Overview
- Ukrainian forces have carried out daily drone strikes since last Monday and report roughly 90 tankers, tugboats, ferries and cargo ships damaged, sunk or struck in the Sea of Azov and nearby ports.
- Ukrainian commanders say many targeted tankers belong to a so‑called 'ghost fleet' used to move Russian oil and products around sanctions, and recent hits have impeded fuel deliveries to Crimea.
- Russia has responded with strikes on Ukrainian ports and says its military struck a converted fishing vessel and a patrol boat in Chornomorsk using a Geran‑4/‘Seeker’ drone.
- Officials on both sides report civilian casualties and damage: Russian or occupation authorities cited deaths in Energodar, Odesa and Sumy, and attacks attributed to Ukraine have hit Russian energy facilities including the Sizran refinery.
- President Zelensky announced a government reshuffle that would move Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko into a new diplomatic role to implement a revised foreign‑policy strategy that Kyiv says links to the maritime campaign.