Ukraine recently, prompting Moscow to impose a temporary export embargo on gasoline in February. Drones hadn’t attacked Putin’s home territory since the full-scale conflict in Ukraine broke out until Kyiv assaulted the St. Petersburg oil terminal. On January 21, a significant gas export terminal, a Novatek PJSC gas-condensate facility at the port of Ust-Luga, was hit by another drone strike in St. Petersburg. The attack caused a massive fire and cut off the fuel supply. This attack against Russia’s main Baltic port, Ust-Luga, was allegedly carried out by the Ukrainian Security Service.
Ukraine seldom claims attacks on Russian territory.
The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of trying to carry out terrorist acts using drones, and several drone strikes have targeted munitions stockpiles and warehousesThe SBU security service of Ukraine recently carried out successful attacks on twelve oil refineries located in Russia, cutting the country’s refining capacity by 600,000 barrels per day.
Drone strikes in February caused the Great Port of St. Petersburg to halt nitrate transshipment. The local government is considering relocating the nitrate transshipment outside the city, most likely to Ust-Luga. The loss of commercial activities with Europe puts the port of St. Petersburg in an even more precarious position, as it will lose an additional three million tons of cargo yearly.
