The AFU announced the destruction of 19 tankers in the Sea of Azov. They could have been carrying gasoline to Crimea

Ukrainian Drones Attack Russian Tankers in the Sea of Azov

For the third day in a row, drones are striking Russian tankers in the Sea of Azov. This information is published on his Telegram channel by the Commander of the AFU Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert "Madyar" Brovdi. With each passing day, more and more ships transporting oil products are coming under attack.

On Monday, July 6, Brovdi wrote that Ukrainian drones had struck two tankers heading with a cargo of gasoline from Taganrog to annexed Crimea. According to him, each vessel carried 7,000 tons of fuel (equivalent to 200 railway tank cars).

The recording published by Madyar shows drones catching up with Russian ships and attacking them. Ukrainian military personnel claim these are the "Kapitan Barmin" and "Sonar-4" tankers, river-sea class vessels belonging to Russia's "shadow fleet". They regularly plied between river and sea ports from Volgograd to Novorossiysk, repeatedly calling at Crimea.

At the moment of the attack, no other ships were visible to the drone cameras in the immediate vicinity of the tankers. The extent of damage to both vessels is difficult to ascertain, as the AFU USS did not publish footage of further reconnaissance of the targets that were hit.

Павялічыць

Why Attacks in the Sea of Azov Threaten Crimea's Supply

The very next day, July 7, Madyar reported that his subordinates had successfully attacked ten Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov at once – eight tankers, one dry cargo ship, and one ferry.

This time, the published footage shows the ships moving in a large group – no fewer than 20 vessels at a short distance from each other. The video displays strikes on tankers, some of which were hit by multiple drones at once. Footage of further reconnaissance was also published: it shows a strong fire erupting on some vessels after the attack.

Presumably, the tankers were hit near Kerch. In this part of the Sea of Azov on July 7, NASA FIRMS satellites recorded several large burning foci visible from low Earth orbit.

The AFU USS Command named the attacked tankers: "Venera-3", "Sonar-1", "Sonar-17", "Klimena", Teti, "Alexey Savrasov", "Penelopa", "Ivan Cheremisinov". Some of them are on sanction lists and have repeatedly been observed transporting oil products to Crimea.

"The characteristic organization of these tankers' voyage is a defenseless dense mass of ships in the middle of the sea, which is a shooting range for Ukrainian FPV drone operators. No cover from Black Sea Fleet ships, which can barely protect themselves anymore, nor any fire groups on the ships themselves," commented the large Z-channel "Military Informant" on the Ukrainian attack.

Its authors suggested that Russia will soon have its own Strait of Hormuz, with Ukraine in the role of Iran. In such a scenario, the sea route to Crimea for Russian tankers would also be closed.

Russian Tankers Head to Crimea Without Military Escort

Finally, on July 8, the commander of the Ukrainian USS wrote about successful attacks against nine more Russian tankers in the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian drones again unhinderedly struck them. No anti-aircraft defense efforts against the drones are visible in the video.

Instead, a strong fire is clearly visible, erupting on board several ships at once (some of which were hit multiple times). It can be seen that oil products began leaking into the sea from the damaged hull of some tankers.

The "Rybar" public channel, linked to the Russian Ministry of Defense, explains the absence of military cover and escort for cargo ships heading to Crimea by stating that Russian warships themselves are vulnerable to Ukrainian drones.

"However, the essence is elsewhere: what, in three years, couldn't at least some of the ships have been equipped with machine guns, MANPADS, and other means by which low-flying and relatively slow-moving targets could be detected and shot down?" – ask the authors of the Telegram channel.

Павялічыць

How Tanker Strikes Could Worsen Gasoline Shortages in Crimea

Supplying Crimea via tankers right now is almost the only way to bring fuel to the peninsula. After Ukrainian drones established fire control over land routes to Crimea, it became critically dependent on sea supply.

After a massive drone attack on the Slavyansk Oil Refinery in Krasnodar Krai – the main fuel supplier to the peninsula – as well as numerous strikes on the nearest oil-loading port of Kavkaz, it became necessary to use alternative routes.

One of them is through the Black Sea oil terminals in Novorossiysk and Tuapse. However, they specialize in shipping crude oil, fuel oil, diesel fuel, and are not geared towards gasoline, which Crimea so desperately needs. Moreover, not only aerial but also naval drones are active in the Black Sea, further increasing the risk of transportation via this route.

Consequently, the only sea logistics alternative now is to deliver fuel through the Sea of Azov. Specifically, it is loaded onto tankers in the ports of Taganrog, Rostov-on-Don, and Azov.

Given that some of the tankers attacked by Ukrainian drones are river-sea class vessels, it is probable that fuel could have also been directed directly from the oil refineries of the Volga region – Saratov, Samara, Bashkortostan, Tatarstan.

In total, as of early 2025, Russia had 428 bulk liquid vessels, including both sea tankers and river-sea class tankers. Thus, in just three days, Ukrainian USS could have incapacitated up to 5% of Russia's entire bulk liquid fleet. If only river-sea class vessels are considered, this share would be even higher.

According to "Vot Tak" calculations, from the beginning of 2026 until July 6, when the large-scale campaign to destroy the tanker fleet in the Sea of Azov began, the AFU USS had destroyed only two Russian tankers in this area. One of them was attacked on May 30 in the port of Taganrog, the second – on June 5 near occupied Mariupol.

Additionally, during the same period, drones struck seven dry cargo ships and four ferries that were transporting goods through the Kerch Strait.

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