By Bloomberg News
Jul 12, 2026(Bloomberg) –Russia and Ukraine attacked each other’s key grain export gateways overnight after shipping across the Sea of Azov was disrupted the previous day, triggering a spike in wheat prices.
Ukraine targeted four vessels with drones in Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov following a strike on the area on Friday that disrupted shipping through a key export corridor. The vessels included a tanker carrying methanol, although there was no threat of a spill or leak, Rostov region governor Yuri Slyusar said in a Telegram post on Saturday. The attack killed a sailor aboard one of the vessels.
Emergency services fully extinguished the fires in Taganrog and Azov on Saturday morning, according to a separate post by Slyusar.
Russia temporarily halted shipping through the Don-Azov Channel, a waterway linking the Don River with the Sea of Azov, Reuters reported, citing sources in the grain export industry. It also closed the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, from Friday evening, the newswire said.
Wheat prices jumped as traders weighed potential shipping disruptions following Ukraine’s attacks.
In total, Ukraine struck 28 vessels of Russia’s fleet overnight in the Sea of Azov, including tankers and dry cargo ships, Robert Brovdi, a Ukrainian drone unit commander known as Madyar, said in a Telegram post. He also reported that 76 have been hit since July 6, a claim that couldn’t be independently verified.
Ports on the Sea of Azov aren’t commonly used for loading Russian crude oil for exports; the tankers there mostly transport petroleum products to Russian-occupied Crimea and surrounding areas, where fuel shortages have become common this summer.
Russian forces struck Kyiv overnight, injuring 11 people in the Ukrainian capital, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post, as part of a barrage of 120 drones and 12 missiles across several regions.
Among the targets was Ukraine’s Odesa region, including the Black Sea ports of Odesa and Chornomorsk, as well as Izmail on the Danube River, Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a post, claiming that it targeted war-related infrastructure.
Odesa and Chornomorsk are key hubs for Ukraine’s grain shipments, while Izmail has become an export hub since Russia’s full-scale invasion disrupted traditional shipping routes. Odesa region governor Oleh Kiper said late Friday that Kremlin forces struck the area with cruise missiles, targeting port infrastructure.
Air raid alerts were activated across the entire region on Saturday morning, and Russian forces struck an infrastructure facility in Odesa, Serhiy Lysak, head of the Odesa city military administration said in a post without providing details.
Russia faced 178 drones overnight, including in the areas of the Black and Azov seas, the Defense Ministry said.
© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.
This article contains reporting from Bloomberg, published under license.
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