Russian warplanes destroyed two Ukrainian military speedboats and their crews in the northern part of the Black Sea, in separate strikes on Wednesday, the Defense Ministry has said.
The ministry reported that a Russian Su-30 fighter jet had sunk a speedboat to the east of Snake Island, near the Ukrainian port of Odessa and close to Romanian territorial waters.
A few hours later, another short statement announced the elimination of a second Ukrainian motorboat by an Su-24 bomber west of the same island.
Overnight, Moscow also reported sinking “four military speedboats carrying a landing force of Ukrainian special operatives, numbering up to 50 men” at an undisclosed location in the Black Sea.
Last week, the Defense Ministry published footage of what it said was a Russian fighter jet destroying a US-made speedboat carrying a Ukrainian amphibious team near Snake Island.
Russian forces captured the small island of just 0.17 sq km in the initial days of the conflict with Ukraine.
At the time, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed that border guards defending the territory had died as heroes while facing overwhelming Russian forces. However, it later emerged that they had opted to surrender.
Snake Island was heavily contested during the early months of fighting between Russia and Ukraine, changing hands on at least two occasions. Moscow announced a troop withdrawal from the island in June 2022, describing it as a goodwill gesture in response to claims that it was preventing grain from being shipped out of Ukraine.
Despite attaching symbolic significance to the location, Ukraine has not been able to re-establish a military presence on Snake Island due to Russian warships and planes operating in the area.