Ukrainian special forces have conducted an amphibious raid on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit in the Black Sea’s northwest on Friday, six Russian armoured vehicles were destroyed in the attack and about three dozen personnel were neuteralised, the Ukrainian military intelligence agency said. Russian forces captured the southern Ukrainian Mykolaiv region’s Kinburn Spit, which juts out into the Black Sea, at the start of their full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Moscow’s military vantage point on the spit is seen as one of the reasons why Ukraine cannot reopen its ports of Mykolaiv and Kherson and export goods from them via its Black Sea shipping corridor. “As a result of a raid on the Kinburn Spit occupied by the Russians, six units of enemy armoured vehicles were destroyed and about three dozen invaders were eliminated,” the agency said in a statement.
Russia’s defence ministry said the raid was repelled, with some of the Ukrainian forces foundering on mines and the rest gunned down with firearms, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported. Moscow said Kyiv lost 16 “saboteurs” in the operation.
Ukrainian forces had also conducted a raid of the Russian-occupied Tendra Spit, another Black Sea area to the south of the Kinburn Spit, in an operation that was announced on Wednesday. Although Ukrainian forces have been on the back foot for months in the war-torn east, Kyiv has been trying to hit back with long-range strikes as well as conducting more bold attacks. Its forces launched a surprise offensive into the western Russian region of Kursk this week, making inroads on a new front in the war.
U.S. To Supply Key Weapons Aid Package For Ukraine
The United States on Friday announced a new $125 million military aid package for Ukraine that would include Stinger missiles, artillery ammunition, and anti-armour systems.
The military assistance would be the tenth tranche of equipment for Ukraine since President Joe Biden signed a national security supplemental in April, White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters in a telephonic briefing.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
