Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) attacked eight oil tankers from Russia's shadow fleet in the Sea of Azov overnight on July 7, SBS commander Robert Brovdi, who uses the call sign 'Madyar,' said. He published video of the strikes.
All of the targeted vessels sail under the Russian flag. Brovdi named seven of the eight hit tankers: Venera-3, Sanar-1, Sanar-17, Klimena, Tety, Aleksey Savrasov, and Penelopa. The name of the eighth tanker is being established. In addition, a dry cargo ship and one ferry were also struck.
According to Brovdi, all tankers sustained serious damage and caught fire. The total damage is not yet assessable. 'The battle for gasoline for Crimea in the Sea of Azov continues,' he wrote.
Where exactly the vessels were at the time of the attack is unclear — their transponders, which broadcast real-time location, were turned off. Satellite data from NASA FIRMS, analyzed by The Insider, recorded fires in the area of the Kerch Strait. Russian authorities have not commented on the attack.
In late spring, a gasoline shortage began in annexed Crimea after Ukrainian strikes on fuel tankers on the R-280 'Novorossiya' highway. In the second half of June, Russia-appointed head of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov announced that fuel sales at the region's gas stations would completely stop; gasoline is now issued only to state services.
Ukrainian drones strike shadow fleet vessels using devices from the company Fire Point, possibly the FP-1 model, Alexander Kovalenko, an observer with the Information Resistance group, told Novaya Gazeta Europe. He noted that the warhead of such drones, weighing up to 120 kilograms, should cause significant destruction. Kovalenko called the attacks on fuel ships 'an integral part of the strategy' of Ukraine to isolate Crimea and occupied territories.
According to him, Russia has extremely few air defense systems capable of effectively countering Ukrainian drones in the Sea of Azov and on the coastal territory — 'a catastrophic shortage.'