Ukrainian forces have regained control of oil and gas drilling off the northwest coast of Crimea, Ukraine's Defence Intelligence Service (GUR) announced on Monday.
During the operation, Ukrainian special forces were attacked by a Russian Su-30 fighter jet, which they managed to destroy. The platforms, known as "Boyko's Towers", have been controlled by Russia since Moscow illegally annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014.
The intelligence service led by General Kirill Bundanov says the towers were used by the Russians as landing sites for helicopters and for deploying radar equipment.
"A unique operation to control the Boyko towers was conducted by the defense intelligence units," said GUR, which also released a video recording of the mission, according to CNN.
"During the operation, the special forces managed to capture valuable trophies: a stockpile of ammunition for UAM (unguided aircraft missile) helicopters, as well as the Neva radar, which can monitor the movement of ships in the Black Sea," GUR said.
During one of the phases of the operation, the battle between Ukrainian special forces in boats and a Russian Su-30 fighter jet took place. As a result of the battle, the Russian aircraft was hit and forced to retreat," GUR claims.
Russia has announced several times in recent weeks that it destroyed Ukrainian vessels with soldiers on board, which were seeking to land in Crimea. GUR announced on August 24, Ukraine's Independence Day, that it had succeeded in such an operation by raising the Ukrainian flag on Crimean territory.
Observing the clashes over control of the two towers since last month, the British Ministry of Defence assessed that they could serve as "outposts for deploying forces, platforms for helicopters and sites for the deployment of long-range missile systems".
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