The Unmanned Systems Forces of the AFU continue their series of strikes against the occupiers’ logistics in the Sea of Azov and on the territory of Crimea. During the night of July 9 alone, the “UAS Birds” struck 14 Russian vessels at once, and the overall tally of the operation — which has been underway since July 6 — rose to 35 hit tankers, dry-cargo ships, and special-purpose watercraft. This was reported by UAS Forces commander Robert “Magyar” Brovdi.
According to the commander, among the vessels struck on July 9 were 12 tankers, one dry-cargo ship, and one tugboat. All 14 vessels were located in the Sea of Azov. Some of the targets have already been identified:
- tanker “Chelsea-6” (russian flag)
- tanker “Aura” (russian flag)
- tanker “Sonar-1” (russian flag)
- tanker “Ilya Repin” (russian flag)
- “Mercury” (russian flag, vessel type to be confirmed)
- tanker “Galiaskar Kamal” (Panama flag, under sanctions)
- tugboat “Alfeo” (russian flag) — attacked together with barge “Aphrodite”
- tanker “Venera-3” (russian flag)
- tanker “Penelope” (russian flag)
Data on five more watercraft is still being confirmed. The commander emphasizes that all identified tankers are part of russia’s “shadow fleet” and are subject to international sanctions.
All strikes, according to Brovdi, were coordinated by the newly established Deep Strike Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces.
Full operation timeline: July 6–9
| Date | Number of vessels struck | Vessel types | Known names |
| July 6 | 2 | 2 tankers | “Kapitan Barmin”, “Sanar-3” (Primemax type) |
| July 7 | 10 | 8 tankers, 1 dry-cargo ship, 1 ferry | “Venera-3”, “Sanar-1”, “Sanar-17”, “Klymena”, “Teti”, “Aleksey Savrasov”, “Penelope”, “Ivan Cheremisinov”, dry-cargo ship (name to be confirmed), ferry SKS One |
| July 8 | 9 | 5 tankers, 4 dry-cargo ships | Tankers: “Yefrosinya V”, “Maria”, “Sanar-17” (repeat), “Sanar-4”, “Klymena” (repeat). Dry-cargo ships: “Donstar”, “Vladimir Yarygin”, “Feofan Shokhirev”, “Evgenia Z”. |
| July 9 | 14 | 12 tankers, 1 dry-cargo ship, 1 tugboat | “Chelsea-6”, “Aura”, “Sonar-1”, “Ilya Repin”, “Mercury”, “Galiaskar Kamal”, tugboat “Alfeo” (together with barge “Aphrodite”), “Venera-3”, “Penelope”; another 5 vessels had not been identified at the time of publication. |
| Total (July 6–9) | 35 | Tankers, dry-cargo ships, ferry, tugboat and other watercraft | A total of 35 vessels struck in 96 hours. |
The operation against russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Sea of Azov, conducted by the UAS Forces Deep Strike Center, has been underway since July 6 and has been picking up pace with each passing day: while command reported 21 vessels in the first 72 hours, by the following night the tally had risen to 35. The strikes involved pilots from the “Kairos” unit of the 414th Separate UAS Brigade “Magyar’s Birds”, the 413th Separate UAS Regiment “Raid”, and the 1st Separate UAS Center.
According to Brovdi, a significant portion of the struck tankers have a deadweight of approximately 7,000 tonnes, a length of around 140 meters, were built between 2006 and 2012, and were used to supply fuel to occupied Crimea in circumvention of international sanctions.