Five drone attacks on Primorsk and Ust-Luga since the start of a single week cost Russia about $970 million in energy exports, according to analysts. The figure covers the week ending March 29. The two Baltic ports together account for more than 40% of Russia’s maritime oil export capacity.
The strikes came even as oil prices rose worldwide because of conflicts in the Middle East. The drones, in other words, cut into Russian trade at a time when higher prices should have helped it.
Damage at the ports
A Western security official said oil worth about $200 million burned after the attacks on Primorsk. Argus reported that exports from Ust-Luga dropped by about 70% in the last week of March.
Vladimir Nikitin, an oil analyst at Seala AI, said loading at the Primorsk terminal could recover within a few days. A full recovery is less certain, he said, since rebuilding the burned storage tanks without hurting exports could take months. Repairs to processing lines at Ust-Luga may take more than a month.
Satellite images showed heavy damage at both ports, with oil storage tanks destroyed and part of export capacity reduced. On April 5, drones hit Primorsk again, along with oil sites in Nizhny Novgorod, causing fires, pipeline damage and power outages that disrupted regional energy and port operations.
Moscow’s defenses
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia is making “intense” efforts to protect its energy infrastructure. He conceded that “providing 100-percent security” for oil facilities is impossible.
Russia has built a multi-layer defense that mixes electronic warfare, physical barriers and reservists guarding oil sites. Analysts warn that it may not keep pace with drones that keep changing. Rosneft, the largest oil exporter, runs its own electronic-warfare systems, though they do not always work against the newest models. In November last year the president signed a law allowing reservists to be recruited to protect “critically important” facilities. Andriy Kartapolov, head of the State Duma’s defense committee, said their main job is to serve in mobile firing groups, each with a machine gun mounted on a UAZ off-road vehicle.
State-owned enterprises pay for drone protection themselves, which has caused friction and dissatisfaction among businesses. Russian media reported that by spring 2025 about 80% of civilian enterprises had drone-protection systems.
Russia’s total oil-tax revenue in March was significantly lower than a year earlier.
