Russia slams Ukraine over drone attacks on ships: ‘Pirates at least keep the spoils’

3 min readNew DelhiJul 15, 2026 12:34 PM IST

Rescue workers try to put out a fire of a residential building burning after a Russian drone attack on Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, late Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo)

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Ukraine of carrying out “acts of terrorism” after Kyiv launched attacks on Russian vessels at the Sea of Azov.

“What the ‌Ukrainian regime is doing goes beyond even piracy. Pirates, at least, plunder and keep the spoils for ⁠themselves. But here, it ⁠benefits neither them nor anyone else – the goal is simply ⁠to cause damage and ⁠intimidate. It is ⁠terrorism, pure and simple,” Al Jazeera quoted Lavrov as saying.

Lavrov’s comments come after the Drone Forces Commander of Kyiv claimed on Tuesday that Ukrainian drones hit 11 more Russian vessels in the Sea of Azov overnight, news agency Reuters reported. Ukrainian military commander Robert Brovdi, as quoted by Al Jazeera, said on Telegram that these targets included five tankers, five dry cargo vessels and a tugboat, bringing the total number of vessels struck in the past nine days to 116.

Russia’s plans to reroute shipments

Russia is also planning to reroute ⁠grain shipments from the Sea of Azov after escalating Ukrainian attacks on its vessels — on the route that manages a quarter of its exports, Al Jazeera reported.

Russia will use “alternative shipping routes” and may redirect cargo “to other modes of transport”, Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture announced in a statement on Tuesday.

Drone attacks on Russia

Moreover, the Russian Ministry of Defence also said its air defences intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones across the country overnight. According to Russian authorities, falling debris from one of the drone attacks injured a person and damaged houses across villages.

Another drone attack on Afipsky oil refinery sparked a fire, authorities quoted by Al Jazeera stated. These strikes on Russia’s oil refineries have also led to a fuel crisis across the nation.

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The attacks come as Ukraine extends its long-range drone campaign aimed at disrupting Russian fuel supplies, slowing military logistics and increasing the economic cost of the war.

According to analysts quoted by news agency Associated Press, Kyiv has increasingly shifted from targeting frontline positions to striking factories, refineries, transport routes and ammunition production facilities deep inside Russian territory.

Russia’s attacks on Ukraine

Russia’s Defence Ministry said it also hit targets in Kyiv, port infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, and fuel storage facilities for Ukrainian forces in the port of Yuzhny, according to the report.

Ukrainian military officials, commenting on the attacks, said their forces shot down seven missiles and 108 drones across the country, it added.

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