Ukraine Says It Hit & Destroyed Russian Offshore Gas Platform In Black Sea
Ukraine says its military has targeted and destroyed an offshore gas platform in the Black Sea which had allegedly been converted to a forward operating sea base by Moscow forces.
"Ukraine's navy and military intelligence have attacked and damaged a former offshore gas platform used by Russian forces in the Black Sea," a Ukraine navy spokesman said Saturday.
The Ukrainians further released a video purporting to show the strike. The nighttime footage shows a large explosion and fire engulfing an offshore platform. Dozens of people may have been killed in the attack, but it is unconfirmed whether they were military or civilian platform operators.
A Ukrainian government spokesman, Dmytro Pletenchuk, announced on social media: "The occupiers used this location for GPS spoofing to make civilian navigation dangerous. We cannot allow this to happen."
He further claimed there "were no civilians there" and that the "platform was not performing its normal functions" - and thus was a legitimate military target.
Moscow did not immediately comment on the Ukrainian claims or the video. Starting Friday the Kremlin did acknowledge a sizeable Ukrainian naval attack on its Black Sea fleet and infrastructure, as well as drones sent over Crimea.
Russian state media said the bulk of these attacks in various locations were thwarted:
The Russian military has intercepted an attempted landing by Ukrainian marines near Kherson and destroyed a group of sea drones headed for Crimea, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow.
Overnight, a group of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) was detected on approach to the Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol. Combat camera footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Friday showed them being destroyed in the water.
“The on-duty fire systems destroyed seven unmanned boats in the Black Sea,” the ministry said, without elaborating.
Meanwhile, a group of Ukrainian commandos tried to land at the tip of the Kinburn Peninsula, overlooking the mouth of the Dnieper, early on Friday. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, four boats approached the Kinburn Spit, attempting to land a “sabotage and reconnaissance group.” Under covering fire from two of the boats, about a dozen troops stormed the beach.
All of this is also taking place against the backdrop of the surprise Ukraine cross-border attack into Russia's Kursk region, which as of Saturday has entered day five.
Ukraine has in the past months dramatically stepped up its attacks and sabotage campaign against Russian oil and gas infrastructure. Currently a Ukrainian cross-border force appears to be in control of Gazprom's Sudzha trans-shipping hub for Russian natural gas to Europe via Ukraine, which is a crucial part of the Urengoy–Pomary–Uzhhorod pipeline. Still, supplies appear to be pumping normally, and very little has been confirmed of the current status of fighting in Sudzha amid an information blackout and fog of war.
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