Russia Suspends Azov Sea Traffic After 116 Ukrainian Strikes in 9 Days
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jul 15
Russia Suspends Azov Sea Traffic After 116 Ukrainian Strikes in 9 Days
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jul 15
Summary
Satellite images and vessel-tracking data showed ships queuing on both sides of the Sea of Azov after Russia shut the Don-Azov Channel and Kerch Strait this week.
Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, said Kyiv hit 116 Russian vessels in nine days, part of a campaign to sever logistics to occupied Crimea and disrupt fuel and grain shipping.
About a quarter of Russia’s wheat exports move through the Azov Sea, and analysts said prolonged disruption could cost Moscow billions because Black Sea terminals cannot absorb peak-season grain flows.
Wheat futures have already risen on the crisis, underscoring how Ukraine’s expanding long-range drone campaign is turning a waterway Russia treated as secure since 2022 into a new pressure point.