MOSCOW  -  Russian energy company Novatek (NVTK.MM), opens new tab said on Sunday it had been forced to suspend some operations at a huge Baltic Sea fuel export terminal due to a fire started by what Ukrainian media said was a drone attack. The giant Ust-Luga complex, located on the Gulf of Finland about 170 km (110 miles) west of St. Petersburg, is used to ship oil and gas products to international markets. It processes stable gas con­densate - a type of light oil - into light and heavy naphtha, kerosene and diesel to be shipped by sea.

It was not clear how long the dis­ruption would last, how many tankers would have to idle outside the port, and what the knock-on effect would be on international energy markets. The Interfax-Ukraine news agency, citing unnamed sources, said the fire was the result of a special operation carried out by Ukraine’s security services.

“The Ust-Luga Oil terminal in the Leningrad region is an important facil­ity for the enemy. Fuel is refined there, which, among other things, is also sup­plied to Russian troops,” it cited one source as saying. “A successful attack on such a terminal not only causes eco­nomic damage to the enemy, depriving the occupiers of the opportunity to earn money to wage war in Ukraine, but also significantly complicates the logistics of fuel for the Russian military.” Reuters could not confirm that the fire resulted from a Ukrainian drone attack.

If it did, such an attack would dem­onstrate Kyiv’s ability to conduct strikes deeper into Russia than usual using what are believed to be do­mestically produced drones at a time when it is on the defensive on the battlefield and struggling to secure as much Western financing as it wants.

Such an attack, the latest in a spate of apparent strikes in recent days targeting Russian energy facilities, would also raise awkward questions about the quality of Russian air de­fence systems around key infrastruc­ture facilities. The incident, along with what Russia says was a Ukrai­nian artillery strike on civilians in a Russian-held city in eastern Ukraine that left at least 25 dead, could prompt wider Russian retaliation in a war which shows no sign of ending.

Alexander Drozdenko, the Lenin­grad region’s governor, said on the Telegram messaging app, that there had been no casualties at the Ust-Luga terminal and all workers had been safely evacuated. Russian news agencies reported that two storage tanks and a pumping station had been damaged, but that the fire had been brought under control.