Russia Claims 92 Drones Downed Near Key Baltic Oil Ports

Russian authorities said air defense systems shot down 92 drones over the Leningrad region early Wednesday, as attacks continued near strategic oil export infrastructure on the Baltic Sea.

Regional Governor Aleksandr Drozdenko announced the interceptions on Telegram on November 11.

Reuters said it could not independently verify the reported number of drones destroyed.

The Leningrad region is home to several of Russia's most important Baltic export facilities, including the ports of Ust-Luga, Primorsk and Vysotsk, which handle oil, petroleum products and other cargo.

The region also hosts the Kirishi refinery, one of Russia's largest oil-processing facilities.

The latest reported drone activity follows an attack on the Kirishi refinery on November 9, which caused a fire at the Surgutneftegaz-operated facility.

Russian authorities said a woman was killed in the region during that earlier attack.

The incidents come amid an intensifying campaign of drone strikes against Russian energy infrastructure.

According to Reuters, recent Ukrainian attacks have disrupted operations at several major Russian refineries, placing additional pressure on the country's fuel-processing capacity.

The latest developments have also raised security concerns in neighboring NATO countries.

Lithuania and Latvia issued warnings over unidentified drones approaching or entering their airspace from the direction of Russia or Belarus, prompting NATO air policing aircraft to respond.

Meanwhile, Washington is pursuing renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war, with Russian and Ukrainian delegations holding US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi.

Russian officials have not established that the Baltic oil terminals were directly struck in Wednesday's reported attack.

The scale of the drone interceptions and any resulting damage remain independently unverified.