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Ukraine Damages 90 Russian Ships in One Week

Russian
A small tanker, its wheelhouse already ablaze, about to be hit for a second time (USF)

Published Jul 12, 2026 7:14 PM by The Maritime Executive

Over the course of the weekend, Ukrainian forces continued to pound Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait, continuing a run of attacks on the logistical fleet that serves Russian-occupied Crimea and the Russian export economy. The strikes suggest that the coastal fleet in the Sea of Azov is operating without meaningful air defenses, allowing slow-moving Ukrainian drones to surveil at leisure, select targets, and maneuver for an optimal flight path for their final approach. 

Overnight July 12, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces said that its units hit 10 tankers in the Sea of Azov; one ferry in the Sea of Azov; and three ferries near Kerch, the USF said. 

On July 11, USF operators hit another 28 ships, including 21 tankers, four tugs and two cargo ships. Some were struck multiple times. 

Taken together with other recent actions, the attacks bring the total number of Ukrainian strikes on Russia-linked ships to 90 in one week - for comparison, roughly eight times the rate of German attacks during the toughest years of the Battle of Atlantic (by vessel count). 

Videos released by the USF show that Ukraine's drone pilots have adopted a preference for attacking the deckhouse, approaching from ahead or from dead astern. Most of the targets appear to be at anchor or moored. 

"Strikes against tankers and ferries that support the operation of Russia’s shadow fleet complicate the use of vessels to bypass international sanctions and gradually reduce russia’s ability to sustain its war economy and logistical support for its forces," USF said in a statement. "Strikes . . . hit not only individual vessels, but the entire sanctions-evasion scheme and the logistics of Russian oil and petroleum product exports."

Ukraine's long-range forces also hit and damaged a refinery at Syrzan, Samara, the third time that the facility has been attacked this year.