Ukrainian drones struck the Russian port of Primorsk, located on the Baltic Sea, on Sunday. The governor of this locality claimed to have shot down more than 60 drones during the night. This port is a Russian oil export center. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, several boats were hit. Other attacks were launched by kyiv across Russia.

Published on: 03/05/2026 - 16:53

The Russian port of Primorsk, located on the Baltic Sea, was struck on Sunday May 3 by Ukrainian drones. This site is a major oil export center. A fire broke out after several boats were hit, but it was quickly extinguished.

Local governor Alexander Drozdenko said more than 60 drones were shot down overnight in northwest Russia. The attack on Primorsk, where a major oil export center is located, did not cause an oil spill and the fire it started was quickly extinguished, he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his part declared that kyiv had notably struck an oil tanker in the port, as well as a missile ship and a patrol boat, adding that "each result of this type further reduces Russia's war potential".

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Primorsk, one of Russia's largest export ports, has a processing capacity of one million barrels of oil per day. It has been hit repeatedly in recent months, with kyiv stepping up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and other targets as talks to end the war in Ukraine - led by the United States - have stalled.

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Volodymyr Zelensky initially declared that Ukrainian forces had struck two ghost fleet tankers in the waters at the entrance to the Russian port of Novorossiysk, on the Black Sea.

“These tankers were actively used to transport oil – this is no longer the case,” he said on Telegram. “Ukraine’s long-range capabilities will continue to be developed comprehensively – at sea, in the air and on land,” he continued.

Threat to oil prices

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday that global oil prices could rise further if Ukraine continues to hit Russian oil infrastructure, according to Russian television.

"If additional volumes of our oil are withdrawn from the market, prices will rise further from current levels, which already exceed $120 per barrel. This would mean that even with lower export volumes, our companies would earn more money and the state would receive more revenue," he said.

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Other Russian regions also reported drone attacks on Saturday and Sunday. Moscow Region Governor Andrei Vorobiov said Saturday evening that a 77-year-old man had died in a village following a drone strike.

Sergei Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, for his part reported four drones shot down while heading towards the Russian capital. Vasily Anokhin, governor of the western Smolensk region, said three people, including a child, were injured on Sunday after a drone attack on an apartment building.

Russian troops were simultaneously advancing slowly toward the town of Kostiantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukraine's top military official said Saturday.

With Reuters

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