Ukraine reports destruction of Russian patrol boats
Ukraine says it has sunk two Russian patrol boats near Snake Island in the Black Sea. The army destroyed the two “Raptor” boats with drones on Monday morning, the Defense Ministry said in Kyiv. An explosion was seen on a small military boat in an aerial photo released by the ministry. (You can also see the pictures here in the video.) The recordings could not be verified by an independent party.
The Turkish “Bayraktar” drones “work”, said the commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valeriy Zalushnyi. The Russian side did not initially confirm the incident. Raptor type patrol boats can travel at speeds of almost 90 kilometers per hour. In addition to their crew of three, they can carry up to 20 soldiers.
According to their own statements, the Ukrainian armed forces had previously attacked the air defenses on the occupied island twice with rockets. The island, about 35 kilometers from the Ukrainian coast, was conquered by the Russian Navy immediately after the start of the war at the end of February.
Symbol of resistance
Snake Island has become an important symbol of Ukraine’s resistance to invading Russian forces. She became famous after the crew of the Russian flagship “Moskva” had ordered the Ukrainian border guards stationed on the island to surrender at the beginning of the war.
“F…k you, Russian warship!” A border guard responded in rude language over the radio. A short time later the island was shelled and the Ukrainian soldiers were taken prisoner. Since then they have been released in the course of a prisoner exchange.
The slogan of the border guards became popular in Ukraine and can now be found on T-shirts, demonstration posters and even on a Ukrainian special postage stamp.
The “Moskva” was then sunk in mid-April, presumably with Ukrainian anti-ship missiles of the “Neptun” type. The missile cruiser was also responsible for air defense in the Black Sea between the mouth of the Danube and the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
