Isolate Crimea: The Ukrainian Army's Unmanned Systems Forces have practically taken control of the Sea of Azov.
They are hunting Russian oil tankers. And they are doing it very effectively.
On the night of July 9th alone, Ukrainian drones hit 14 Russian ships in the Sea of Azov.
In 96 hours, 35 gasoline tankers, cargo ships, and special purpose vessels were attacked.
"The Russian shadow fleet is shrinking," Robert Browdi (alias Magyar), commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), wrote on social media.
On July 6th, Browdi, in his traditional daily report, announced the "hunting of two tankers" that were heading from the Russian port of Taganrog to Crimea.
A video posted by Browdi shows a substance spilling, most likely fuel.
"Two tankers from the shadow fleet were delivering fuel from Taganrog to Crimea via the Sea of Azov, each carrying 7,000 tons of diesel fuel (the volume of 200 tank cars)," Magyar wrote.
The next day, the Unmanned Systems Forces reported further Russian ship hits.
On the night of July 7-8, the hunt for Russian tankers reached an industrial scale: eight fuel tankers, one cargo ship, and one ferry were hit, Magyar reported, adding that they were "well damaged."
All the ships, according to him, have been identified, and the list has been posted on social media.
All are under international sanctions. They were launched between 2006 and 2012, are 140 meters long, and have a deadweight capacity of 7,000 tons, Brovdi reported.
Isolate Crimea
The commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces does not deny that this is a fight for fuel for Crimea.
Just a month ago, Robert Browdi, in an interview with Reuters, announced the isolation of Crimea "in the near future."
Ukraine wants to completely block supplies to the peninsula annexed by Russia.
Before the hunt in the Sea of Azov, Ukrainian drones significantly disrupted road transport on the so-called "Novorossiya" route, a key logistics route through occupied southern Ukraine to Crimea.
The main targets were tankers supplying Crimea with fuel.
Ukrainian strikes effectively paralyzed fuel supplies to the occupied peninsula via the land corridor - ISW reported.
Understandably, the military leader would not have publicly announced such an ambitious goal without the consent of the Ukrainian political leadership.
In recent weeks, Ukrainian drones have been attacking targets on the annexed peninsula almost every night. Ukrainians have targeted fuel depots, elements of the energy system, the port and ferry crossing in Kerch, bridges, and railway junctions.
At the same time, air defense elements on the peninsula are being destroyed.
An alleged active-duty Russian general reportedly told Russian journalist Dmitry Kolezev on July 6 that Russia cannot effectively counter Ukraine’s intermediate-range strike campaign after the Russian General Staff disbanded the Crimean Defense Group in 2024 due to the lack of naval equipment to defend the peninsula.
Ukrainian intensifying strikes against Russian seaborne fuel tankers demonstrate a new phase in Ukraine's ability to rapidly adapt to Russia's shift toward seaborne fuel transportation and will likely continue to disrupt Russia's ability to manage logistics and transport fuel between Russia and occupied Crimea in an effort to isolate the peninsula.
Putin Promises Money
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on his government to provide subsidies for people living in Russian-occupied Crimea as fuel prices continue to soar amid Ukraine's anti-logistic campaign .
On July 8, Putin called on the Finance Ministry to provide payments "as quickly as possible" as "citizens shouldn't feel a burden" from the escalating crisis, Russian state media reported.
But what's the point of money if there's no thing to buy?
The Russian proxy governor in Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev said a "colossal effort" involving the military was underway to alleviate the crisis but the situation "hasn't yet returned to normal."
"Sevastopol, for example, receives only a third of its daily (fuel) needs on average," on July 8, he added.
Crimean residents are traveling to Russia for fuel. From there, reports of fights between them and Russians in lines at gas stations are becoming more frequent—because fuel is also becoming scarce in Russia.
Sources: Robert Browdy social media, Gazeta Wyborcza, ISW, Krym.Realii, Suspilne