Footage allegedly showing Ukrainian vessels approaching Crimean shores
This is the moment Ukrainian special forces staged an ambitious attack on the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Footage shared by Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (GUR) shows troops creeping on the beaches of the occupied region, protected by the darkness of the night.
At least seven jet skis can be spotted approaching Crimean shores, with soldiers jumping into the water to push them.
While they were there, they inflicted ‘fire damage’ on the Russian occupiers, GUR said.
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Another clip also shows the Ukrainian unit waving the blue and yellow national flag.
‘Special forces of the Stugna and Brotherhood battalions landed on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula and inflicted fire damage to the occupiers,’ the GUR commented.
‘Crimea will be Ukrainian!’
It is unclear when the attack took place, but president Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stated his intentions to take back Crimea, which has been controlled by the Kremlin since 2014.
GUR released the video just hours after Russia said it had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to deploy a group of soldiers by sea to the western side of Crimea.
GUR said troops inflicted ‘fire damage’ on the enemy
The force attempted to land on Cape Tarkhankut, on the western end, using a high-speed boat and three jet skis, the defence ministry said.
Elsewhere, Russian air defences shot down 31 Ukrainian drones during a night-time attack on the border regions, Kremlin officials said.
Ukraine’s army has recently ramped up drone strikes on the region in a push to disrupt Russian logistics and resupply efforts.
Just last week, the Crimean city of Sevastopol was temporarily during the latest missile attack against it.
The strike came one day after the Ukrainian military targeted the Russian Black Sea fleet headquarters, also located in Sevastopol.
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