The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | July 9th, 2026: Ukraine Strikes Dozens Of Russian Ships & U.S.-Iran Strikes Intensify

Episode Date: July 9, 2026

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: Ukraine opens a new front in its campaign against Russia's wartime economy, launching an unprecedented wave of drone strikes against dozens of oil tankers tied to Moscow's shadow fleet. We explain why these ships have become one of Kyiv's highest-value targets. The United States and Iran continue trading strikes as the latest round of fighting intensifies. We'll bring you the latest developments and what they could mean for the broader region. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief HomeServe: Protect your home systems from expensive repairs with https://HomeServe.com/dailybrief and get 50% off your first year of coverage. Lean: Get 20% off plus free rush shipping when you go to https://TAKELEAN.com and use code PDB Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Thursday, the 9th of July, oh, 9 July, which happens to be the birthday of our middle boy slug-o. So, happy birthday, so that excellent young man. And with that, welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. All right, let's get briefed. First up, Ukraine opens a new front in its campaign against Russia's wartime economy, striking dozens of oil tankers used to supply occupied Crimea and evade Western sanctions. will have the details. Later in the show, the U.S. and Iran continue trading strikes. We'll have the latest on the ongoing conflict. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. Ukraine's campaign against Russia's oil industry is entering a new phase. In recent months, Kiev has been using

long-range drones to hammer Russian refineries, fuel depots, and energy infrastructure, disrupting one of the Kremlin's most important sources of revenue. Now, it's expanding that campaign beyond Russia's shores. Instead of simply targeting the facilities that process oil, Ukrainian drones are now hunting the ships that transport it, launching what appears to be the largest sustained assault yet on Russia's so-called shadow fleet. According to Ukraine's unmanned systems forces, drone operators have struck 35 Russian vessels over the past four days, including dozens of oil tankers operating in the Sea of Azov and the Kerrst Strait. That's the narrow waterway that connects mainland Russia to occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian officials say the attacks have targeted 31 tankers, along with several cargo ships and support vessels, many of which were allegedly transporting fuel and petroleum products to Russian forces on the peninsula. The latest wave of attacks came overnight into Thursday when Ukraine says it struck another 14 vessels, including 12 oil tankers. Earlier this week, Ukrainian drones reportedly damaged another 21 ships over a three-day period. Now, if those numbers hold up, the operation would represent the largest coordinated campaign against Russia's maritime logistics network since Putin launched his full-scale invasion all the way back in 2022. Combat footage released by Ukraine appears to show swarms of domestically produced

FP2 kamming into the sides of moving tankers, igniting fires aboard the vessels. Rather than trying to sink the ships outright, the drones appear to be targeting bridges, engine, and fuel systems, disabling the vessels and forcing them out of service. Russia has acknowledged at least some of the attacks, though it disputes Ukraine's overall claims. Officials in the Rostov region confirmed that two tankers were damaged overnight and said both crews had to be evacuated after fires broke out aboard the vessels. Earlier this week, Russian authorities also acknowledged drone strikes that injured two sailors, while insisting that air defenses had intercepted many of the incoming drones.

Now, many of the vessels hit this week are believed to be part of Russia's so-called shadow fleet. That's, of course, a sprawling network of aging tankers used by Russia to bypass Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine. By operating through shell companies, changing ownership, disabling tracking systems, and sailing under foreign flags, these ships allow Russia to continue exporting millions of barrels of crude oil, to customers around the world despite those international restrictions. Now, that trade has become one of the Kremlin's economic lifelines.

Oil export revenues account for roughly a quarter of Russia's federal budget, providing critical funding from Moscow's war effort. Ukraine has long argued that the shadow fleet isn't simply engaged in commercial shipping, it's directly enabling Russia's ability to wage war. But there's another objective here as well, and that would be Crimea. The Sea of Azov and the Kirst Strait serve as vital supply routes between mainland Russia and occupied Crimea, carrying fuel and other supplies needed to sustain Russian military operations on the peninsula.

Ukrainian officials say this week's strikes are designed to choke off those logistics, while also worsening fuel shortages that have already emerged after months of successful attacks on Russian refineries, fuel depots, and storage facilities. This campaign also aligns with a broader strategy outlined by Ukraine. Ukraine's commander of unmanned systems, Robert Brovdi. He's vowed to isolate Crimea by systematically attacking the infrastructure that keeps Russian forces supplied. Now, it's important to note that we're not able to independently verify Ukraine's claims, and the true extent of the damage remains unclear. Russia has acknowledged only a fraction of the reported strikes, while Ukrainian officials

maintain dozens of vessels have now been put out of action. Still, even if the final numbers prove lower than Keeves' claims, the strategic shift is significant. Ukraine is no longer limiting its campaign to oil refineries and fuel depots on land. It's now taking aim at the ships that move Russian oil, finance the Kremlin's war machine, and keep occupied Crimea supplied, opening an entirely new front in its effort to weaken Moscow's ability to sustain the war. All right. Coming up next, President Trump orders one of the largest series of U.S. strikes yet against Iran.

since that signing of the memorandum of misunderstanding. We'll examine the targets, Tehran's response, and whether diplomacy is done. Here's a spoiler alert. Diplomacy might be done. I'll be right back. Hey, Mike Baker here, with an important message for homeowners. Now, think about the last time one of your home systems or appliances failed, right?

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to lose. Let's get you started with 20% off and free rush shipping so you can add Lean to your healthy diet and exercise plan. Visit TakeLean.com and enter PDB for your discount. Once again, that's promo code PDB at TakeLean.com. Welcome back to the BDB afternoon bulletin. We've been following the United States expanding military campaign against Iran over the past couple of days after the regime yet again attacked commercial shipping in the Strait of Kormuz. Now we're getting a much clearer picture of what President

Trump's military response has looked like. U.S. Central Command says American forces struck roughly 90 Iranian military targets during the second consecutive day of air strikes on Wednesday. operation designed to further dismantle the military infrastructure that the regime has relied on to threaten one of the world's most strategically important waterways. According to the back on, the target list stretched across much of Iran's southern coastline. American aircraft struck air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure. Essentially, the military infrastructure that the regime is used to intimidate commercial shipping, harass U.S. forces, and project military power throughout

the Persian Gulf. The targeting was a deliberate effort to further weaken Iran's ability to disrupt the strait, while increasing pressure on the regime to reconsider its course of action. The regime, however, is offering a very different version of events. That's shocking. Iran's foreign ministry accused the U.S. of committing what it called a, quote, grave war crime, alleging that American strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including two, railway bridges leading toward Mashhad, where a supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamani is scheduled to be buried following funeral ceremonies that are now underway. NBC News is since geolocated, a video that appears to show damage to one of those railway bridges in Golestan province, and that's between

Tehran and Mashad. The Islamic Republic reported another round of explosions several hours after U.S. Central Command announced its operations had concluded. According to Iran's state-run IRN agency, a local deputy governor said one of several strikes around 4.30 a.m. U.S. eastern time hit near the perimeter of the Boucher Nuclear Power Plant, while additional explosions were reported elsewhere along the southern coast. Now, I want to point out that the U.S. is not acknowledged conducting any follow-on strikes after SENTCOM declared the operation concluded. And so far, there have been no immediate responses from the Pentagon to those reports. We're also getting the first broader casualty figures from Tecrans, though those numbers should be

treated with caution. Iran's health ministry claims at least 14 people were killed and another 78 wounded during the consecutive days of American strikes. Those figures have not been independently verified. Meanwhile, the regional fallout continues to grow. This morning, we reported on the PDB that Iran had retaliated by targeting American military infrastructure in Bahrain and Kuwait. Now, we're know that the response was even broader than initially understood. The regime also fired ballistic missiles toward Jordan, later claiming that the intended target was the Azrak military base, which hosts U.S. forces operating across the region. Iranian regime also launched additional missiles toward Qatar and triggered military alerts across the Middle East. Jordan's military says it

intercepted eight incoming missiles before they reached their targets and authorities reported no casualties or damage. The IRGC later warned that any future American strikes would bring additional attacks against U.S. military bases across the region. Taken together, the exchanges suggest the conflict is, once again, spilling across much of the broader Middle East. Even so, and has been the pattern over the past many weeks, Trump continues to leave the diplomatic door slightly open, somewhat ajar, as we say. As I've previously discussed on the PDB, formal negotiations remain paused as Iran continues funeral ceremonies for Hamini. But speaking aboard Air Force One after departing the NATO summit, Trump said Iran still wants an agreement while questioning whether its leadership

could actually be trusted to honor one. He said, quote, I just don't know that they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know that they're going to honor the deal. That's the problem, end quote. President Trump also told reporters that Iran's recent actions reflected a leadership that was, in his words, quote, well, they're sort of crazy. They're a little bit out of control, but they want to make a deal badly, end quote. Do they? And that gets to the heart of the problem. The Trump administration can keep talking. It can keep the door open, or slightly ajar. It can allow negotiations to resume if Tehran decides it wants a way out. But the regime's actions are making that harder by the day. Not to mention, the Iranian regime has a 47-year track record of never negotiating a good faith and of stringing along any diplomatic efforts to rein in the regime's efforts to develop their nuclear program

or to support terrorism and to continue destabilizing the region. The center of the dispute remains the Strait of Hormuz itself. Iran has insisted that it has the right to charge ships a fee to transit the strategic waterway and its recent attacks on commercial vessels appeared intended to assert that authority. While these latest U.S. strikes are, frankly, unlikely to force the regime back towards negotiations, they do at least send a message. The straight-up Hormuz is not Iran's private toll road, and the U.S. is signaling that if the regime tries to treat it that way, well, the U.S. will hit back. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, the 9th of July.

Now, if you have any questions or comments, and I hope you do, just reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And to listen to the show ad-free, you can do that. It's very simple. Just become a premium member of the President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool.