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UPDATE: Russian sources confirmed the strikes and supported their reports with the footage. Four Russian missiles struck the Tavrida, Ukraine self-lifting drilling rigs and the island of Zmeiny. The strikes were launched at the moment when the group of the special force of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine was preparing to attempt another landing operation on the western bank of Crimea.
On the night of August 24, Russian forces launched a series of strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure across the country. Russian strikes were reported in the Cherkassy, Poltava, Odessa, Sumy regions.
According to the Ukrainian military one of the targets of Russian strikes was the island of Zmeiny in the Black Sea. Russian Tu-22M3 bombers reportedly struck the military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the island with four Kh-22 cruise missiles. According to the Ukrainian report, Russian missiles reached their target. Ukrainian media reported that Ukrainian evacuation boats went to the island from the Odessa coast.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation monitored how the Ukrainian military was restoring military infrastructure on the island of Zmeiny. The Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to restore the military base on the island in order to use it as a foothold for further attacks on the Russian Crimean peninsula and other infrastructure in the Black Sea region. As soon as the military infrastructure damaged by previous battles was rebuilt, a series of missile strikes were launched at Zmeiny. According to Ukrainian reports, an electronic reconnaissance station was delivered to the island right before the attack.
In the very beginning of the Russian Special Military Operation in 2022, the island of Zmeiny came under the control of the Russian military. As a result of the grain deal, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation withdrew from the island and came under Ukrainian control allegedly to make the shipping in the Black Sea safer. As a result, the Ukrainian military turned the island into another military fortress and used it as a foothold to launch attacks on Sevastopol and other Russian infrastructure in the region.
