Why Ukraine Is Targeting the Sea of Azov: It is an established fact that Ukraine’s ongoing long-range strikes against Russia are intended to raise the cost of sustaining the war, but recent strikes against cargo ships and Russian-linked vessels suggest that Kyiv is also doing something more. Ukraine, it seems, is turning one of Russia’s safest logistical corridors into an enormous headache, putting pressure on the Russian economy and creating Moscow’s own Strait of Hormuz-style crisis.
Kyiv said on Thursday, July 16, that it had struck at least 11 more Russian-linked vessels. Targets included tankers, cargo ships, and tugboats, and the total number of vessels claimed for July has now reached 147. The impact is already visible, too, with Russia now restricting traffic through the Kerch Strait and the Don-Azov Channel, and attacks intensifying against shipping and ports operated by both countries.
T-14 Armata. Image Credit: Russian State Media.
T-14 Armata Tank. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov is a small, shallow inland sea northeast of the Black Sea. Russia’s Rostov and Krasnodar regions lie along its eastern shore, while occupied Crimea forms its southwestern boundary. Ukraine’s ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk sit on its northern coast but have been under Russian occupation since 2022.
The sea has a single outlet, the Kerch Strait, that connects it to the rest of the world. The waterway runs between occupied Crimea and mainland Russia. Ships regularly pass through the strait to enter the Black Sea before continuing through Turkey’s Bosporus and then into the Mediterranean.
At the opposite end is the Don River, which enters the sea through Taganrog Bay. The Don-Azov Channel allows vessels to reach the river, which then connects to the Volga through a canal and links southern Russia with the Caspian Sea and the rest of Russia’s inland shipping system. It is a critical waterway for Russia, and not just a regular coastal route. This is the southern outlet of a vast network of rivers and canals, ports, railways, roads, storage terminals, and industrial centers. It is a network that carries fuel, metal, grain, and other cargoes, and supports Russian exports and its domestic economy.
How Russia Took Control
Ukraine and Russia originally shared the Sea of Azov under a 2003 treaty that designated it as the two countries’ joint internal waters and guaranteed freedom of navigation for both countries. However, when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, it gave Moscow practical control over both sides of the Kerch Strait – the only outlet to the Black Sea. Later, Russia reinforced that control by constructing the Kerch Bridge, a 12-mile bridge that created a permanent road and rail connection between Crimea and mainland Russia.
Then, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian forces captured what was left of the Ukrainian coastline around the Sea of Azov, including the strategically important ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol. It left Moscow in full control over the entire coastline.
Speaking during a televised meeting with members of the Russian Human Rights Council in December 2022, President Vladimir Putin hailed the territorial gains and said that the Sea of Azov had become “Russia’s internal sea,” before comparing the achievement to those of Tsar Peter the Great.
It was a major achievement, and that control gave Russia something it did not have previously: a protected supply route. Commercial vessels could not move grain, steel, petroleum products, and whatever else straight through the Sea of Azov without significant risk and without Ukraine’s permission. It meant, during the early days of the war, that Russian forces could move supplies to occupied Crimea and support fighting across southern Ukraine. Kyiv lacked a conventional navy capable of challenging Russian dominance after 2022, and spent the next three years developing long-range maritime and aerial drones that are now starting to show results. Those systems now threaten something Russia once regarded as one of the safest parts of its logistics network.
Russia’s New Problem
For Ukraine to cause problems for Russia, it does not need to sink every single Russian vessel. Although so far, its forces have proven extremely capable of striking all kinds of vessels in Russian waters. Simply causing enough damage, however, is already having an impact and can force Moscow to repeatedly halt shipping or inspect waterways and repair damaged vessels.
It’s precisely the kind of problem that the world is facing with the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran – despite its heavily degraded navy and military capabilities – is holding one of the most critical waterways hostage.
Around one quarter of Russia’s wheat exports normally move through the Sea of Azov, and the disruption Russia is seeing now comes at the worst possible time, right as the country’s southern grain harvest reaches export terminals. Russia says that its cargo can be diverted through other Black Sea ports and overland routes, but those alternatives have finite capacity – just like the alternative pipeline routes for Gulf oil.
In short, Ukraine is creating a Strait of Hormuz-style crisis for Russia, and it is getting harder for Russia to solve.
About the Author: Jack Buckby
Jack Buckby is a British researcher and analyst specializing in defense and national security, based in New York. His work focuses on military capability, procurement, and strategic competition, producing and editing analysis for policy and defense audiences. He brings extensive editorial experience, with a career output spanning over 1,000 articles at 19FortyFive and National Security Journal, and has previously authored books and papers on extremism and deradicalization.
