Five drone attacks in a single week knocked an estimated $970 million off Russia’s energy exports. Analysts put the loss at that figure for the week ending March 29, after strikes on Primorsk and Ust-Luga, the two main Baltic outlets for Russian oil. Mezha, the outlet that carried the analysis, reported the numbers on April 6.
Together the two terminals handle more than 40% of Russia’s maritime oil export capacity. A Western security official told the outlet that about $200 million worth of oil burned after the hits on Primorsk. Argus reported that exports from Ust-Luga fell by roughly 70% in the last week of March.
How long the damage may last
Vladimir Nikitin, an oil analyst at Seala AI, said loading at Primorsk could resume within days. A full recovery is another matter. Rebuilding the burned reservoirs without cutting into exports could take months, he said. At Ust-Luga, repairs to the processing lines may run past a month.
The strikes did not stop on March 29. Drones hit Primorsk again on April 5, along with oil sites near Nizhny Novgorod, where they started fires, damaged a pipeline and cut power. Satellite images show heavy damage at both Baltic ports, including destroyed oil storage tanks.
The timing is awkward for Moscow. Global oil prices have been rising because of conflicts in the Middle East, yet the drone campaign is eating into the volumes Russia can actually ship. Russia’s total oil-tax revenue in March fell significantly compared with the same month a year earlier, according to the report.
The Kremlin’s answer
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia is making “intense” efforts to protect its energy infrastructure. He also conceded that “100-percent security” for oil facilities cannot be provided.
Russia relies on a layered defense of electronic warfare, physical barriers and reservists. Analysts quoted by Mezha warn that it may not keep pace with drones that keep changing. Rosneft, the country’s largest oil exporter, runs its own electronic-warfare systems, but they do not always work against the newest models.
A law the president signed in November 2025 allows reservists to be recruited to guard facilities deemed critically important. Andriy Kartapolov, who heads the State Duma’s defense committee, said their main job is to work in mobile firing groups, each with a machine gun mounted on a UAZ off-road vehicle.
The cost of protection falls largely on the companies themselves. State-owned enterprises have been paying for their own anti-drone measures, which has produced friction and complaints from business. Russian media reported that by spring 2025 about 80% of civilian enterprises had drone-protection systems installed.
