Ukraine said on Monday its forces had recaptured Boyka Towers oil and gas drilling platforms off the coast of Crimea in the Black Sea which Russia had occupied in 2015.
The war-ravaged Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence made the announcement, noting that Ukraine has regained control over them in what they described as a “unique operation,” according to Oilprice.com.
“For Ukraine, regaining control of the Boiko Towers was of strategic importance and, as a result, Russia lost the ability to use them for military purposes,” the Ukrainian military intelligence said in the video, as carried by Reuters.
“Russia has been deprived of the ability to fully control the waters of the Black Sea, and this makes Ukraine many steps closer to regaining Crimea,” Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence says.
According to the Ukrainian forces, “During one phase of the operation, a battle took place between Ukrainian special forces on boats and a Russian Su-30 fighter jet.” The Russian aircraft was “hit and forced to retreat,” Ukraine added.
The platforms for oil and gas drilling were occupied by Russia in 2015, after the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014.
In recent weeks, Crimea and the Black Sea have become an increasingly important theatre of battles in the war triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
It is gathered that since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine has struck several Russian-controlled platforms, and both have occasionally occupied them with troops.
