Ukrainian drones strike port in Russia’s Leningrad region, sparking fire
Ukrainian drones attacked Russia’s Leningrad region overnight on November 11, and 150 of them were shot down over the region, Governor Alexander Drozdenko said.
He said the attack targeted the port zone of Ust-Luga, in the Kingisepp district. Several drones hit the area, sparking a fire and injuring three port workers. A transformer substation in Ust-Luga also experienced an emergency shutdown.
The drone attack forced the closure of Pulkovo Airport. Passenger planes flying to St. Petersburg from Istanbul and Hurghada landed in Helsinki instead. By morning, 30 outbound flights from Pulkovo were delayed.
Smolensk region also came under drone attack, and air defenses shot down 37 drones, said the region’s governor, Vasily Anokhin. In the city of Yartsevo, “debris” hit a multi-story building, sparking a fire. Two people died.
Videos posted online show an apartment on fire inside a residential building.
The nighttime drone attack on Leningrad region also prompted warnings about a possible airspace threat in several regions of Latvia and in Lithuania.
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What debris?
Russian propaganda often uses the phrase “drone debris” to conceal the scale of an attack and highlight the effectiveness of its air defense forces. Ukraine has now adopted the same tactic. Sometimes fragments of drones and missiles do fall to the ground. But during wartime, we cannot quickly confirm or disprove this information. Treat reports of “drone debris” with caution.