On the morning of 24 August, a Novatek terminal caught fire in the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad region. Regional Governor Alexander Drozdenko said that the fire was caused by debris from drones shot down over the region. There were no casualties, and the fuel tanks were not affected by the fire.
A night-time drone attack also took place near the Kursk nuclear power plant. According to the NPP administration, the device detonated upon impact and damaged a transformer. A fire broke out at the crash site, which has already been extinguished. Unit 3 of the plant was partially unloaded by 50%. The radiation background remained within normal limits, and there were no casualties.
In Syzran, Samara Region, Ukrainian drones attacked an industrial enterprise. Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev did not specify which plant it was, but said there were no casualties. According to the Astra Telegram channel, it was the Syzran oil refinery.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, on 23 August, air defences shot down 57 Ukrainian drones, with another 95 shot down at night. The attacks were recorded in the Bryansk, Tver, Kaluga, Smolensk, Kursk, Leningrad, Novgorod, Oryol, Tambov, Belgorod, Rostov and Samara regions, as well as in the Moscow region, Chuvashia, Tatarstan and occupied Crimea, over the Black Sea.
Due to the attacks, airports in Penza, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, Kirov, Kaluga and Izhevsk were temporarily closed. In St. Petersburg, more than 60 flights were delayed at Pulkovo Airport on the evening of 23 August, and 39 flights were redirected to alternate airports.
Ukrainian drones are systematically striking targets in Russia’s energy sector, including oil refineries. The Novatek terminal in the port of Ust-Luga has already been attacked, partially halting operations and driving up gasoline prices.