Just yesterday we reported on the major military operation Ukraine had carried out using drones in the Sea of Azov, launching attacks on Russian transport vessels. The head of Ukraine's drone division, Robert Brovdi, stated that among the targets struck last night were five tankers, five dry cargo ships and a tugboat, bringing the total number of vessels attacked over the last nine days to 116.
This offensive has taken Putin's government in Moscow completely by surprise; it relies on the Azov route to transport no less than 25 per cent of Russia's total grain production, with sources speaking on condition of anonymity telling Reuters that two civilian grain ships were set alight between yesterday and today.
"What the Ukrainian regime is doing goes even further than piracy. Pirates, at least, plunder and keep the spoils," said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. "But here, it benefits neither them nor anyone else; the aim is simply to cause harm and intimidate. It is terrorism, pure and simple."
Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian Black Sea ports since the end of last year, and Ukrainian officials say that ports in the Odessa region could see their monthly grain export capacity reduced by up to a third.