No navy necessary Most large ships appear to have cleared out of the Sea of Azov with the exception of a cluster of about 25 vessels in the northeast, according to a review of public satellite imagery by the Ukrainian news publication Defense Express.
Russian milbloggers who support the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine have complained about the apparent lack of protection for Russian ships in the Sea of Azov, according to the Institute of War.
Confirmed details from the source coverage
The Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet has already been forced to mostly hunker down in port after Ukraine’s earlier successes in using sea drones to damage and even sink warships.
Ukrainian air and sea drones have continued to strike Russian warships and other vessels even in port.
A ship trails dark smoke after Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian shipping in the Sea of Azov on July 11, 2026.
Credit: Planet Labs PBC Ukrainian drones have also been attacking Russian-associated ships in the Black Sea and beyond.
Context that stayed inside the record
On July 8, the Security Service of Ukraine posted a video showing a Sea Baby naval drone striking a crude oil tanker when it was supposedly located near the southern end of the Crimean Peninsula, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Such feats show how Ukraine has managed to counter Russia’s traditional naval superiority and pressure Russian shipping lanes without fielding a naval force of crewed surface warships or submarines.
A similar scenario is playing out in the Strait of Hormuz shipping chokepoint, where Iran now claims the authority to charge a transit fee and has used drone and missile strikes to halt much of the usual commercial shipping traffic despite the large presence of US military warships and aircraft.
This article was updated on July 14, 2026 to clarify that there have been more than 100 drone strikes on ships in total so far, and to provide additional context on the shadow fleet tanker Arctic Metagaz.
Related reading
- DR Congo Accuses Rwanda of Genocide and Human Rights Abuses at the ICJ
- Olara Otunnu Joins Race to Succeed António Guterres as UN Secretary-General
- President Trump Meets with Ukraine and Israeli Leaders Amid Wildfire Crisis (news-usa.today)
- Saudi Arabia Joins U.S. Military Strikes on Iranian Proxies (archyde.com)
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