In what officials from Kyiv are calling their most audacious military operations yet, Ukrainian troops launched a significant attack on Russian military facilities within Crimea, a region enduring Russian occupation.
The daring military incursion saw a special Ukrainian force land on the western borders of Crimea, in the vicinity of the towns Olenivka and Mayak, said Ukrainian Defense Intelligence. This mission was planned and executed in collaboration with the Ukrainian Navy.
"During the course of executing the task, our brave defenders engaged with units of the occupiers. Consequently, the enemy experienced both personnel losses and damage to their equipment," communicated the intelligence agency. The Ukrainian operation was so significant that they managed to hoist their national flag at the location.
No comments have been made yet by the Russian-supervised powers in Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula that has been under unauthorized occupation by Moscow since 2014. This region hosts extensive air defense systems and missile sites, including some of the most advanced equipment. The Ukrainians announced on Wednesday that they had managed to destroy an S-400 missile defense battery in the area.
Mayak supposedly houses a Russian radio engineering regiment and highly sophisticated radar systems. Unofficial Russian announcements across social media tell of gunfire near a campsite at Cape Tarkhankut, which is Crimea's westernmost tip. The first shoot-out reportedly happened just before 4am.
When locals emerged from their houses and tents onto the beach the next morning, they discovered two rubber boats close to the coast. These boats contained ten unidentified men, one of whom began shooting at the campsite, revealed Telegram channel, SHOT.
Wargonzo, a notable Russian military blog, stated that "There are unverified reports of a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group landing in the vicinity of Cape Tarkhankut, attacking the coastal campsite and then retreating towards Odesa."
Reports of the confrontations were confirmed by a Telegram channel linked to a military unit of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). The DPR's 105th Regiment claimed that they destroyed four light-engine boats carrying Ukrainian saboteurs near Cape Tarkhankut.
"Russian security forces were able to neutralize the sea-based sabotage and reconnaissance element at around four in the morning. Preliminary data suggests about 15-20 individuals were eliminated," elaborated the group.
Ukrainian Defense Intelligence have since published several videos alleged to show their inflatables nearing the Crimean coast under the cover of darkness. Footage has also surfaced of Ukrainian inflatable boats attacking a Russian jet with an anti-aircraft missile. The Russian Defense Ministry countered this narrative by sharing cockpit footage of a jet fighter firing at the boats with cannons.
