Ukraine Claims 116 Naval Drone Strikes on Russian Shadow Fleet Vessels in Sea of Azov Over Nine-Day Campaign

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi announced that his forces struck 116 Russian shadow fleet vessels over nine days in the Sea of Azov as part of an operation he termed "MoLoChKa," including 11 vessels overnight on July 14 comprising five tankers, five dry cargo ships, and one tugboat 1. Brovdi described the targets as small and medium "courier" vessels, roughly 140 meters long with about 7,000 tonnes deadweight, that transfer oil to larger tankers via the Volga-Don Canal and Sea of Azov route to Crimea, noting one large oceangoing tanker requires loading from 12-15 such feeder vessels 1. 19FortyFive reported the campaign has since expanded into the Black Sea near occupied Crimea, with roughly 20 additional vessels targeted, while noting Kyiv's figures have not been independently verified 2. Reporting from both outlets indicates the strikes targeted commercial and logistics shipping rather than Russian naval vessels 12.