Ukraine drone strikes halt Russia’s Sea of Azov shipping

Russian authorities halted shipping through the Don-Azov Canal after Ukrainian drones hit 13 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov, including 10 tankers, and border guards stopped taking new passage requests through the Kerch Strait. At 6:10 p.m. local time on July 10, shipping companies were told that no further applications would be accepted, with no timetable given for when the restrictions might end.

The corridor connects the Don River to the Sea of Azov and then through the Kerch Strait to the Black Sea. As much as one quarter of Russia’s wheat exports move through the Sea of Azov, and wheat futures on Euronext climbed as much as 4% on July 10 to a six-week high as traders weighed the risk of more shipping delays.

Rostov and Krasnodar, Russia’s leading grain-producing regions, sit on the Sea of Azov, giving the route outsized weight for grain, fuel, and other bulk cargo moving out of southern Russia.

Ukraine's wider campaign has targeted “long-range sanctions” against Russia’s energy and transport infrastructure. In the same sequence of strikes, Ukraine hit the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, the Kurgannefteprodukt oil terminal in Taganrog, and the Azovnefteprodukt oil depot in Azov.

The Sea of Azov is a supply route for Russian forces in occupied Crimea. The area has been contested for years, including Ukraine’s 2016 maritime-rights case against Russia, and Russia seized Crimea and launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.