Ukraine announced on Monday that it had recovered an oil and gas platform in the Black Sea that had been controlled by Moscow since 2015, following a counter-offensive operation by Kiev's forces.

In a press release, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said that "Ukraine has regained control of 'Vishki Boika'".

The "unique operation" that made it possible to recover the platform, the date of which was not given, resulted from "fighting between Ukrainian special forces on board boats and a Russian Su-30 fighter plane", added the Ukrainian ministry, quoted by Lusa, claiming that "the Russian plane was hit and had to retreat".

The Ukrainian units "managed to seize valuable trophies: a store of ammunition for helicopters (...) and also the 'Neva' radar, which allows tracking the movements of ships in the Black Sea," he said.

In a 10-minute video released by Ukrainian military intelligence, elite units can be seen approaching the oil and gas platform aboard small, fast ships, before entering the site and waving the blue and yellow Ukrainian flag.

According to the same source, Russia "had occupied (the platform complex) since 2015 and, with the start of the invasion, started using it for military purposes, namely as a landing site for helicopters and the deployment of radar equipment".

In June 2022, Moscow accused Kiev of firing at this complex of offshore drilling platforms off the coast of Crimea, a Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

The local Russian occupation authorities then reported three wounded and seven missing.

Attacks between Ukrainian and Russian forces have increased in the Black Sea since mid-July, when Russia abandoned an agreement that allowed Ukrainian grain to be exported despite the war.