Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) struck 10 Russian shadow fleet tankers in the Sea of Azov on July 7. USF Commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi described this as “industrial scale results” against vessels ferrying fuel to Russian-occupied Crimea.

Operators from the Kairos unit of the 414th Unmanned Systems Brigade, known as the Birds of Magyar, struck eight tankers, a dry cargo ship, and a ferry during a nighttime operation, Brovdi announced on Telegram.

Two more tankers were hit later that afternoon. “That’s tankers No. 9 and No. 10 for today, and 12 vessels in total,” Brovdi wrote, noting the count included two shadow fleet vessels struck in the same area the previous day.

Overnight, USF units struck 10 vessels involved in russian maritime logistics in the Sea of Azov and near occupied Crimea.

Pilots of “Kairos” from the @414magyarbirds hit 8 tankers of russia’s shadow fleet in the Sea of Azov. These tankers are part of the Azov–Crimea fuel route,… pic.twitter.com/0uOQY4daj5

— 🇺🇦 Unmanned Systems Forces (@usf_army) July 7, 2026

The July 7 operation used FP-2 medium-range one-way attack drones, built by Ukrainian firm Fire Point, each carrying a 100-kilogram warhead with a range of roughly 125 miles. The use of aerial strike drones against maritime targets in the Azov marks a departure from earlier shadow fleet strikes in the Black Sea, which relied on Sea Baby unmanned surface vessels (USVs) operated by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).

Seven of the eight overnight targets were named: Venera-3, Sanar-1, Sanar-17, Klymena, Teti, Aleksei Savrasov, and Penelopa. Brovdi later identified the eighth vessel as MS Ivan Cheremisinov.

MarineTraffic data shows all eight sail under the Russian flag. Brovdi said all targeted tankers are subject to international sanctions, though a Reuters review found only two of the seven initially named vessels confirmed as sanctioned at the time of reporting.

Crimea’s Russia-installed authorities declared a state of emergency over fuel shortages in the weeks before the strikes. This resulted from sustained USF attacks on the peninsula’s logistics and energy network. In an interview with Reuters last month, Brovdi pledged to effectively cut Crimea off from Russia through systematic drone campaigns.

Ukraine has defended its targeting of shadow fleet vessels as legitimate military action. Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba argued in a letter to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) that the fleet “is critical to the generation of budget revenues for the Russian Federation and the continuation of its war effort,” adding that “legitimate questions arise as to whether the activities of such vessels can be regarded solely as ordinary commercial operations.”