Over the previous five days, 76 Russian ships have been attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned surface vehicles. This has succeeded in virtually isolating Crimea and the illegally occupied areas of Ukraine from Russia and may be on the verge of precipitating a humanitarian disaster in Crimea as water, electricity, and food are about to become scarce.
Ukraine releases a compilation video of today’s huge drone swarm attack on Russian shipping, the largest one yet in this war
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) July 11, 2026
28 vessels hit in the Sea of Azov:
- 21 tankers
- 4 tugboats
- 2 dry cargo ships
- 1 special craft
76 Russian vessels trying to resupply Crimea… pic.twitter.com/4NX6XOuXHy
Of the 76 targeted ships, 28 were attacked Friday night. This indicates a coherent strategic campaign rather than a one-off happening.
To fully understand the larger picture, we need to back off several months.
The first part of the campaign was designed to shut down Russian land lines of communication into occupied Ukraine. This has been a work in progress going back a year. Still, it began in earnest around April 2026 with concentrated UAV attacks on rail lines and bridges feeding into Crimea (e.g., the Chongar and Genichesk crossings), key highways (M-14, M-18 highways), logistics hubs, and vehicle convoys in occupied Ukraine and in Russian territory bordering Ukraine.
This timeline shows that bridge and rail strikes really took off in June.
Crimea’s Bridges Under Attack: Ukraine’s Campaign Against Russia’s Southern GLOC Network - The chronology: who hit what, when, and with what (5/6)
— WarDroneX (@WarDroneXX) July 10, 2026
This week, I put together a summary of Ukrainian attacks on bridges in Crimea and the surrounding areas. As usual, I’ve divided this… pic.twitter.com/SWzIXeb1ZZ
Previously, dropping bridges had been an occasional happening using scarce Western-supplied weapons or special forces. The spring-summer campaign, though, relied on UAVs carrying rather substantial warheads, and every bridge, no matter the size, was a target. Each of these bridges made a modest contribution to supplying Russian forces, but targeting all of them in a fairly short period of time effectively shut down land LOCs.
Simultaneously, Ukrainian drone swarms were prowling over 50 miles behind the front lines searching for anything moving.
🚨DRONE STORIES:
— 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸Midobecker 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 (@midobecker_1) July 10, 2026
Despite of the ever growing russian defenses against🇺🇦#Ukraine mid-range attack drones, dozens of russian trucks & other vehicles used to transport supplies are getting destroyed daily⬇️ https://t.co/hHTjOf2JzO pic.twitter.com/rNmUgrmiuV
The annihilation of bridges into Ukraine and the genocide of Russia's commercial truck fleet, particularly tankers, forced Russia to shift to supplying occupied Ukraine and Crimea by ship.
Between July 6–10, Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces claimed 48 vessel strikes in 120 hours, including numerous oil tankers, cargo ships, ferries, and tugs.
48 Ships in 120 Hours: Ukraine’s Brutal Campaign to Cut Off Crimea
— Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴☠️ (@mercoglianos) July 11, 2026
⚓Systematic Destruction: A breakdown of the 120-hour surge that saw 48 vessels hit, including 32 tankers, cargo ships, ferries, and tugboats.
⚓The "Mission Kill" Strategy: Analysis of why Ukrainian drones are… pic.twitter.com/dhqUXPbIuI
The 28 hits overnight on July 11 pushed the total to at least 76. Video shows that the strikes focused on engine rooms, bridges, and, in the case of tankers, fuel-handling machinery, disabling the vessels without sinking them. These disabled vessels are no longer mission-capable, but they will occupy port space and require resources for repair, thereby clogging ports and routes.
As a result, Russia has suspended all sea traffic through the Kerch Strait and in the Sea of Azov, effectively shutting down Russian wheat exports.
❗️❗️❗️🇷🇺In an extraordinary maritime breakthrough, a massive and relentless Ukrainian drone campaign has forced the Russian Federation to completely shut down commercial shipping through the critical Kerch Strait and indefinitely suspend all navigation along the Don-Azov Canal.… pic.twitter.com/M8LHsLjphS
— NSTRIKE (@NSTRIKE1231) July 11, 2026
Russia's inability to counter the Ukrainian drone threat has led to about 1/3 of its oil refineries being out of production, a halt in grain exports, and Russian front-line troops going without supplies.
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