Video: Ukraine's Tally of Russian Shipping Strikes Rises to 147
Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces hit another 11 civilian vessels on July 16, broadening their reach in Russian-controlled waters. The latest round of attacks brings the total number of vessels damaged since July 5 to no fewer than 147, including 30 in the Black Sea.
"The objective is to paralyze the logistics of oil, fuel, and cargo transported in circumvention of sanctions. Every self-propelled vessel must be turned into a drifting barge, blind and deaf," said USF Commander Robert "Magyar" Brovdi.
The latest round of attacks hit five oil tankers, one gas carrier, three bulkers and two tugs, most found in the Black Sea. Video released by Magyar's brigade showed strikes occurring in broad daylight, indicating the drone operators' confidence that they would encounter little in the way of air defenses.
The USF has deliberately kept its drone strikes above the waterline, Brovdi said. "Our objective is not to pollute the waters with oil spills, so there will be no hull breaches," he clarified.
Unmanned Systems Forces operators struck 11 more vessels from russia’s shadow fleet
— ???????? Unmanned Systems Forces (@usf_army) July 16, 2026
On July 16, USF units continued Operation “MoLoChKa.” In total, 147 vessels belonging to russia’s shadow fleet were struck between July 6 and July 16.
Of these:
• 117 vessels in the Sea of… pic.twitter.com/IsEquMOAWb
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In practice, after-action videos show, this means that Ukraine's operators are taking aim at wheelhouses and cargo tanks. A cargo tank fire is usually survivable, merchant tankers being surprisingly hardy, and the damage can usually be repaired at a shipyard. A strike on the deckhouse can effectively disable a vessel by destroying all of its navigational equipment, requiring effort to restore the ship to service. A wheelhouse attack is also likely to cause injury or death to crewmembers, since deckhouse compartments are used for watchstanding and accommodations at all hours.
Casualty figures for Ukraine's strikes on Russian shipping are not generally available, but equivalent Russian counterstrikes have repeatedly killed or injured foreign crewmembers at Ukraine's ports. On July 13, a Russian strike on a bulker at the port of Odesa killed five people and injured 10 more, including three foreign crewmembers who lost their lives. The attackers hit the vessel's deckhouse during cargo operations.
