July 9 (Reuters) – Ukrainian drones hit a dozen more Russian tankers in the Sea of Azov overnight, Ukraine’s military said on Thursday, the latest in a campaign aimed at disrupting fuel supplies to Russian forces and isolating Moscow-occupied Crimea.
The vessels were used to supply fuel to the Russian military, and to transport oil and petroleum products in circumvention of international sanctions, the Ukrainian military’s General Staff said on Telegram.
It added that a tugboat and a dry cargo ship were also hit.
The strikes bring the number of vessels targeted in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea over the past four days to 36, according to Ukraine’s defence ministry. Those included 32 so-called Russian “shadow fleet” tankers and two dry cargo ships.
“They were all trying to deliver fuel to Crimea,” the ministry said.
The regional governor of Russia’s Rostov region said earlier on Thursday that two tankers had been attacked by Ukrainian drones in the Sea of Azov. There was no further comment from Moscow.
Ukraine has intensified attacks on logistics and energy infrastructure in Crimea in recent weeks, contributing to fuel shortages and prompting authorities to declare a state of emergency in the peninsula, a critical hub for Russia’s war effort.
The campaign adds another potential pressure point for oil markets, which are already focused on the risk of supply disruptions in the Gulf and the safety of key maritime trade routes.
In an interview with Reuters last month, Kyiv’s top drone commander, Robert Brovdi, pledged to effectively cut off Crimea from Russia through a sustained campaign of strikes.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ros Russell)
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