Ukraine ‘strikes elite Russian unit’ on Black Sea oil rig

Ukrainian forces claim to have struck an elite Russian special forces unit stationed on an oil drilling platform in the Black Sea.

The strikes killed an anti-tank missile crew and destroyed reconnaissance equipment at the Syvash drilling rig near Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukraine’s navy said on Monday.

Russia disputed Ukraine’s account, distributing footage purporting to show a Ukrainian navy boat destroyed by a Lancet drone.

But Ukrainian military officials said the video actually showed its forces successfully deploying a suicide drone against Russian positions.

The Syvash platform is one of four offshore installations known as the Boyko Towers – including the Petro Hodovanets, Tavryda and Ukraina – that were seized by Russia following its 2014 annexation of Crimea.

The self-elevating drilling rig was previously operated by Ukraine’s state-owned Chornomornaftogaz company for oil and gas exploration.

After seizing the platforms in 2014, Russia equipped each with intelligence and electronic warfare equipment, along with hydro-acoustic systems.

It enabled Moscow to monitor surface, air and subsurface activity in the northwestern Black Sea between Crimea and Odesa.

The drilling platform attack follows a series of Ukrainian strikes on Russian energy facilities, in retaliation for Moscow targeting its power grid.

Last week, the Ukrainian navy launched Neptune missile strikes on two key Russian installations – the Oryol thermal power plant and the Novobryanskaya substation.

According to Ukrainian military officials, both targets supplied electricity to enterprises linked to Russia’s military industry.

The Oryol thermal power plant provides up to 40 per cent of the region’s power needs and 65 per cent of the city’s heating supply, making it one of the area’s main energy sources.

Oryol’s regional governor Andrey Klychkov claimed on Oct 31 that the thermal power plant was damaged by falling drone debris.

Strategic shift to weaken Russia

Ukraine’s growing attacks on Russian energy sites and military bases deep inside Russia mark a strategic shift to weaken Moscow’s ability to wage war, even as Russia pushes forward in eastern Ukraine, creating two parallel fronts that test both sides’ endurance.

Energy sites have been increasingly targeted by Moscow in drone and missile attacks as Vladimir Putin seeks to deplete Ukrainian supplies ahead of winter.

On the ground, Russian forces continue to make steady advances in eastern Ukraine.

Russia captured 461 square kilometres in October, primarily in the Donetsk region, according to data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War.

That pace was consistent with the average monthly gain this year, down from a surge in July when Russia seized 634 square kilometres.

Russia now controls 81 per cent of the Donetsk region, which Moscow claims to have annexed and is fighting to secure full control.

Russia controls or claims to control 19.2 per cent of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula annexed in 2014 and parts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions seized by Moscow-backed separatists before Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The logistics hub of Pokrovsk has come under renewed pressure in recent weeks.

Ukraine’s military said on Monday that Russian troops do not have full control of any district in the eastern city.

“The invaders continue to attack in small groups of up to five soldiers, without using armoured vehicles,” the operation task force responsible for Ukraine’s eastern front line said on Facebook.

Ukraine’s 7th Air Assault brigade said on Monday that its “operation of clearing Pokrovsk from occupiers is ongoing”, with Kyiv sending special forces to the city over the weekend.

The brigade also reported Russian forces were near the outskirts of neighbouring Myrnohrad.

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