Ukraine strikes Russian targets far from its coast, air defense destroyed in Crimea

(Patria) - Ukraine announced it attacked two Russian patrol boats and destroyed a sophisticated air defense system in western occupied Crimea, intensifying its strikes to challenge Moscow's dominance in the Black Sea region, Reuters reported.

The attacks followed a day after Kyiv announced it had severely damaged a Russian submarine and a landing ship in a missile attack on a shipyard in the port of Sevastopol, home to the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The Ukrainian military announced on Telegram that it hit two Russian patrol boats in the southwestern Black Sea, inflicting "certain damage" in a morning attack.

"(Sergei) Kotov was hit," military intelligence official Andriy Yusov told Reuters, sharing a video that had been circulating online by a Ukrainian government minister, which appeared to show sea drones attacking a ship at sea. Russia's Ministry of Defense confirmed the attack on the ship "Sergei Kotov" in a morning statement, but stated that the attack involving five sea drones was repelled. No damage was mentioned.

The location of the attack indicates Ukraine's ability to strike Russian targets far from its coast. While Kyiv's counteroffensive in the south and east has been slowed by minefields and defensive lines, fighting has escalated in the Black Sea region where Russia de facto imposes a blockade on Ukrainian maritime exports.

Russian drones have regularly attacked Ukrainian port infrastructure along the Danube, a vital alternative export route for the major grain producer.

The Ukrainian Navy has used sea drones, hitting the landing ship "Olenegorsky Gornyak" near the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk early last month and a Russian fuel tanker.

Ukrainian President's advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said his country is focused on three key tasks aimed at the de-occupation of the peninsula.

Kyiv, he said, has been targeting air defense systems to clear the way for new strikes on Russian military and storage infrastructure. Kyiv has also been attacking transport logistics to "stop the extensive continuous supply of resources and reserves to the area of active hostilities," he said.

"We need to drive out the remnants of the Russian Black Sea Fleet from the territorial waters of Crimea and beyond, and restore the status of the Black Sea as a sea of external jurisdiction."

The Ukrainian military announced it hit Russian air defense systems in an attack early Thursday morning near the town of Yevpatoria in western Crimea.

Russia's Ministry of Defense stated that its air defense shot down 11 drones over the peninsula overnight and did not mention any damage.