An “external factor” caused a fire at a natural gas terminal in the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga on Sunday, according to Novatek, Russia’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas.
The operator stated that there were no victims and that the fire was “currently localised” at the facility 110 kilometers (70 miles) west of St Petersburg, near the Estonian border.
Neither Novaktek nor the authorities provided any information regarding the cause of the fire, which occurred 1,000 kilometers (600 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Kyiv claimed credit this week for two strikes on Russian oil tanks, one of which occurred in the same Leningrad region as Ust-Luga.
The second attack in the Bransk region bordering Ukraine led to a major fire.
The Kremlin continues to portray the crisis with Ukraine as having no impact on daily life in Russia.
However, with Russia’s presidential election approaching in March, Ukraine has increased drone and missile attacks across the border in enemy territory.
Despite social media videos purporting to show columns of smoke and flames at the gas terminal, Usk-Luga authorities issued a comforting statement about the fire.
“No casualties as a result of a fire at Novatek’s terminal in the port of Ust-Luga. Personnel were evacuated,” Aleksandr Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad Oblast, posted on Telegram along with a short video showing a massive fire and smoke at a chemical complex.
The Ria-Novosti news agency said a 100 cubic metre container was ablaze.
“A high alert regime has been introduced in the Kingiseppsky district (which includes the port),” Drozdenko said.
The Russian ministry of emergency situations and local fire service were involved in fighting the blaze, he added.
Local official Yuri Zapalatski said the fire started just before 2:45 am local time.
According to the TASS news agency and other official media, the cause of the fire has not been announced.
The Russian defense ministry reported on Sunday that Ukrainian strikes had been repelled overnight, but made no mention of any event in the Leningrad region.
The Ust-Luga complex converts natural gas condensate into naphtha, jet fuel, and ship fuel components, according to Novatek’s website.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, which has never been operational since a sabotage raid in September 2022, begins in Ust-Luga.