Russian Ports Had an Explosive Week. Here’s What Satellite Images Reveal

Mar 28, 2026

A satellite image shows a massive fire and thick black smoke rising over oil infrastructure at the port of Ust-Luga in Russia after a reported Ukrainian strike. (Source: Vantor/ISW)

Satellite imagery showed major fires at the Russian ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk after recent Ukrainian strikes, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on March 28.

In Ust-Luga, the images indicated a large blaze and heavy smoke covering several oil storage tanks at the port. In Primorsk, separate Planet Labs imagery showed a large column of smoke rising from the area after the attack.

Satellite imagery shows the Ust-Luga oil terminal in Russia’s Leningrad region before the reported strike on March 21, 2026. (Source: Vantor/ISW)

A second satellite image shows thick black smoke rising over the Ust-Luga oil terminal on March 27, 2026, after the reported strike. (Source: Vantor/ISW)

The reported damage also extended to the Kirishi oil refinery in Russia’s Leningrad region.

According to the update, two crude oil processing units and bitumen production facilities, hydroprocessing units, and gas fractionation infrastructure were damaged.

The Institute for the Study of War published the satellite imagery as visual evidence of the aftermath at the two ports, while the accompanying report outlined the scale of the reported damage at Kirishi

The ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk are key nodes in Russia’s oil export network, making any confirmed damage there operationally significant.

A hit on the Kirishi refinery, one of the country’s major refining facilities, would add further pressure on Russia’s energy logistics and domestic fuel processing capacity, ISW noted.

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