The Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck eight tankers belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” in a single night, Kyiv’s USF said.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ukraine’s USF said they had struck eight sanctioned vessels in the Sea of Azov.
They are vessels with a deadweight of approximately 7,000 tons each, about 140 meters long, built between 2006 and 2012.
The Ukrainian (USF) forces also hit a dry cargo ship in the Sea of Azov and a ferry in the temporarily occupied Crimea, they added.
As it is reported, overnight on July 7, the USF struck the tankers belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet in the Sea of Azov. The vessels had been transporting fuel to temporarily occupied Crimea, the forces said in a statement.
USF claimed that “all tankers” hit in the Ukrainian July 7 overnight strike had been identified, and they are all subject to international sanctions.
Shipping Telegraph could not independently verify the claim. Moscow had not commented at the publication time.
Ukraine has long urged its allies to crack down on vessels that circumvent sanctions to transport Russian oil to international markets.
“Striking the enemy’s naval logistics complicates the supply of fuel and ammunition necessary to support the activities of Russian troops, primarily in the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea,” the forces said in a statement.
The Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (USF) are a separate branch of the military that consolidates all key unmanned capabilities of the army – aerial, ground, and surface-based.
