Ukrainian special forces stage audacious landing in annexed Crimea: Footage shows pre-dawn raid thought to have targeted Russian defence systems
- Ukrainian special forces landed on shore in Crimea and attacked Russian units
- Ukraine said the enemy had suffered losses among personnel in the attack
Ukrainian special forces staged an audacious ‘special operation’ in which they landed on Russian-occupied Crimea, Kyiv’s military intelligence chiefs revealed.
The special units landed on the shore near the settlements of Olenivka and Mayak, on the western coast of the annexed peninsula before launching an attack on Russian soldiers there, the defence ministry’s Main Directorate of Intelligence said.
‘The goals have been achieved,’ spokesman Andriy Yusov said, adding that Russian soldiers had been killed and equipment was destroyed. He did not identify the goals of the ‘special operation’.
The operation would amount to a rare demonstration that Ukrainian forces are able to stage ground operations in Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014.
Brief and dark video footage shows a group of Ukrainian soldiers carrying out the pre-dawn raid that is thought to have targeted Russian defence systems.
The armed special forces can be seen sailing towards Crimea in rubber boats before they launched an attack on Russian stationed near Olenkivka and raising the Ukrainian flag there.
Brief and dark video footage shows a group of Ukrainian soldiers carrying out the pre-dawn raid that is thought to have targeted Russian defence systems
‘Special forces landed on the shore near the area of Olenivka and Mayak settlements… the enemy suffered losses among personnel, enemy equipment was destroyed. Also, the Ukrainian flag flew again in the Ukrainian Crimea,” Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence said on Telegram.
It added the Ukrainian special forces left Crimea after completing their tasks without going into further detail.
Locals heard explosions near the village of Mayak while local media reported a battle involving boats and aircraft.
Russia did not comment on the report, which coincided with Ukraine’s Independence Day.
The location of the ‘special operation’, conducted by Ukraine’s navy and military intelligence, is close to where Ukraine a day earlier destroyed a Russian S-400 Triumf air defence system.
Ukrainian officials released a video yesterday of the air-defence system exploding in Olenevka, a town on Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea, following the strike.
‘As a result of the explosion, the installation itself, the missiles and personnel installed on it were completely destroyed,’ said Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko.
Russian sources suspect the blast was caused by a Storm Shadow missile supplied by Britain and France to Ukraine.
In today’s pre-dawn raid, Nebo-M and Kasta-2E2 radar stations may have been a target at around 3:50am.
A Russian air-defence system is destroyed in occupied Crimea yesterday, according to Ukrainian officials – a day before Ukrainian special forces launched a pre-dawn raid on the peninsula
A clip shared by Ukrainian officials showed a giant explosion in Olenevka, a town on Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea, after Kyiv’s forces targeted a Russian air defence system
Russian sources suggested ten people came in two rubber boats and alleged they had shot at a campsite.
Earlier the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Major-General Kyrylo Budanov had hinted at action in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Wednesday to end Russia’s occupation of Crimea although Russia shows no sign of abandoning the peninsula.
The Kremlin wants Kyiv to acknowledge Russia’s sovereignty over Crimea and also recognize September’s annexation of the Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia.
Ukraine has vowed to drive the Russians out of all occupied territories and has ruled out any talks with Moscow until it fully reclaims control of its land.
Crimea’s unique position in the Black Sea makes it a strategically important asset for whoever controls it, and Russia has spent centuries fighting for it.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian secret service agency SBU shared a video showing the moment a Ukrainian experimental kamikaze drone hit Vladimir Putin’s £3 billion bridge linking Russia to Crimea and triggered a huge explosion.
The audacious attack by the ‘Sea Baby’ drone saw huge explosions rip through the 12-mile crossing last month.
The footage, seen by CNN , shows the naval kamikaze drone armed with up to 850kg of explosives sailing towards the bridge under the cover of darkness (pictured) before it smashed into the crossing, sending debris flying through the air
Separate footage footage released by the SBU and Ukrainian sources showed the scale of the explosion from other angles as the strike hit the crossing which has separate road and rail links
Pictured: The damage caused by the sea drone on the Crimean bridge
The footage, seen by CNN, shows the naval kamikaze drone armed with up to 850kg of explosives sailing towards the bridge under the cover of darkness before it smashed into the crossing, sending debris flying through the air.
Separate footage footage released by the SBU and Ukrainian sources showed the scale of the explosion from other angles as the strike hit the crossing which has separate road and rail links.
It marks the first time the SBU has openly claimed responsibility for the attack that was conducted by the Ukrainian navy.
A couple were killed and their 14-year-old daughter was seriously injured following the blasts on the Crimean bridge, which is a major supply line for Russian troops fighting in Ukraine and a prestige project that was personally opened by Putin.
A section of the crossing was destroyed in the double strike, with pictures showing twisted metal barriers, debris and a damaged car in a major blow to Moscow’s war effort.
Drivers were seen in dash cam footage braking sharply after the explosions destroyed parts of the crossing and sent debris flying towards them.
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