Ukraine's drone unit reports hitting 180 maritime targets around Crimea, aiming to disrupt Russian logistics and maritime operations.
New Front in the Black Sea: Ukraine Claims to Have Struck 180 Maritime Targets
Ukraine's drone unit, named 'Magyar's Birds,' claimed to have struck more than 180 ships and maritime-related targets around Crimea in the past three weeks. Reuters monitored the unit's operational preparations on the ground but could not independently verify all the reported attacks.
Ukraine's drone operation, aimed at cutting off Russia's maritime transport around Crimea, is expanding from the Sea of Azov towards the Black Sea.
According to a field report by Reuters dated July 24, Ukrainian drone units announced that they had hit over 180 ships and other maritime-related targets around Crimea in the past three weeks. The operations reportedly aim to increase the cost of Russia's military and logistical activities in Crimea.
Not all of the 180 targets reported are commercial vessels. The count includes tankers and cargo ships, as well as floating cranes, ferry infrastructure, energy facilities, and other maritime-related elements.
Reuters Could Not Verify All Attacks
Reuters reporters observed the unit's drone launch operations in an undisclosed area in southern Ukraine. The unit reported hitting a cargo ship and a floating crane in the Black Sea, as well as an electrical center in South Crimea. Reuters explicitly stated that it could not independently verify these three attacks.
The command echelon of the unit claimed that approximately six ships or maritime targets were struck daily in July and that the capacity of the Kerch ferry line had decreased by 75%. This figure has not been independently verified.
Ukraine's operation initially focused on small and medium-sized tankers and logistical vessels in the Sea of Azov. The recent expansion of operations into the Black Sea is leading to a more nuanced distinction between military targets and international commercial traffic.
At the same time, Russia has also increased its attacks on Ukraine's Odessa and other Black Sea ports, port infrastructure, and vessels. As a result, commercial ships in the region are forced to operate in a maritime area where the mutual attack zones of both sides are increasingly converging.
For Turkish shipowners, the primary risk is not only direct hits. Mis-targeting, drifting mines, electronic jamming, AIS interruptions, port delays, and rapidly rising war risk premiums are also altering the commercial and legal calculations of the voyages.
Source: SeaNews Türkiye
