Russia turned Crimea into a springboard for aggression against Ukrainians, so the peninsula is a key battleground for Ukraine's freedom.
This was stated on Facebook by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov after the Fourth Summit of the Crimean Platform, as quoted by Ukrinform.
"Today I participated in the summit of the Crimean Platform under the auspices of the President of Ukraine. For me, this is not just a meeting or an opportunity to communicate with international partners. This is my personal struggle. Crimea is my home and every day I, like millions of Ukrainians, feel the pain of the Russian occupation for my country and for our people on the peninsula," wrote Umerov.
As the minister noted, over the past year, thanks to long-range weapons, Ukraine has changed the balance of power in the Black Sea and created a "grain corridor" independent of Russia, through which more than 5,000 ships have passed.
"We destroyed 24 Russian ships, regained control of Snake Island and were the first in the world to deploy swarm drone technology to counter the Russian navy," he added.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that on Wednesday the attack by Ukrainian troops against the drilling platform "Krim-2" was repelled. in the Black Sea. The information was distributed by the BBC.
"In order to capture a Russian drilling rig, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense sent an amphibious group of fourteen US Willard Sea Force boats with servicemen from the special operations forces of the Ukrainian Navy,'' the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
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The Russian ministry said eight Ukrainian boats were believed to have been destroyed during the battle and up to 80 servicemen were killed.
According to the ministry, this was a "media operation intended for high-ranking Western guests of Kiev". The visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and British Foreign Minister David Lammy to the Ukrainian capital is probably being referred to.
The Ukrainian military did not immediately comment on reports of an attack on a Russian oil rig.