Russia's Sea of Azov shipping disrupted after Ukrainian drone strikes

Ukraine's expanding drone campaign has disrupted shipping through the Sea of Azov, forcing Russia to suspend traffic through key waterways and raising concerns over grain exports and regional trade.

According to CNN recent Ukrainian attacks prompted Russia to halt traffic through the Don-Azov Channel and the Kerch Strait, two vital routes linking the Sea of Azov to inland waterways and the Black Sea.

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Ukraine's drone forces commander Robert Brovdi claimed Kyiv had struck 116 Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov over the past nine days.

The report said it could not independently verify the figure, although videos released by Ukrainian officials appeared to show direct hits on so me vessels.

The Institute for the Study of War said the attacks “represent a new phase in Ukraine’s efforts to isolate occupied Crimea from the Russian logistics network and to disrupt Russian seaborne shipping routes, especially for petroleum products and grain.”

Major Evhen Karas of Ukraine's armed forces told CNN: “We are cutting all the logistics.”

“We’ll increase this pressure for as deep as we can reach … this is just the beginning,” he added.

Russia, the world's largest wheat exporter, ships about a quarter of its wheat exports through the Sea of Azov.