Russian Oil Exports Plunge as Drone Strikes Cripple Baltic Ports
Weekly shipments from Baltic ports hit the lowest since Moscow invaded Ukraine
Smoke billows from crude oil storage tanks at Russia's Primorsk oil export terminal on March 24, 2026.
Photographer: Sentinel Hub/Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data [2026] processed by Sentinel Hub
Crippling drone strikes on key Russian ports sent the nation’s oil flows tumbling to the lowest in more than a year and dented funding for the Kremlin’s war chest. Baltic shipments were the lowest since Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Repeated attacks on the oil export terminals at Primorsk and Ust-Luga set storage tanks ablaze and halted loading activities for much of last week, cutting flows through the ports to about a third of the previous week’s level and reducing Moscow’s oil income by more than $1 billion.