Fire at Russian port – Finland halts air traffic

 

 

TT-AFP

 

Published 04:24 | Updated 13:05

 

St. Petersburg as seen from the Gulf of Finland in October. Photo: Dmitri Lovetsky/AP/TT

A Russian oil port on the Gulf of Finland is on fire following a drone attack. During the night, residents in several neighboring countries were issued warnings regarding drones.

Finland has reported a suspected drone incursion into its airspace.

According to Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, 150 drones were shot down over the area during the night. The target of the suspected Ukrainian attack was reportedly the port area of ​​Ust-Luga.

"Several drones struck, causing a fire and injuring three workers," the governor wrote on Telegram.

The port of Ust-Luga, located near the Estonian border, is a key hub for Russia’s export of fossil fuels and is included on the EU’s sanctions list. It has been targeted by Ukraine on several previous occasions. According to Yle, the flames at the port were visible from Estonia on Wednesday morning.

Airport closed

As a precautionary measure, Finland temporarily closed parts of its airspace and halted maritime traffic in the eastern Gulf of Finland during the night, the Finnish Defence Forces stated on X. By midday, the Ministry of Defence in Helsinki announced that it is investigating a suspected drone incursion into the country’s airspace. "We view what has happened very seriously. An investigation into the events is underway," says Minister of Defence Antti Häkkänen in a statement, according to Yle.

The airport in St. Petersburg, Russia, was also closed overnight; according to the Finnish Border Guard, this forced two aircraft to make temporary landings in Helsinki.

NATO aircraft scrambled

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania issued drone warnings on Tuesday evening and overnight into Wednesday, reports the public broadcaster LRT. In Lithuania, NATO aircraft were scrambled in response to the alerts.

Ukrainian attacks overnight have also been reported further south in western Russia. According to Vasily Anokhin, governor of the Smolensk region, two people were killed in Yartsevo, near the border with Belarus.

These attacks are taking place alongside negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and Wednesday.