Aivar Hanniotti, coordinator of the Estonian Defense League's unmanned aerial vehicle operations, said that the flight path of the Ukrainian attack drone that reached Ust-Luga Port did not follow a straight line nor pass near Estonia.

"It is highly likely that the operation started from the Kyiv region and proceeded by avoiding large cities and critical infrastructure all the way to Leningrad Oblast. In this way, it is possible to reach a wide variety of targets using attack drones of the aircraft type," Hanniotti explained.

This also highlights why air defense systems cannot intercept all drone attacks on critical infrastructure.

"Covering such a large area with air defense is physically impossible. There will always be areas and locations that remain unprotected. By knowing and exploiting these gaps and learning from previous missions, it is possible to carry out very successful operations," Hanniotti noted.

According to the Air Force's Control and Reporting Center, Ukraine did not use Estonian airspace for the drone attack, nor did Russian air defense systems.

Security expert Raivo Vare considers the attack on Ust-Luga Port to be a significant event. In addition to the port itself, the area also contains other facilities, including Russia's largest coal terminal.

"This port handles several goods that are important for Russia, both in terms of imports and exports. Secondly, it is a key port supplying Central Russia. And thirdly, it affects not only St. Petersburg but also the Moscow region, which are major consumption markets. What's more, several fuels are transported through the port and it houses a Gazprom plant," Vare explained.

Ust-Luga has previously been targeted by Ukrainian drones, but there were no reports of hits during earlier attacks.

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