A video has emerged reportedly showing Ukraine’s recent amphibious landing in annexed Crimea, where units of its special operations forces attacked Russian troops.
The one-minute-long clip was published by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine on YouTube. The footage was shot at night and showed multiple small vessels approach what Kyiv said was the Black Sea peninsula. It ended with two soldiers holding up a Ukrainian flag and saying: “Crimea will be Ukrainian.”
Russia has been dealt a number of blows in recent weeks as Ukraine ramps up measures to recapture the peninsula illegally annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014.
Kyiv officials didn’t specify when the amphibious landing took place, but said it occurred at night and involved two units of Ukrainian soldiers. Newsweek could not independently verify the authenticity of Ukraine’s statements.
Newsweek has contacted Russia’s Defense Ministry via email for comment.
Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraine’s defense intelligence service, told local publication Ukrainska Pravda that the units in the Crimean operation suffered some losses, but Russia’s side had “many” more personnel killed or wounded.
“There was a battle with the Russian occupiers; many were killed and wounded among the invaders’ personnel,” Yusov said. “Unfortunately, there are losses among Ukrainian defenders too, though these are still not as many as among the Russians.”
Ukraine’s defense intelligence service said via its Telegram channel that the “Stugna and Bratstvo special operations units” landed “on the territory of the Crimean peninsula and inflicted fire on the Moscow occupiers!”
“Crimea will be Ukrainian! Glory to Ukraine!” its post added.
The development came as new satellite images showed Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is fleeing from the port of Sevastopol in Crimea to Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai in southern Russia and the Russian naval port in Feodosia on the annexed peninsula.
The images dated October 1 and 2, shared by three Russian milbloggers, show that some of the largest ships of the Black Sea Fleet are moored at a naval base near Novorossiysk, while smaller ships are now located in Feodosia, The Bell, an independent online newspaper in Russia, reported on Wednesday.
Kyiv also launched a missile attack on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on September 22, reportedly killing a number of leading officers.
Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said the attack was part of preparatory measures Kyiv is taking before it attempts to liberate the peninsula.
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