CNN
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Ukrainian forces Officials in Kiev said that Russian forces carried out their most complex and ambitious operation to date against Russian military facilities in the occupied Crimea region.
Special forces landed on the western shore of Crimea, near the settlements of Olenivka and Mayak, in a joint operation with the Ukrainian Navy, according to Ukraine’s defense intelligence.
“While carrying out the task, the Ukrainian defenders clashed with the units of the occupier. As a result, the enemy suffered losses and destroyed enemy equipment.”
She added that while they were there, the Ukrainian unit also flew the national flag.
Russia-appointed authorities in the Ukrainian peninsula, which Moscow’s forces have illegally occupied since 2014, have not responded to the allegations.
The operation would constitute one of the most daring moves by Kiev since it launched its cautious counter-offensive against Russian forces, which has so far achieved only limited progress.
Kiev has recently stepped up drone strikes on Crimea in an effort to disrupt Russian logistical and resupply efforts, a shift in focus that has been of major concern. met with suspicion in parts of the west.
The region contains air defenses and vast missile sites, including advanced systems. On Wednesday, the Ukrainians said they had destroyed an S-400 missile defense battery in the area.
Mayak is said to be home to the Russian Radio Engineering Regiment and advanced radar systems.
Unofficial Russian accounts on social media reported shooting near a campsite in Cape Tarkhankut – the westernmost part of Crimea – before dawn on Thursday. One of the channels said that the first shooting took place shortly before 4 am
“When people woke up and came out of the houses and tents to the beach, they saw two rubber boats not far from the beach. There were 10 unidentified men inside. One of them shot at the camping site,” according to what was reported by the “Shot” channel on Telegram.
A prominent Russian military blog, “Wargonzo”, stated that “according to some sources, a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group landed in the Cape Tarkhankut area, bombed the camp on the seashore and fled towards Odessa.”
A Telegram channel linked to a military unit of the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic also reported the clashes.
The 105th regiment of the DRC militia said that four light motor boats carrying Ukrainian saboteurs were destroyed near Cape Tarkhankut. The Russian security forces liquidated the sabotage and reconnaissance operation at sea at around 4 am. According to preliminary data, about 15 to 20 people were liquidated.”
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Agency has released several videos purporting to show Ukrainian rubber boats near the coast of Crimea in the dark.
There was also a video clip of Ukrainian rubber boats firing an anti-aircraft missile at a Russian plane. The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video from the cockpit showing the fighter using cannon fire against the boats.
Meanwhile, Ukraine made some gains on the southern front in the Zaporizhia region, and is still on the offensive around Bakhmut, with Kiev’s counteroffensive gradually advancing in the east of the country.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces said on Thursday that the units succeeded “in the direction of Novodanilivka and Novoprokopyevka, reinforced their positions, fired artillery at the identified enemy targets, and conducted counter-battery operations.”
The General Staff said: “The enemy is incurring great losses in personnel, weapons and equipment, and is moving units and forces and using reserves effectively.”
Russian attempts to advance north around Kobyansk in the Kharkiv region were also hampered by the Ukrainian defenders, as well as efforts to break through west of Svatov in nearby Luhansk. In this area, the Ukrainians say, the Russians have poured more forces into the battlefield.
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