{"id":1014,"date":"2026-07-16T10:58:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T10:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/?p=1014"},"modified":"2026-07-16T10:58:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T10:58:26","slug":"ukraine-claims-116-russian-linked-ships-struck-in-nine-day-sea-of-azov-campaign-as-maritime-conflict-intensifies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/ukraine-claims-116-russian-linked-ships-struck-in-nine-day-sea-of-azov-campaign-as-maritime-conflict-intensifies\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine Claims 116 Russian-Linked Ships Struck in Nine-Day Sea of Azov Campaign as Maritime Conflict Intensifies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ukraine has claimed that its armed forces have damaged 116 Russian-linked vessels in the Sea of Azov during a nine-day military campaign<\/strong>, marking what could be one of the largest coordinated attacks on maritime logistics since the conflict began. While the claims have not been independently verified, the operation highlights the growing importance of commercial shipping and maritime infrastructure in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF)<\/strong>, the latest overnight operation targeted 11 vessels<\/strong>, including five oil tankers, five cargo ships, and one tugboat<\/strong>. The attacks were reportedly carried out by operators from the 1st Separate Unmanned Systems Corps, Raid 413, and the K-2 unit<\/strong>, using coordinated drone operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ukrainian military stated that the objective of the campaign is to systematically weaken Russia’s maritime logistics network by disrupting the transportation of fuel, cargo, and military supplies. Ukraine alleges that Russia continues to export oil through its so-called shadow fleet<\/strong>, despite international sanctions, and uses the resulting revenue to finance its military operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Ukrainian officials, damaging tankers, cargo vessels, and auxiliary ships reduces Russia’s ability to transport petroleum products, limits maritime logistics, and complicates fuel deliveries to military units, including forces stationed in occupied Crimea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Ukraine’s latest claims are confirmed, the total number of Russian-linked vessels struck since the campaign began would reach 116 ships within just nine days<\/strong>, representing a significant escalation in maritime operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shipping Traffic Faces Disruptions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The reported attacks have already affected commercial shipping movements in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Reuters, commercial vessels were temporarily unable to transit through the Kerch Strait<\/strong> and the Azov-Don Shipping Channel<\/strong>, restricting access to and from the Sea of Azov. Although Russian authorities have not officially confirmed navigation restrictions, Russia’s Agriculture Ministry acknowledged that grain exports could be redirected through Black Sea and Baltic Sea ports if required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Sea of Azov plays a vital role in Russia’s export network, handling approximately 25% of the country’s grain exports<\/strong> while also serving as a major outlet for agricultural products from southern Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russia Accuses Ukraine of Targeting Civilian Shipping<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Russia strongly condemned the reported attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov<\/strong> described the strikes as “terrorism,” accusing Ukraine of deliberately targeting civilian shipping and causing damage without military justification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine rejected the allegations, maintaining that its forces target only military assets and vessels supporting Russia’s war effort. Ukrainian military sources stated that civilian cargoes are not intentionally targeted and argued that Russia is using such accusations to justify its own attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IMO Expresses Serious Concern<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The escalation has also drawn attention from the International Maritime Organization (IMO)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez<\/strong> condemned the recent attacks on merchant shipping in both the Sea of Azov<\/strong> and the Black Sea<\/strong>, warning that international attention on the Strait of Hormuz should not overshadow continuing risks in the Black Sea region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dominguez emphasized that attacks on civilian merchant vessels threaten seafarers, disrupt global supply chains, endanger safe navigation, and undermine the principles of international shipping. He reiterated that seafarers should never become victims of conflicts in which they play no part and called on all parties to respect international law and ensure the protection of merchant shipping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conflict Continues to Impact Maritime Trade<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The maritime conflict has increasingly expanded beyond traditional naval engagements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine has intensified strikes on ports, shipping, energy infrastructure, and logistics networks that it believes directly support Russia’s military operations. In response, Russia has increased missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian officials have warned that continued attacks on port infrastructure around Odesa could reduce Ukraine’s grain export capacity by as much as one-third<\/strong>, raising further concerns over global food supply chains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At present, neither side’s claims have been independently verified. Ukraine has not disclosed the identities of the vessels allegedly struck, while Russian authorities have not released detailed information regarding the reported damage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ukraine has claimed that its armed forces have damaged 116 Russian-linked vessels in the Sea of Azov during a nine-day military campaign, marking what could be one of the largest coordinated attacks on maritime logistics since the conflict began. While the claims have not been independently verified, the operation highlights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1015,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[936,524,241,12,283,237,248,198,245,963,272,688,224,612,962],"class_list":["post-1014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marine_news_update","tag-blacksea","tag-cargoships","tag-globaltrade","tag-imo","tag-logistics","tag-maritimenews","tag-maritimesecurity","tag-merchantnavy","tag-portoperations","tag-russia","tag-seafarers-2","tag-seaofazov","tag-shipping","tag-tankers","tag-ukraine"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/116-RUSSAI-NEWS-1024x1024.png","blog_images":{"medium":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/116-RUSSAI-NEWS-300x300.png","large":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/116-RUSSAI-NEWS-1024x1024.png"},"ams_acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1014"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1016,"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1014\/revisions\/1016"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marinersupdate.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}