Ukraine's military reported destroying eight Russian oil tankers in the Sea of Azov, which were allegedly attempting to supply fuel to the annexed Crimean peninsula. The Ukrainian commander of Unmanned System Forces, Robert Brovdi, stated the attacks targeted what he described as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's "shadow fleet."
These tankers, each approximately 540 feet long with a deadweight of around 7,000 tons, are claimed to be subject to international sanctions. They reportedly operate under flags of other nations to illicitly transport oil and goods from Russia, bypassing Western sanctions imposed over the ongoing conflict. Drone footage shared by Ukraine appeared to show ships being targeted and catching fire, though these attacks have not been independently verified.
According to a statement on Telegram by Ukraine's drone forces, striking the enemy's naval logistics "complicates the supply of fuel and ammunition necessary to support the activities of Russian troops, primarily in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea." The statement also indicated that over the course of the night, an additional 58 military targets were struck, including key energy infrastructure and logistics hubs, which resulted in "Crimea's power grid flickering out."
Ukraine has been actively targeting energy infrastructure and attempting to isolate Crimea, a territory annexed by Russia in 2014 and considered critical to its military operations. Previous attacks on the peninsula have led to fuel shortages and declarations of states of emergency.
Commander Brovdi announced on Telegram that "eight Russian shadow fleet tankers were hunted down and set ablaze in a single night." He further detailed the engagement on the night of July 7 as reaching "industrial scale," involving eight fuel tankers, one dry-cargo ship, and one ferry. Seven of the tankers were identified as Venera-3, Sanar-1, Sanar-17, Klymena, Teti, Aleksey Savrasov, and Penelope, with the eighth still being confirmed. The vessels were reportedly built between 2006 and 2012.
Moscow has not yet issued a public comment regarding the alleged attacks. This incident follows a report from the same Ukrainian forces claiming they had struck two other shadow fleet vessels in the same vicinity the previous day.
Ukraine has consistently called on its international partners to intensify efforts to crack down on vessels circumventing sanctions by transporting Russian oil to global markets. Ukrainian forces have employed sea drones in an effort to disable tankers carrying Russian oil in the Black Sea as part of a broader strategy to diminish Moscow's revenue streams. Additionally, there have been a series of unexplained incidents involving explosions on tankers that have called at Russian ports, with Ukraine neither confirming nor denying involvement, though maritime security sources have suggested Ukrainian responsibility.