13 power substations were attacked in Crimea: power outages in Yalta

On the night of July 19, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces carried out strikes on 13 power substations—eight of which are located in the temporarily occupied Crimea—and also struck four vessels of the Russian “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea.

This was reported by Robert Brovdi (“Madyar”), commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces.

According to him, as part of Operations “MoLoChKa” and “Crimean Circuit Breaker Off,” Ukrainian drone operators struck 59 targets deep within enemy territory overnight.

In particular, according to Brovdi, power substations in Kerch, Stary Krym, Yalta, Sudak, Shchebetivka, Yedi-Kuyu, Ponyzivka, and Zelenyi Yar in occupied Crimea, as well as energy facilities in the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions.

Following the nighttime attack in Yalta, part of the city was left without power. Local residents and Crimean monitoring Telegram channels reported explosions and power outages. According to their reports, the 110/10 kV “Darsan” substation, located above the city’s 10th microdistrict, may have been damaged. Eyewitnesses also reported a fire in the vicinity of the facility. Robert Brovdi later confirmed that this particular substation had been attacked by servicemen of the 427th Separate Brigade of the Special Forces “Rarog.” Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense did not comment on the strike, and “Krymenergo,” a company controlled by the occupying authorities, stated that electricity supply to settlements in the Northern, Eastern, and Western power districts is being maintained within the limits of the power grid’s capacity following the drone attacks.

In addition, according to the commander of the Special Forces, two tankers, a dry cargo ship, and a floating crane were struck in the Black Sea; he classified them as part of the Russian “shadow fleet.”

The Security Service of Ukraine reported separately on the results of the nighttime operations. According to the SBU, the “Mamai” maritime drone struck the tanker “Avero” in the Black Sea, which is part ofthe Russian“shadow fleet” and was being used to transport crude oil in circumvention of G7 and EU sanctions. The security service noted that this is already the fourth tanker of this type struck by the SBU in the last ten days.

Also, according to the SBU, drones attacked three oil depots in the Stavropol Krai of the Russian Federation, located approximately 600 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. As a result of the strikes, the security service stated, large-scale fires broke out at all three facilities, and explosions and fires in fuel tanks were recorded.

Brovdi also summarized the operations of the Unmanned Systems Forces for the period from July 1 to 19. According to his data, during this time, Ukrainian units struck 176 vessels of the “shadow fleet” and 96 energy facilities.

Андрій Колісніченко