BREAKING NEWS: Defense forces opened fire on Russian tankers in the Black Sea: 20 vessels were hit

Among the targets are oil tankers, gas tankers and a tugboat.

On the night of July 15, the Defense Forces struck tankers of the Russian shadow fleet in the Black Sea for the first time – 20 vessels were hit. This was stated by the Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Robert Brovdi (“Magyar”).

“The next cluster of the SBS operation “MoLoChKa” was uncorked for the Ukrainian Statehood Day – SBS birds in the Black Sea. The account is open: the first 20 tankers were used in the World Cup (Black Sea – UNIAN) during the night of July 15,” the military said.

According to him, 17 oil tankers, 2 gas tankers, and a tugboat have been used today.

Magyar added that 116 ships of the Russian “shadow fleet” were hit in the Sea of Azov, which was “the first round of the naval battle.”

The Armed Forces of Ukraine found a vulnerable spot in Russia’s “shadow fleet” – details

As UNIAN reported, on the night of July 14, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ surface-to-air missile system struck another 11 Russian ships in the Sea of Azov, which are part of the so-called shadow fleet of the aggressor country.

In total, over 9 days in Azov, as reported by the Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdy, within the framework of Operation “Milk”, the Ukrainian military hit 116 units, including up to 5 tankers, 5 dry cargo ships and a tugboat.

According to the military, in this way, the SBS paralyze the enemy’s feeder fleet (“courier” small and medium 140-meter flat-bottomed tankers with a deadweight of 7,000 tons), as a significant component of the shadow fleet. This makes it impossible to export petroleum products from the oil transshipment ports and “loading” ports of the Russian Federation via the Volga-Don Canal and the Sea of Azov to large tankers.

(c)UNIAN 2026