The Ukrainian army said on Monday that it had destroyed two Russian patrol boats near Serpents’ Island in the Black Sea, which has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance since the start of the invasion by Moscow forces on February 24.
“Two Russian Raptor-class ships were destroyed today near Serpents’ Island,” Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valeri Zaluzhny wrote on Facebook in a post accompanied by a video. sees two boats hit by two separate missiles.
“Bayraktar works,” he said, revealing the use in these two strikes of this combat drone developed in Turkey.
Moscow did not confirm the information on its side.
The Russian Raptor-class patrol boats are among the fastest shuttles in the Russian Navy, reaching nearly 90 km/h at full speed.
They can carry up to 20 soldiers in addition to the crew of three people.
Serpents’ Island has become a symbol in Ukraine since a radio exchange, which went viral on social networks, in which, on the first day of the conflict, Ukrainian border guards shouted “Fuck you, Russian military ship!” to the Russian cruiser, the Moskva, which ordered them to surrender.
Shortly after this exchange, the ship had bombarded the island, the Russians taking control of it, and the Ukrainian soldiers had been taken prisoner. They were later released in a prisoner exchange with Moscow.
The recording of this verbal exchange had served as a leitmotiv for the Ukrainian resistance, the invective of the border guards even appearing on placards during demonstrations of support abroad, and on Ukrainian stamps.
The cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, sank in mid-April after being hit by Ukrainian missiles, according to Kyiv. Moscow claimed for its part that it had been damaged by an explosion on board.