Ukrainian drones struck 12 tankers carrying fuel to Crimea overnight

On the night of July 9, drones struck 14 vessels of the Russian Federation’s “shadow fleet” in the Sea of Azov—12 oil tankers, one dry cargo ship, and one tugboat.

This was reported by Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces.

The vessels struck were:

• the tanker “Chelsea-6” (flying the Russian flag);
• the tanker “Aura” (flying the Russian flag);
• the tanker “Sonar-1” (Russian flag);
• the tanker “Ilya Repin” (Russian flag);
• "Mercury" (Russian flag, vessel type to be determined);
• the tanker "Galiaskar Kamal" (Panamanian flag, under sanctions);
• tugboat "Alfeo" (Russian flag, with barge "Aphrodite");
• the tanker "Venera-3" (Russian flag);
• the tanker "Penelope" (Russian flag);
• 5 additional vessels—details to be confirmed.

As Brovdi noted, in the last four days alone, Ukrainian drones have attacked 35 tankers and other vessels in the Sea of Azov. The results of the strikes, he said, are confirmed by video footage of the attacks.

The commander of the Special Operations Forces stated that the attacked tankers have been identified as partof Russia’s“shadow fleet” and are subject to international sanctions.

The day before, the Defense Forces destroyed eightenemy tankers inthe Sea of Azov in a single night. All of them are subject to international sanctions, with a carrying capacity of 7,000 metric tons each and a length of 140 meters.

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, such vessels were used, in particular, to transport fuel and supply fuel and lubricants to Russian troops, including Russian forces in occupied Crimea.

In addition, the tankers were used to transport Russian oil and petroleum products in circumvention of international sanctions. The General Staff emphasized that the proceeds from these activities helped Russia finance its war against Ukraine.

On the morning of July 8, the Ukrainian maritime drone Sea Baby broke through enemy air defenses and struck the Russian shadow fleet tanker “Blue” near occupied Crimea. The vessel sustained damage.

Ірина Глухова