Russia struck Ukraine with ballistic and cruise missiles, glide bombs, and drones on July 11, killing at least eight people and wounding 29 others across multiple regions. Ukrainian drones simultaneously struck 21 Russian oil tankers in the Sea of Azov during the same window, forcing Moscow to halt the Kerch Strait, a corridor handling up to 25% of Russia’s wheat exports.
Eleven people, including a child, were wounded in Kyiv alone, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service confirmed. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “Civilian infrastructure was hit even before the air raid alert was issued.”
Three more people died in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, regional officials said, including two at an industrial enterprise in the city of Kryvyi Rih. A drone strike in the southern city of Kherson killed one additional person.
Ukrainian drones logged 73 successful strikes in the Sea of Azov, hitting 21 tankers, four tugboats, two cargo ships, and one specialized vessel, Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed. Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), wrote on Telegram that the shadow tanker fleet “is noticeably shrinking.”
NEW: Ukrainian forces have struck 90 Russian oil tankers in the Sea of Azov since July 6 as part of their intensified campaign to isolate occupied Crimea. (1/2)
Other Key Takeaways:
Ukraine’s successful long- and intermediate-range strike campaigns continue to fuel Russian… pic.twitter.com/YHucJseVgK
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) July 13, 2026
Russia halted shipping through the Don-Azov Canal following the strikes, according to three grain export industry sources cited by Reuters. Up to 25% of Russian wheat exports transit the Sea of Azov, market analysts said. Russian border guards gave no reopening date for the Kerch Strait.
Ukrainian forces struck the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara Oblast on the night of July 11-12, Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed. The facility processes approximately 8.5 million tonnes of crude per year, producing petrol, diesel, and aviation fuel for Russian military operations.
Russian officials disputed the damage assessment. Rostov Gov. Yuri Slyusar said only four vessels sustained minor damage and that one sailor, aboard a technical support vessel, was killed.
