Drones of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) have begun a systematic campaign of strikes on Russian transport vessels in the Black Sea after over the past nine days hitting 116 tankers and other watercraft in the Sea of Azov. This was stated by USF commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi. The attacks are being carried out as part of the special operation “MoLoCHKa,” which is intended to cut off annexed Crimea from supplies coming from Russian territory.

According to Madyar, during the night of July 15 alone, USF drones attacked 20 Russian vessels in the Black Sea. Of these, 17 were oil tankers, two were gas tanker carriers, and one was a tugboat. The USF commander promised to publish videos confirming the strikes later. The Ukrainian monitoring channel Supernova confirms “at least seven” tankers and other vessels hit overnight. It is noted that the 412th Separate Brigade of Unmanned Systems “Nemesis” took part in the attacks.

As the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported, Russian vessel activity in the Sea of Azov dropped sharply as a result of the Ukrainian strikes. According to the analysts, the number of vessels with AIS transponders switched on in the waters fell by 55% — from 267 at the end of June to 120 as of July 11. Near Kerch, the number of such vessels decreased by 75% — from 37 to 9. Some of the tankers and other transport vessels moved into the Black Sea, while the rest were sent for repairs or storage.

In addition, Russia has suspended traffic through the Azov-Don Canal and stopped accepting applications for passage through the Kerch Strait, which could deprive the country of up to 20% of its grain exports. On Tuesday, the transport and agriculture ministries of the Rostov region reported that they were looking for alternative routes for exporters, whose harvesting campaign had recently begun.