Ukraine reports drone assault on 21 Russian oil tankers

DPASat, July 11, 2026 at 11:18 AM UTC1 min readAdd Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.Key takeawaysPowered by Yahoo Scout. Yahoo is using AI to generate key points from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.

• Ukraine conducted a drone attack on 21 Russian oil tankers in the Sea of Azov, along with other vessels, causing damage that is still being assessed.
• Russia reported a much lower number of ships being attacked and one sailor killed in the incident, with minor damage to the vessels and no risk of cargo leakage.
• The drone attack is part of Ukraine's efforts to disrupt Russian oil exports and cut off fuel supplies to Russian forces in occupied areas, amid the ongoing conflict between the two countries.

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Ukraine used drones to attack a further 21 Russian oil tankers in the Sea of Azov overnight, the military command in Kiev announced on Saturday.

In addition to the tankers, drones also struck four tugs, two dry cargo ships and a dredger, the General Staff wrote on Telegram. The extent of the damage is still being assessed, the post said.

If confirmed, this would be the largest Ukrainian drone attack in terms of numbers in a recent series of operations against Russian vessels.

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Russia previously reported much lower figures regarding the latest incident. According to Rostov regional Governor Yuri Slyusar, only four ships had been attacked at sea during the night.

"One person was killed - a sailor on a support vessel," he wrote on Telegram. The damage on board - including to a tanker carrying highly flammable methanol - is minor and there is no risk of the cargo leaking, Slyusar said.

It was not possible to independently verify the claims made by either side.

Ukraine has in recent days repeatedly attacked Russian ships in the Sea of Azov, as well as onshore transhipment facilities in the port of Taganrog.

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Kiev's stated policy behind the strikes is to halt Moscow's lucrative oil exports and cut off fuel supplies to Russian forces in occupied parts of southern and eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine has with Western assistance been fighting a full-scale Russian invasion since February 2022.