Ukrainian Drones Strike 13 Electrical Substations and Shadow Fleet Vessels

Ukrainian forces executed a coordinated drone strike early Sunday morning, July 19, targeting electrical infrastructure across occupied territories and maritime logistics vessels in the Black and Azov Seas.

Strikes on Russian energy infrastructure

Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, Commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), reported that drone units engaged 59 targets overnight. The primary focus of the operation was the disruption of power distribution networks, resulting in strikes on 13 electrical substations.

Brovdi detailed that eight of the targeted electrical substations are located in occupied Crimea. The struck facilities include:

• The 110 kV Soliana substation in Kerch

• The 220 kV Azovska substation in Staryi Krym

• The 110 kV Zoria substation in Ponyzivka

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• The 110 kV Darsan substation in Yalta

• The 110 kV Kapsel substation in Sudak

• The 110 kV Koktebel substation in Shchebetivka

• The 110 kV Lenino substation in Yedy-Kuiu

• The 220 kV Nasosna-3 substation in Zelenyi Yar

Additional electrical nodes were targeted outside the peninsula, including facilities in Berdiansk (Zaporizhzhia region), Shyroke (Kherson region), Bila Hora and Bezghynove (Luhansk region), and Zemlianky (Donetsk region).

The commander noted that since the beginning of July, operations targeting energy infrastructure under the designation “Crimean Switch Off” have hit a total of 96 electrical nodes.

Targeting the ‘shadow fleet’ and logistics

The overnight operations also targeted Russian maritime logistics. Brovdi stated that USF drones struck four vessels in the Black Sea, identifying them as two tankers, a dry cargo ship, and a floating crane.

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The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine subsequently confirmed the maritime strikes in a morning briefing, stating the operations were aimed at reducing Russian military-economic potential.

“Tankers are used to transport Russian oil, petroleum products, and fuel in the interests of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Floating cranes provide port operations, loading and unloading of cargo, and also support the functioning of the maritime logistics of the Russian army,” the General Staff reported.

The strikes on maritime assets are part of an ongoing USF campaign designated Operation “Molochka.” The operation specifically targets Russia’s feeder fleet – flat-bottomed vessels transporting oil through shallow waters to larger deep-draft tankers waiting in the Black Sea – in an effort to paralyze logistics utilized to circumvent international sanctions.

According to Brovdi, the operation aims to disable the self-propelled capabilities of the targeted vessels without causing environmental damage or oil spills. Since the operation commenced in early July, Ukrainian forces report striking a total of 176 vessels.

In addition to the energy and maritime targets, the General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces struck a Russian Buk anti-aircraft missile system near Zelenopillia in the Zaporizhzhia region, and an automobile bridge near Novoekonomichne in the Donetsk region, which the military stated was utilized for Russian military logistics.