Maritime drone campaign by the Armed Forces of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces against russia's "shadow fleet" — tankers, gas carriers, dry cargo vessels, ferries, tugboats and floating cranes circumventing sanctions and directly financing the war. Started in the Sea of Azov, expanded to the Black Sea within nine days.
"MoLOChKa" — maritime drone campaign of the Unmanned Systems Forces against russia's "shadow fleet": vessels circumventing sanctions and transporting oil, fuel, and other cargo directly financing the war. The USF Commander publicly defends the strikes as against legitimate military targets: the tactic — strike primarily small courier supply tankers first, not immediately the large export ones, because one large tanker is filled by 12–15 small vessels.
6 July 2026 the Unmanned Systems Forces jointly with the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched the "MoLOChKa" maritime drone campaign in the Azov Sea, striking the first two shadow fleet tankers — "Kapitan Barmin" and "Sanar-3" (project 15781, ~7,000 tons of gasoline each) on the Taganrog — occupied Crimea route; that same night struck the Kerch refinery, Nebo-U radar, and two S-400 SAM systems.
Sources: LB.ua
On July 15, 2026 (Day of Ukrainian Statehood), the USF officially expanded Operation "MoLOChKa" to the Black Sea, striking 20 vessels (17 oil tankers, 2 gas tankers, 1 tugboat) in one day. Commander Brovdi: "the first round of naval combat is complete. Now the Black Sea."
Sources: Kyiv Independent · Telegram @robert_magyar, 2604
Fuel blockade of the shadow fleet — one of three vectors of the broader campaign to isolate occupied Crimea (together with energy blockade and logistical lockdown of the land corridor): see "Cutting Off Crimea". "MoLOChKa" — official name and expansion of this maritime vector from 06.07.2026.
In July 2026 "MoLOChKa" operated in tandem with other named USF campaigns the Commander runs in parallel: "Crimean Switch off" — energy blockade of the peninsula (164 energy targets struck 01–29.07, from 330 kV substations in Kerch and Feodosia to nodes in TOT Kherson region); "Wild Berry" — series of strikes on Wildberries marketplace logistics hubs serving russia's military logistics (8 hubs in July, from Elektrostal to Krasnodar); "PPOpad" — systematic air defense hunting (35 elements in July). The Commander's channel calls "Wild Berry" and "MoLOChKa" "twins" — maritime and land millstones of one pressure campaign.
Sources: TG 2677 (30.07) · TG 2684 (01.08, monthly summary) · TG 2676
The USF cumulative count grew daily—from the first two vessels on 06.07 to 300 as of 30.09.2026. Each point below is a separate statement by the USF Commander, cross-verified by a dated media source.
Sources: Kyiv Post · Kyiv Independent, 15.07 · Kyiv Independent, 17.07 · Kyiv Independent, 18.07 · Euromaidan Press, 29.07 · LB.ua, 30.07 · Commander-in-Chief, 01.08 · Telegram @robert_magyar, 08.08 · Telegram @usf_army, 08.08 · Telegram @robert_magyar, 16.08 · Telegram @robert_magyar, 22.08 · Telegram @robert_magyar, 01.09 · Telegram @robert_magyar, 09.09 · Telegram @robert_magyar, 12.09 · Telegram @robert_magyar, 22.09 · Telegram @robert_magyar, 01.10
Sources: LB.ua, 30.07 · Euromaidan Press, 29.07
USF did not publish a separate breakdown by water areas for August—the cumulative figures of 218/228/242/260 were given only as totals (134 Azov + 108 Black Sea as of 22.08.2026, according to the last known clarification). As of 22.09.2026 the Azov Sea remains at 134 vessels—unchanged since 22.08.2026, confirming statements "Azov is standing still"; all growth to 300 occurred in the Black Sea (166).
As of 02.11.2026, the Commander has not released new "MoLOChKa" counter values for October. The last value — 300 vessels as of 06.07.2026: 134 in the Sea of Azov and 166 in the Black Sea (post #2838, 22.09.2026); in the September summary (post #2863, 01.10.2026) the number remained 300, of which 31 vessels were for September.
Sources: Telegram @robert_magyar, 22.09 (post #2838, milestone 300) · Telegram @robert_magyar, 01.10 (post #2863, September summary)
Four statements by the USF Commander in September 2026, in chronological order—from the first weekly increment to the month's summary and international interview theses.
During 01–08 September another 13 shadow fleet vessels hit in the Black Sea (Azov Sea and Kerch Strait—no movement), cumulative 282 since 06.07.2026. On the night of 9 September, Ukraine's Defense Forces jointly with USF delivered a combined strike on the "Novorossiysk" naval base—military vessels hit, including missile carriers; Birds of 1st USF Operational Center also destroyed a carrier-based Su-33, Mi-8 and two radars ("Kasta 2E2" and 92N6 radar of S-300/400 SAM system) near Anapa and in the Gelendzhik area.
Source: Telegram @robert_magyar, 2802
Tenth week of the operation—285 vessels since 06.07.2026. The Commander provided a monthly breakdown: July 206 (+9 claimed later), August 54, 01–11 September 16.
Source: Telegram @robert_magyar, 2811
The 300-vessel milestone after eleven weeks of the operation: 134 in the Azov Sea (unchanged since 22.08.2026) and 166 in the Black Sea.
Source: Telegram @robert_magyar, 2838
Full version of The Telegraph interview: among the commander's theses — three effects of Deep Strike attacks (war financing, weapons production, morale effect), where the shadow fleet is a source of financing.
Source: Telegram @robert_magyar, 2856 · Telegram @usf_army, 2492
31 vessels with proper names from the public USF strike database for July–September 2026—"naval" type extract from strike map. Each entry — a separate statement with source link.
| Date | Vessel | Waters | Units | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-06 | Tanker "Kapitan Barmin" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-06 | Tanker "Sanar-3" (shadow fleet, Primemax type) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-07 | Ferry "SKS One" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-07 | Tanker "Aleksey Savrasov" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-07 | Tanker "Climene" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-07 | Tanker "Ivan Cheremysinov" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-07 | Tanker "Penelope" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-07 | Tanker "Sanar-17" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-07 | Tanker "Sanar-1" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-07 | Tanker "Teti" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-07 | Tanker "Venera-3" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-08 | Cargo vessel "Donstar" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-08 | Cargo vessel "Evgenia Z" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-08 | Cargo vessel "Feofan Shokhirev" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-08 | Cargo vessel "Vladimir Yarygin" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-08 | Tanker "Efrosynia V" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-08 | Tanker "Mariya" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-08 | Tanker "Sanar-4" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-09 | Tugboat "Alfeo" with barge "Afrodyta" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-09 | Vessel "Merkuriy" (shadow fleet, type to be clarified) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-09 | Tanker "Aura" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-09 | Tanker "Chelsi-6" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-09 | Tanker "Haliaskar Kamal" (shadow fleet, Panama flag) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-09 | Tanker "Ilya Repin" (shadow fleet) | Azov Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-13 | Ferry "Yeisk" | AR Crimea | jointly with SBU | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-19 | Ferry "Lavrentiy" | AR Crimea | jointly with SBU, HUR | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-19 | Ferry "Maria" | AR Crimea | jointly with SBU | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-19 | Ferry "Panagia" | AR Crimea | jointly with SBU, HUR | TG↗ |
| 2026-08-09 | 1 oil tanker | Black Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-08-09 | 2 cargo vessels | Black Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
| 2026-08-24 | Shadow fleet vessels (tanker and bulker) | Black Sea | with USF involvement | TG↗ |
According to the USF Commander's statement (08.08.2026), in the Gelendzhik area a Russian shadow fleet vessel was struck by a USF Bird despite attempted interception by three guided missiles from Pantsir-S1 SPAAG. Telegram @robert_magyar
Besides named targets, the USF published periodic summaries without breakdown by names — 29 such entries for July–September 2026:
| Date | Description | Waters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-08 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (21 units: 19 tankers, 1 dry cargo, 1 ferry) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-08 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (9 tanker units overnight) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-10 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (13 units: 10 tankers, 1 dry cargo, 1 ferry, 1 tugboat) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-10 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (48 units over 120 hours) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-11 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (28 units: 21 tankers, 4 tugboats, 2 dry cargo, 1 special craft) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-11 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (76 units over 6 days) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-12 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (14 units) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-12 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (14 units: 10 tankers, 4 ferries) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-12 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (90 units per week) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-13 | Vessels of the RF shadow fleet (105 units in 8 days) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-13 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (15 units: 7 tankers, 5 dry cargo, 1 ferry, 2 tugboats) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-14 | Vessels of the RF shadow fleet (116 units) | Azov Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-15 | Vessels of the RF shadow fleet (136 units) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-15 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (20 units) | Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-16 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (11 units) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-17 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (12 units) | Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-18 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (13 units) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-19 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (4 units) | Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-20 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (7 units: 3 tankers, 4 dry cargo) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-22 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (13 units: 1 tanker, 10 dry cargo, 2 tugboats) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-07-28 | Russian shadow fleet vessels (201 units) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-08-08 | +12 vessels for 1–8 August (218 since 06.07: 134 Azov, 84 Black) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-08-16 | 228 vessels since start of operation (22 in first half of August) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-08-22 | 242 vessels (134 Azov + 108 Black), 36 in August | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-08-31 | August summary: 54 vessels for the month, 260 since 06.07.2026 | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-09-08 | +13 vessels in the Black Sea for 01–08.09 (Azov Sea and Kerch Strait no movement); 282 since 06.07.2026 | Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-09-11 | 285 vessels since 06.07.2026—tenth week of the operation (16 for 01–11.09.2026) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-09-22 | 300 vessels (134 Azov + 166 Black Sea) in eleven weeks since 06.07.2026 | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
| 2026-09-30 | September summary: 31 vessels for the month, 300 since 06.07.2026 (unchanged from 22.09) | Azov + Black Sea | TG↗ |
Ferries marked "jointly with SBU"—joint USF and Security Service operations; separate, purely-SBU strikes are not included in the count of 300.
As of 19.07.2026 the throughput capacity of the Kerch ferry crossing decreased by 75% — jointly with SBU: the headline of the original report directly names the joint USF+SBU attribution. Among the struck ferries — "Eysk", "Lavrentiy", "Maria", "Panagia" (see table above).
Sources: WZ.lviv.ua · Censor.NET · Telegram @robert_magyar
On 18 July 2026 the USF Commander stated that Russia redeployed up to 200 crews of the "Rubicon" drone unit from the frontline to protect the "shadow fleet" (one crew per vessel), as well as units of the 51st Air Defense Division and the Black Sea Fleet's anti-aircraft missile regiment.
Sources: Telegram @robert_magyar · Kyiv Independent
On 12 August 2026 the USF Commander announced a combined strike on the naval base and port infrastructure of Novorossiysk — watercraft and port facilities. On 13.08.2026 specialist publication Naval News confirmed via satellite imagery damage to two Russian frigates of Project 11356R ("Admiral Essen" and "Admiral Makarov"), a Buyan-M corvette and a Project 22160 patrol ship — a rare case when a claimed target received independent confirmation (not from USF).
Sources: Telegram @robert_magyar · Naval News
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov characterized USF strikes on the shadow fleet as "terrorism". The direct quote from the Russian MFA has not been verified first-hand in this study — low-to-medium confidence, secondary source.
International Maritime Organization Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez called for a halt to unjustified attacks on civilian shipping related to geopolitical conflicts: such actions "endanger seafarers, threaten the safety of navigation, disrupt global supply chains, and undermine the principles underpinning international shipping". The statement does not name Ukraine or USF directly — phrased as an appeal to all parties to conflicts.
Sources: IMO (official press statement)
The July 2026 naval campaign became one of the month's top global military stories — from major agencies and business media to specialist maritime publications and market reports. Below are articles from Reuters, Bloomberg, Financial Times, WSJ, Al Jazeera, trade maritime and defense press, plus three specific market consequences in figures. Episodes near the CPC terminal outside Novorossiysk are described by the world press separately from the "MoLoChKa" count — this section records what the press writes, not a separate tally.
The campaign expanded from Azov to the Black Sea: 17 oil tankers, 2 gas carriers, and a tugboat struck overnight, quoting USF Commander Robert Brovdi.
Maritime drones struck two large tankers — Louise 1 and Banda — in the Black Sea; attribution to the Security Service of Ukraine.
The Sheskharis terminal in Novorossiysk — about 20% of Russia's seaborne oil exports — halted loading after a series of drone strikes.
Russia halted passage through the Kerch Strait and Don-Azov Canal after the strike on 13 vessels in the Sea of Azov; grain futures rose.
Lead story of the month: report from inside the "Magyar's Birds" brigade — 180+ vessels and maritime targets struck in three weeks, goal — to block supply to Crimea.
The Trump administration, following Chevron's appeal, warned Kyiv against strikes on non-Russian tankers in the Black Sea (CPC terminal, Kazakh oil).
Strikes on Russia in the Sea of Azov matched or exceeded in intensity the Iran-Iraq "tanker war" of the 1980s — parallel drawn by Ambrey analyst.
Ukrainian drones set fire to Russian oil facilities and more tankers in the Sea of Azov amid a fuel crisis in the country.
USF Commander Robert Brovdi: 19 tankers, a cargo ship, and a ferry struck July 6–8; SBU reported a strike on a terminal in St. Petersburg.
Brovdi: another 11 vessels struck overnight, nine-day campaign total — 116; Russia preparing to reroute exports.
Operation "Molochka" is strangling occupied Crimea without fuel and electricity; Kerch ferries knocked out.
Strikes on the CPC terminal in Novorossiysk are forcing Kazakhstan to halt oil shipments, hitting the state budget.
Sea Baby maritime drone retrofitted as carrier for 6–8 FPV drones and thermobaric missiles; claimed range increased to ~1,500 km.
Drones struck about 12 sanctioned tankers (roughly 7,000 t each) supplying fuel to Crimea in two days in the Sea of Azov.
Raid on the night of July 7: 10 vessels (8 tankers, cargo ship, ferry) struck by "Kairos" battalion of the 414th "Magyar's Birds" brigade.
35 vessels struck in 96 hours, including Yasa Polaris (Chevron) and sanctioned Blue; Zelenskyy stated the goal — to bring war's end closer via strikes on Russian oil-energy.
Around 80 vessels struck in 6 days; the 414th "Magyar's Birds" brigade reported 28 shadow fleet tankers in one night.
Three tankers (Asia/Chevron, Nissos Ios, Nelsa) struck while loading at CPC terminal in 24 hours; 22 sailors evacuated from Nelsa.
Zelenskyy confirmed strike on Greek tanker Bourda (105,600 dwt) and sinking of Russian vessel Yanina (Fesco) in the Black Sea.
Suezmax rates in the Black Sea rose 25% in one week — to $253,728/day — against the backdrop of simultaneous crises in the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea.
War-risk insurance premiums in the Black Sea rose above 1% of vessel value (market estimates 0.6–1.5%) amid escalating attacks by both sides.
Brent broke through $100/barrel for the first time since May; the CPC terminal halted loading, Kazakhstan's output (1.7 million bpd) under threat of cuts.
According to the USF statement, from 1 to 8 August another 12 shadow fleet vessels were hit, bringing the total since the operation began to 218 vessels (134 Sea of Azov, 84 Black Sea).
Reports the tally of 12 vessels hit during 1–8 August (218 since the operation began) and explicitly states it cannot independently confirm these data.
About simultaneous strikes on shadow fleet tankers from multiple directions within Operation "MoLOChKa".
Confirms from satellite imagery the damage to two Russian Project 11356R frigates in Novorossiysk on 12 August—a rare independent verification of a result claimed by the USF.
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on 9 September the Novorossiysk naval base and oil terminal were hit—several rf vessels damaged; according to the USF Commander's statement, the strike was carried out by Ukraine's Defense Forces jointly with USF (post №2802).
Quotes Brovdi directly: "Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) have disabled 300 vessels"—134 in the Azov Sea, 166 in the Black Sea over 11 weeks of operation "MoLOChKa".
Clarifies the pace: 215 vessels in July (206+9 claimed later), 54 in August, 16 in the first 11 days of September; the goal of the strikes is to disable vessels, not sink them, to reduce the risk of oil spills.
All figures on this page are officially claimed results via the channel of USF Commander Robert Brovdi, with a link to the primary source beside each entry. Cross-referenced publications from world media are collected in the "International Press" section above.
What is NOT included in the count of 300: individual marine-drone operations by the Security Service of Ukraine against shadow fleet vessels—this is a different unit with its own statements, not attributed to the USF; as well as episodes near the oil-loading terminal outside Novorossiysk, which the world press describes separately (see "International Press" section)—these are not consolidated into one count with "MoLOChKa".
All publicly claimed USF strikes on the map and in a filtered table, July 2026 onward.
All maritime hits on the mapThree vectors of peninsula isolation: energy blockade, fuel blockade "MoLOChKa", logistics lockdown.
Open sectionMonthly digest of international publications and official reports about the USF Commander.
Open sectionOfficial USF strikes scoreboard by month, by target category.
Open section