The oil and gas platforms in the north of the Black Sea are being contested. Russia and Ukraine are facing off in a naval and air battle. But they only tell part of the story.
According to consistent reports, Ukraine and Russia have engaged in a naval and air battle in the Black Sea. However, the accounts of both sides only mentioned part of what happened. The Ukrainian military intelligence service announced that a special operation at sea had succeeded in shooting down a Russian Su-30 fighter jet with a portable anti-aircraft weapon. No further details about the operation on Wednesday night were given in Kiev.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday that Ukraine had failed to use fast motorboats to attack a Russian drilling platform in the Black Sea. Eight of the 14 boats were shot down and sunk. The other boats turned away. There was no confirmation of these details.
There was initially no mention in Moscow of the loss of an aircraft. However, the Russian military blog Rybar, which is close to the ministry, reported that a Su-30 had been shot down while repelling the Ukrainian attack. The plane had taken off from the Russian military airfield Saki on the Crimean peninsula.
There are sporadic battles over the oil and gas platforms in the north of the Black Sea between Crimea and the Ukrainian mainland. Both sides are primarily interested in using the captured facilities as reconnaissance and surveillance posts. Despite the Russian war of aggression, Kiev controls the western part of the sea to such an extent that international shipping can call at Ukrainian ports such as Odessa largely unhindered.
Source: Stern
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