Ukraine drone unit claims strikes on over 100 Russian vessels in Sea of Azov

The scale and figures that Ukraine have claimed in a drone-based attack campaign against Russian shipping have not been publicly acknowledged by Russian officials or independently verified, but Reuters cited three unnamed sources from Russia’s energy and grain transport sectors in reporting that the Russian border guards had stopped accepting Kerch Strait passage applications for vessels and halted traffic on the Don-Azov Canal effective July 10, 2026, at 6:10 p.m. local time.   Maritime and security firm Vanguard Tech reported the same closures, citing international media reports, noting on 11 July that “no official timeframe for the resumption of navigation has been announced”.   The Don-Azov Canal runs from Russia’s interior to the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea by way of the Kerch Strait, meaning that any restriction or closure of vessel traffic through the waterways would impact on Russia’s ability to export.   Vanguard reported an unmanned surface vessel (USV, or water-based drone) approach on St Vincent and the Grenadines-flagged containership MV Inter Sydney on 14 July as the vessel transited off the port of Novorossiysk, Russia.    Novorossiysk lies on the Black Sea coast, indicating that vessels may be subject to drone attacks outside the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait.