Ukrainian Defense Forces damage Russian patrol icebreaker Purga
Ukrainian Defense Forces hit the Russian Project 23550 patrol icebreaker Purga while it was at the Vyborg Shipyard in Russia’s Leningrad Oblast overnight into Wednesday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
The vessel was intended for the Border Service of Russia’s FSB.
“Such vessels serve both as icebreakers and as warships,” according to the General Staff.
The long-range units of the Defense Forces also struck the Baltic port of Ust-Luga in Leningrad Oblast, nearly 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine’s northern border. The port is being expanded to become the largest on the Baltic Sea and the second-largest in Russia.
Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Unmanned Systems Forces, Main Directorate of Intelligence (DIU), State Border Guard Service and Foreign Intelligence Service targeted facilities of the Russian gas giant Novatek — the country’s largest producer of liquefied natural gas, which has been under EU and U.S. sanctions since 2014.
The strike damaged oil-loading racks and a tank farm containing oil and petroleum products. A large fire was reported at the port, confirmed by the governor of Leningrad Oblast.
The Novatek complex in Ust-Luga, with an annual capacity of nearly 7 million tons, processes stable gas condensate into petroleum products that Russia exports by sea, including via its “shadow fleet.”
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