Russia Closes the Kerch Strait After 76 Ships Hit With Drones

I’ve been writing all week about Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russia’s shadow fleet tankers in the Sea of Azov. Those strikes increased again last night bringing the total number of strikes on Russian vessels in the area to 76. Here’s video from last night’s attacks.

Magyar’s update: Another bad day to be a tanker.

28 shadow de-fleet vessels of the rf hunted down overnight on 11 July in the Sea of Azov by the Birds of the Unmanned Systems Forces.

A total of 76 vessels were struck over six days (06–11.07.26). The Molochka is doing its job.… pic.twitter.com/nhM9Di3DRg

— 414 Magyar’s Birds (@414magyarbirds) July 11, 2026

Magyar’s update: Another bad day to be a tanker.

28 shadow de-fleet vessels of the rf hunted down overnight on 11 July in the Sea of Azov by the Birds of the Unmanned Systems Forces.

A total of 76 vessels were struck over six days (06–11.07.26). The Molochka is doing its job.

The shadow oil fleet is visibly shrinking. A week of default continues. It appears traffic through the Kerch Strait has come to a halt.

Overnight on 11 July, the Birds of the Unmanned Systems Forces hit 21 tankers, 4 tugs, 2 cargo vessels, and 1 special-purpose vessel in the Sea of Azov. A total of 73 successful hits were recorded…

The technological humiliation of the empire continues. It will fall because of Crimea.

Here’s a useful map showing where these strikes are happening. The body of water in the center is the Sea of Azov. It’s connected to the Black Sea by the Strait of Kerch where the arrows are pointing. That’s where Putin built the Kerch bridge seen in the photo at the top of this post.

‼️‼️🇺🇦🇷🇺 In a devastating maritime blitz that marks one of the most extensive asymmetric assaults on naval logistics in modern history, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces have completely paralyzed Russian commercial and military shipping across the Sea of Azov.

The catastrophic… pic.twitter.com/tecoavMn24

— Visioner (@visionergeo) July 11, 2026

Russia uses of fleet of shadow tankers to move oil and grain out of occupied Ukraine and Russia, through the Strait of Kerch and into the Black Sea. There the cargo is often moved onto larger ships which transport it around the world to buyers willing to look the other way on sanctions. This image below shows “Where Russian crude oil in the Black Sea was transported from during the EU and G7 Embargo / 2024.” But as of this week, the Strait is closed.

Russia is running out of operational oil refineries, so attention has now shifted to the sea.

Following Ukrainian strikes on Russian vessels, Russia temporarily halted shipping through the Don-Azov Canal and the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea.… pic.twitter.com/NedqLpr8M4

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) July 11, 2026

Following Ukrainian strikes on Russian vessels, Russia temporarily halted shipping through the Don-Azov Canal and the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea. 

This marks another turning point in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Russia uses the Azov-Don Canal for military logistics, cargo transportation, port infrastructure maintenance, transporting oil and petroleum products in circumvention of sanctions, and financing its war machine. Ships used to transport goods, including those stolen by Russia, strengthen the aggressor state’s economy. Taxes from these cargoes and the shipping services are paid into Russia’s budget. These taxes fund Iskander missiles, KAB bombs, and other weapons that kill Ukrainians every day.

The Kerch Strait area is home to Russia’s second-largest port in the Black Sea basin, making this route crucial for Moscow’s foreign trade. It is through these logistics channels that Russia transports not only military cargo but also looted goods from the occupied territories of Ukraine.

OSINT analysts confirm: Russians are openly selling stolen grain, coal, and metal to Türkiye (and onward from there) and even to Israel. The countries purchasing these goods either do not ask about their origin or are satisfied with the Russians’ explanations.

Because of this criminal traffic, a new phase of war at sea has begun, which has affected the shadow fleet’s vessels and tankers involved in this traffic at the Russian ports of Taganrog and Azov.

A distinctive feature of both ports is that a large share of marine traffic consists of vessels flying the flags of African and Oceanian countries, bound for Türkiye and North African countries.

It is precisely the vessels of this fleet that, among other things, facilitate the plundering of Ukraine’s occupied territories, starting with the Luhansk region.

Some of the cargo is then transshipped in the Black Sea onto larger ships, which further obscures the cargo’s origin.

These vessels are also involved in supplying the Russian occupation grouping in Crimea and Pryazovia with various goods, including fuel.

It’s not just bloggers reporting this. Reuters heard the same from three sources.

Russia temporarily stopped shipping through the Don-Azov Channel, a navigable waterway linking the Don River with the Sea of Azov, three grain export industry sources said on Friday.

The move followed a Ukrainian attack on 13 Russian vessels ⁠in the Sea of Azov on Friday, including 10 tankers. Market analysts note that up to one-quarter of wheat exports from Russia, the world’s largest exporter of the grain, pass through the Sea of Azov.

One of the sources said Russia’s border guards notified shipping companies that all requests for passage through the Kerch Strait, which links the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, would not be accepted from 6:10 p.m. local time on Friday. The border guards report to the FSB security service. ‌The ⁠notification did not say when the halt would be lifted.

I can’t confirm this video’s location, but it allegedly shows the impact on land with grain trucks parked because shipments by sea are not happening.

🟪 RUSSIA’S GRAIN TRAFFIC HAS GONE QUIET… AND THE SHADOW FLEET IS FEELING IT

Grain carriers are now sitting idle in the Port of Azov after shipping traffic through the Azov-Don Canal was suspended.

No ships. No departures. No convoys.

Over the past week, Ukraine has… pic.twitter.com/o6RDjxaHGw

— Gianl1974 (@Gianl1974) July 11, 2026

The bottom line is that this is going to put another dent in Russia’s bottom line at a time when it’s exports of gasoline and diesel have already ceased because of domestic shortages. Less and less money is coming in but more money is going out in an effort to show Russia is still in the fight.

And I haven’t even mentioned the deteriorating situation in Crimea. Ukraine continues to hit electrical substations, meaning power remains out in many parts of the peninsula. They call this operation Crimea Switch Off.

Magyar’s update on ⚡️Crimean switch off:

+9 energy hubs in the TOT, Saky TPP, training ground, special communications hub, and enemy lair in Horlivka.

Already 🔥60 energy hubs visited and lit up by the Birds of the Unmanned Systems Forces during 1–10 July in Crimea and the… pic.twitter.com/iZ9393OhJT

— 414 Magyar’s Birds (@414magyarbirds) July 11, 2026

Already 🔥60 energy hubs visited and lit up by the Birds of the Unmanned Systems Forces during 1–10 July in Crimea and the southern part of the TOT (51), and in the East (9).

A deep and total blackout for the worms is inevitable.

The crises for Putin keep piling up. Russia is a big country with lots of resources but they aren’t infinite and right now they are being drained.

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