CRIMEAN WAR
Moment fleet of Ukraine special ops commandos STORMS occupied Crimea in dead-of-night boat raid before bloody gun fight
UKRAINIAN special op commandos stormed Crimea in a daring dead-of-night raid before a bloody gun battle.
Extraordinary drone footage showed a fleet of Ukrainian boats and jet-skis heading towards the Russian-occupied peninsula.
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The video - shared by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence - showed the troops making the 222-mile journey across the Black Sea from Vylkove.
Ukraine said special units landed on the peninsula and "inflicted fire damage on Moscow's occupiers", adding: "Crimea will be Ukrainian! Glory to Ukraine!"
Andriy Yusov, Kyiv's military intelligence spokesman, said there were "many dead" after a fierce gun fight - and Russia claimed it captured one of the Ukrainian fighters.
"There was a battle with the Russian occupiers, there are many dead and wounded among the personnel of the invaders," Yusov said.
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"Unfortunately, there are losses among the Ukrainian defenders, which, however, are not commensurate with the Russian ones.
"A special operation aimed at the de-occupation of Crimea is underway.
"We appeal to all residents of the peninsula to wait and help the Defence Forces in every possible way in the return of Ukrainian territories."
Russia posted footage showing a captured Ukrainian - who gave his name as Alexander Lyubos, 46, as he was filmed by the FSB security service.
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With his hands tied behind his back, he stated on a TV channel run by the Russian Defence Ministry that he was a private from Unit 0336 of the Chief Directorate of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
Under interrogation from his captors, he said the mission's aim had been to plant a Ukrainian flag on Crimea.
The captive said the 16-man mission comprising one boat and five jet-skis from Vylkove, on the Danube estuary, to reach Crimea.
Russia's defence ministry said its air force had "stopped an attempt to penetrate the territory of Crimea by a landing group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine".
The FSB said: "One of the saboteurs was captured.
“An interrogation revealed that the subversive group was planning to take photographs and videos of its members against the Ukrainian flag as a backdrop on the territory of the Republic of Crimea."
Ukraine has been battling to take back Crimea throughout Putin's invasion - but attacks have intensified as Kyiv vows to recapture the peninsula, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Last month, Ukraine launched an unprecedented missile strike on the naval headquarters on the peninsula.
Moscow said the attack left one Russian serviceman missing - while Kyiv claimed the strike killed thirty-four officers including the fleet commander, Viktor Sokolov.
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It comes after Ukraine claimed Ukraine it struck a Russian anti-aircraft system in the border region of Belgorod overnight.
It said this was the second Triumf system Ukraine had hit in the past month - after striking one in Crimea in mid-September.
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