Seven airmen and three military aircraft perished on November 11 as a drone raid targeted the area near St. Petersburg.
The overnight assault targeted vital energy infrastructure in Leningrad Oblast, including the Ust-Luga oil terminal and radar installations, EUobserver reported. The air defense operations resulted in the loss of a MiG-31 interceptor, a Ka-52 helicopter, and an Mi-8 helicopter, with analysts speculating that compromised friend-or-foe identification systems may have contributed to the disaster.
🔥Three Russian radar systems were struck during Ukraine’s massive drone attack on Leningrad Oblast on November 11, according to Dosye Shpiona. ●Nebo-SVU long-range surveillance radar ●40V6 mobile radar tower ●Sopka-2 airspace surveillance radar complex pic.twitter.com/qUtqSxZYCk
“Defending the skies over St Petersburg from drone attacks has cost us dearly today. Very, very, very dearly,” the aviation channel Fighterbomber admitted on Wednesday evening, as cited by EUobserver.
The Voevoda Broadcasts channel echoed that grim assessment, stating that defending the skies had never cost so much in a single night.
The fire at the port of Ust-Luga is visible from Estonia. pic.twitter.com/5ev0HpgMiZ
The aerial losses unfolded alongside a broader maritime strike in the Gulf of Finland. Ukraine’s SSU announced that drones had struck the Russian Navy missile corvette Naro-Fominsk near Gogland Island, marking the first time a Russian warship has been hit actively deployed at sea in the Baltic region since the full-scale invasion began.
The 243-foot Buyan-M-class vessel, which carries eight vertical launch cells for Kalibr cruise missiles, was targeted during the same operational window that set oil tanks ablaze at Ust-Luga. Finnish sensors independently registered flashes and smoke from the ship while it operated in international waters, according to Brig. Gen. Markku Viitasaari, director of national defense at Finland’s Ministry of Defense, as reported by AutoNotion.
The massive drone attack also overwhelmed regional air defenses on November 11, destroying three key radar systems in Leningrad Oblast, according to monitoring data shared by Dosye Shpiona. The strikes took out a Nebo-SVU long-range surveillance radar, a 40V6 mobile radar tower, and a Sopka-2 airspace surveillance radar complex.
Meanwhile, satellite data from NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System detected intense thermal anomalies and multiple fire sources across the Ust-Luga port area. The resulting blazes sent thick columns of smoke into the air that remained clearly visible from across the Estonian border.
🔥 In addition to the port in Ust-Luga, thermal signatures are also recorded in the area of the pier, where, according to available information, bunkering vessels are moored to receive oil products. Nearby is the OJSC "Forest Terminal "Factor", which is engaged in the shipment… pic.twitter.com/D33zvtZCtO”
Drone attack on Ust-Luga port, Leningrad region of Russia. It's one of the largest Russian trade ports in the Baltic Sea. Even the local governor had to confirm the resulting fire. pic.twitter.com/YUjd1b8Bh8
On November 11, 2026, an attack was carried out on the positions of a radar reconnaissance unit located in the Leningrad region. The following were hit: • "Nebo-SVU" radar station; • Universal mobile antenna mast 40V6; • "Sopka-2" trajectory radar complex. pic.twitter.com/tXThoxzTlu
