Two people died after drone debris struck an apartment building in Yartsevo and a fire broke out, while a separate overnight attack set a fire at Russia’s major Baltic port of Ust-Luga, regional officials said Wednesday.
Smolensk region Governor Vasily Anokhin said debris hit the building before the fire began. He reported 37 drones intercepted over Smolensk region that night. Russia’s aviation authority briefly restricted flights to and from St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, then lifted the restrictions.
Leningrad region Governor Alexander Drozdenko said three workers were injured at Ust-Luga, but their lives were not in danger. He gave a preliminary count of 150 drones intercepted over Leningrad region. In another update, Drozdenko said an unexpected shutdown affected a transformer substation in Ust-Luga.
Ust-Luga handled 130.5 million metric tons of cargo in 2025, the highest total among Baltic ports in the Association of Commercial Sea Ports’ annual figures. The EU included Ust-Luga in a February 2025 transaction ban, the European Commission said, citing the port’s role in Russian crude shipments involving shadow-fleet vessels.
Drozdenko had also described port-area damage and a fire after a Sept. 1 drone attack. EconoTimes previously reported the Ust-Luga port fire and injuries to three workers.
