Ukrainian Drone Strikes Disrupt Russian Shipping in the Sea of Azov

Ukrainian drone attacks have targeted more than a hundred vessels in the Sea of Azov over the past nine days, choking off a key shipping route and pushing global wheat prices higher.

Scale of the Strikes

Ukrainian serviceman Major Robert Brovdi said the country’s Special Operations Forces “Birds” unit struck 116 vessels in the area, including five tankers, five bulk carriers and a tugboat. He said the strategy was to disable rather than sink the ships, leaving them adrift and disrupting Russia’s fleet of smaller tankers used to move oil from ports connected to the Volga Don Canal toward larger tankers waiting in the Black Sea. Brovdi added the strikes would push Russia toward relying more on road and rail transport to supply Crimea with fuel, routes more exposed to Ukrainian attacks.

Shipping Restrictions and Market Impact

Industry sources told that shipping in and out of the Sea of Azov through the Kerch Strait and the Azov-Don channel has been restricted since Friday, though Russian authorities have not formally confirmed the curbs. The disruption pushed Euronext wheat prices up as much as 4% to a six-week high, given the Sea of Azov handles about a quarter of Russia’s grain exports. Satellite images reviewed by Reuters showed dozens of vessels previously queued at the Kerch Strait had thinned to just a handful by July 11.

Russia Calls Strikes “Terrorism”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of actions going beyond piracy, while industry sources said several grain ships caught fire after being hit on July 13 and 14. A Ukrainian military source countered that strikes target only military assets or vessels supporting Russia’s war effort, not civilian cargo.