“Completely Destroyed”
Ukraine claims to have destroyed anti-aircraft system in Crimea
08/23/2023 2:42 p.m
The Ukrainian military intelligence service announces further attacks on occupied Crimea. Now a Russian air defense system, the associated missiles and the personnel are said to have been destroyed there. The secret service did not provide any further details.
According to the Ukrainian military intelligence service, it has destroyed a Russian S-400 “Triumf” anti-aircraft system on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow. “As a result of the explosion, the facility, the associated missiles and the operating personnel were completely destroyed,” said the secret service.
Drone footage was released showing the explosion on the Tarhankut promontory at the westernmost end of the peninsula. Images of a large explosion cloud were also distributed on social networks. The Ukrainian authorities have not yet announced the means by which the Russian air defense system was attacked. Russia has not yet commented on this.
The head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, announced further attacks on Crimea, which had already been annexed by Russia in violation of international law in 2014. At the same time, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow also reported on two US and one Ukrainian reconnaissance drones near Crimea.
Moscow: Two drones shot down on Monday
Moscow also reported the destruction of two Ukrainian boats in the Black Sea. “Around 11:00 a.m. Moscow time (10:00 a.m. CEST) on August 22, east of Snake Island, a Russian army plane destroyed a US-made Willard Sea Force speedboat carrying a Ukrainian landing force,” the ministry said.
A few hours earlier, the ministry had already reported the destruction of a Ukrainian reconnaissance boat near a Russian gas production facility in the Black Sea. Details of the type of Ukrainian ship or the exact location have not yet been released.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, two Ukrainian drones were shot down over the Black Sea, 40 kilometers northwest of the Crimean Peninsula, only on Monday. According to Russian sources, a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian warships in the Black Sea have also been thwarted.