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Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces announced on Friday that they struck 159 vessels linked to Russia's so-called shadow fleet over a 12-day drone operation in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, according to the force's commander, Robert "Magyar" Brovdi.
Brovdi said the vessels were targeted between July 6 and July 17 as part of what Ukraine's forces call Operation MoLoChKa, with 117 vessels struck in the Sea of Azov and 42 in the Black Sea.
On Friday alone, Ukrainian forces said they struck 12 vessels in the Black Sea, including nine dry cargo ships, one oil tanker, one gas tanker and one tugboat.
According to a statement from Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces on Telegram, the nine cargo vessels were struck by operators from the 9th Battalion "Kairos" of the 414th Separate Unmanned Strike Aviation System Brigade "Magyar's Birds," the 1st Separate Center, the 412th Separate Brigade "Nemesis" and the 413th Regiment "Raid", the oil tanker was struck by 413th Regiment operators and the gas tanker and tugboat were struck by 1st Separate Center operators.
Brovdi stated on Telegram that the operation aims to disrupt the transport of oil, fuel and other cargo used to circumvent international sanctions, and that Ukrainian forces are seeking to disable vessels without breaching their hulls or causing oil spills.
Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said in their Telegram statement that striking the vessels and related infrastructure complicates Russia's ability to evade sanctions, disrupts logistics routes, and adds pressure on Russia's wartime economy and military supply systems.
The Black Sea and Sea of Azov host some of Russia's key industrial and military ports, and Russia's shadow fleet, vessels under international sanctions for illegally transporting Russian oil, remains a key source of revenue funding Moscow's war in Ukraine.
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