Russia’s Shadow Fleet Takes 12 More Drone Hits, Totalling 159 as Ukraine Expands Black Sea Campaign

Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces struck 12 vessels from Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea overnight on July 17, commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi reported.

The targets included nine cargo ships, one oil tanker, one gas tanker, and one tugboat.

According to Brovdi, Ukrainian aerial drones targeted 159 Russian shadow fleet vessels in the Azov and Black seas between July 6 and July 17. Of those, 117 were struck in the Sea of Azov and 42 in the Black Sea.

The campaign, known as Operation MoLoChKa, is aimed at disrupting Russia’s maritime transportation of oil, fuel, and other cargo in violation of Ukrainian and international sanctions.

“Turn every self-propelled vessel into a barge drifting at sea, blind and deaf,” Brovdi wrote.

He stressed that the objective was not to sink the ships and cause environmental damage.

“The goal is not to foul the waters with oil slicks, so there will be no hull breaches,” he added.

On July 16 alone, Brovdi said Ukrainian forces struck 11 Russian vessels: five oil tankers, one gas tanker, three cargo ships, and two tugboats in the Black Sea.

Ukraine’s Security Service also reported that its Mamai naval drones had struck two sanctioned Russian shadow fleet tankers, Louise 1 and Banda, in the Black Sea. The vessels were reportedly used to transport Russian oil.

The operation was conducted jointly with the Ukrainian Navy.

The strikes mark a widening of Ukraine’s campaign against Russia’s maritime logistics. After sustained attacks pushed much of the tanker traffic out of the Sea of Azov, Russian vessels began concentrating in the Black Sea—where Ukrainian drones are now continuing the pressure.

Following a successful campaign, nearly 135 million barrels of Russian crude are currently stranded at sea as Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries force Russia to ship unprocessed oil abroad.

The offshore backlog is the result of a Ukrainian drone campaign targeting Russian oil processing plants, including recent strikes on the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat and Afipsky facilities. These physical disruptions have driven Russia’s domestic refining capacity down to its lowest level in over 21 years.

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