Ukrainian commander says flying drones have disabled 300 tankers in Russia's shadow fleet

Russia's shadow fleet vessels wait in the unofficial anchorage area in the Gulf of Finland.

Ints Kalnins/REUTERS Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces say it's hit 300 shadow fleet tankers in 11 weeks.

It's part of Operation MoLoChKa, a Ukrainian effort to kneecap Russia's war effort through Crimea.

The claim comes as Ukraine's drone tech and AI now allow it to reliably conduct long-range aerial strikes.

A top Ukrainian drone commander said on Tuesday that his forces have used uncrewed aerial vehicles to knock out 300 ships in Russia's "shadow fleet" over 11 weeks.

Maj.

Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, said as drone crews reached this tally after they attacked and "burned" 21 tankers over the last three days.

The strikes have been part of a Ukrainian campaign from early July targeting the hundreds-strong fleet of merchant tankers assessed to be carrying sanctioned Russian gas and oil.

While many of these vessels access Russia from the Baltic, the Ukrainian effort has focused on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The campaign has been dubbed Operation MoLoChKa, or an acronym that translates into " Moscow will fall through Crimea ." Brovdi said on his Telegram channel that the uncrewed Systems Forces had disabled 166 ships in the Black Sea and another 134 in the Sea of Azov.

"The Sea of Azov, along with the Kerch Strait, is closed and will remain so.

In the northern and northeastern Black Sea, it is 'maybe we'll slip through' mode," his statement said.

He's been one of the top commanders to champion a strategy of using mid- and long-range drones to enact a siege of sorts on Crimea , the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

The region is a key logistical hub for Russia's forces on the southern front, and Ukrainian commanders like Brovdi have likened it to a lynchpin of the war as a whole.