Ukraine Intensifies Attacks On Russian Supply Ships Near Crimea

July 9, 2026

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The military Ukraine has launched a massive wave of drone strikes targeting Russian maritime supply routes in the Sea of Azov, a move that threatens Russia’s ability to supply fuel to occupied Crimea. Over a four-day period between July 6 and July 9, Ukrainian drone forces reportedly attacked at least 25 ships, setting many of them on fire.

The strikes are part of Ukraine’s self-declared “logistics lockdown,” a strategy aimed at choking off supply routes into and out of the Crimean Peninsula. While the exact number of damaged vessels is still being independently verified, Ukrainian military officials claim up to 36 ships have been hit in total. They noted that the majority of these vessels belong to Russia’s “shadow fleet” of commercial oil tankers, which are used to bypass international sanctions.

The Sea of Azov, connected to the Black Sea by the Kerch Strait, is a critical transit zone for Russian fuel. Tankers frequently gather off the coast of occupied Crimea to use the onshore oil loading facility at Kerch port. However, following a Ukrainian attack on the port last month, satellite imagery analyzed by BBC Verify showed a noticeable decrease in tanker traffic in the area.

The latest round of drone strikes has caused visible panic among maritime operators. Satellite images captured on Wednesday showed a large plume of smoke rising from a tanker just 2.5 miles off the Crimean coast, with NASA data indicating the fire had been burning since July 6. The same imagery captured around 20 other vessels rapidly fleeing the area, heading south toward the safer waters of the Black Sea.

Both Ukrainian and Russian sources have confirmed the severity of the situation. Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, claimed that 12 tankers were struck in a single night from Wednesday into Thursday.
He identified several of the targeted tankers by name, including the Venera-3, Sanar-1, and Klimena. Meanwhile, Yuri Slyusar, the governor of Russia’s Rostov region, confirmed that two tankers were attacked in Taganrog Bay. Russian pro-war social media channels have not disputed the authenticity of the dramatic night-time footage showing the burning ships.

The escalation has drawn international attention. During a meeting with Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelensky at the NATO summit in Ankara, US President Donald Trump commented on the situation. He described the drone strategy as an escalation, but added that “it’s also an escalation that can help lead to an end” to the conflict.