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Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) said its drone units struck 13 electrical substations and four vessels belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet during overnight operations on July 19, targeting military logistics and energy infrastructure in occupied territories and the Black Sea, UATV English reports.
USF Commander Col. Robert “Madyar” Brovdi said the strikes were carried out as part of the ongoing “Molochka” and “Crimean Switch Off” operations, which have targeted Russia’s military logistics and energy network since the beginning of July.
According to Brovdi, Ukrainian drone operators hit 59 targets overnight. The operation was conducted by the 414th, 412th, 20th and 427th brigades of the Unmanned Systems Forces.
Among the targets were two oil tankers, a dry cargo vessel and a floating crane operating in the Black Sea. Brovdi said the vessels are part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, which Moscow uses to transport oil and fuel while circumventing Western sanctions.
The overnight strikes also damaged 13 electrical substations, including eight in Russian-occupied Crimea and five in occupied areas of southern and eastern Ukraine. The targeted facilities included high-voltage substations in Kerch, Staryi Krym, Yalta, Sudak, Koktebel, Lenino and other occupied settlements.
Brovdi said that since July 1, Ukrainian drone operations have struck 176 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet and 96 energy facilities across occupied territories.
Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed that overnight strikes targeted several military and military-economic facilities used by Russian forces. It said Ukrainian forces hit two Russian tankers in the Black Sea, a floating crane in the Sea of Azov and a Buk surface-to-air missile system near Zelenopillia in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The General Staff also reported damage to a road bridge near Novoekonomichne in the Donetsk region, which Russian forces use to support military logistics.
The latest operation follows another series of long-range Ukrainian strikes carried out the previous night, when Ukrainian forces reported hitting an oil depot in Russia’s Moscow region, two tankers, the Russian patrol ship Svetlyak and other military and logistical targets.
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