Ukrainian Drone Strikes Disrupt Russia’s Critical Sea of Azov Shipping Route Russia has been forced to halt maritime traffic in the Sea of Azov after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks targeted 90 vessels, including oil tankers and a major refinery, within a week. The strikes have disrupted a vital economic and military artery for Moscow, which relies on the waterway to transport oil, grain, and steel to global markets. Ukraine’s drone forces chief, Robert Brovdi, confirmed that his units had struck 10 tankers, four ferries, and a refinery in Syzran overnight. He also reported attacks on electricity substations in occupied Crimea, calling the strikes a “technological humiliation” of Russia’s empire. Brovdi claimed that Moscow’s shadow fleet, which smuggles sanctioned oil products, is “noticeably shrinking” and can no longer use the Kerch Strait to connect the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea. The Sea of Azov, a narrow body of water bordered by Russia and Ukraine, has become a focal point of the conflict. Russia suspended shipping through the Don-Azov canal on Friday, a critical route linking the Sea of Azov to the Caspian Sea and Russian river networks. This move effectively cut off a key export pathway, as the Kerch Strait and the Bosphorus Strait in Turkey are now inaccessible. Ukraine’s former defense minister, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, warned that the blockade has severed a “critical” maritime corridor, disrupting military vessels and the transport of grain stolen from occupied southern Ukraine. He emphasized that the Caspian Sea, once connected to global oceans, has become an isolated “lake,” with all exports reliant on the blocked channel and river systems.#russia #ukraine #volodymyr_zelenskyy #crimea #sea_of_azov
