Ukrainian Fighter Jets Bomb Russian-Occupied Snake Island In Effort To Take It Back
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Drone footage has revealed an attack by the Ukrainian Air Force on Russian-occupied Snake Island.
On the first day (24 February) of Russian president Vladimir Putin's 'special military operation' in Ukraine, Russia's warship, the Moskva missile cruiser, began an assault on Snake Island, a small Ukrainian island in the Black Sea which is home to under 30 people.
While Russia may have taken over the island early on in the invasion, it appears that Ukraine is slowly fighting back to recapture the land, after Ukraine claimed responsibility for the sinking of Moskva.
Footage has also since revealed an airstrike on the island by Ukrainian air forces.
#Ukraine: The Ukrainian Air force is still alive- seen here are two Ukrainian Su-27 striking Russian facilities on the famous Snake Island in the Black Sea, in remarkable footage filmed by a TB-2 drone.
— 🇺🇦 Ukraine Weapons Tracker (@UAWeapons) May 7, 2022
As we can observe, there is serious damage. pic.twitter.com/ogN3gOU8uJ
Footage posted to Twitter by Ukraine Weapons Tracker, an account which claims to be 'debunking & tracking usage/capture of materiel in Ukraine,' shows two Ukrainian Su-27 striking 'Russian facilities' on Snake Island.
It stated the 'remarkable footage' was captured by a 'TB-2 drone'.
"As we can observe, there is serious damage," it said.
A satellite image taken Saturday by @planet showed what appeared to be a Serna-class landing craft against Snake Island’s northern beach. That corresponds to another Ukrainian military video released showing a drone strike hitting it, engulfing the vessel in flames. -@AP pic.twitter.com/9281Aw4VEK
— Jon Gambrell | جون (@jongambrellAP) May 7, 2022
Gulf and Iran news director for The Associated Press, Jon Gambrell, also shared a pair of satellite images from Saturday, 7 May, showing the 'aftermath of a suspected Ukrainian drone strike Friday on Russian positions on Snake Island, with thick black smoke rising overhead'.
The second image shows 'what appeared to be a Serna-class landing craft against Snake Island’s northern beach'.
"That corresponds to another Ukrainian military video released showing a drone strike hitting it, engulfing the vessel in flames," he reported.
I have reasons to believe Ukraine indeed struck a Strela-10 SAM system on Snake Island, alongside other Russians assets, sometime after the sinking of Moskva.
— Kemal (@kemal_115) May 2, 2022
Similarly, Ukrainian Air Force aircraft are spotted flying over Odessa more frequently.
5/11https://t.co/n6ERBh0uAH
Analysing the satellite images shared by Gambrell, Kemal, a user who tweets about Defence, Security, and (Naval) Warfare, stated the images 'confirm [Russia's Serna-class landing craft and SA-15 Gauntlet air defense system] were lost between May 6th and 7th'.
Before the attack, Ukrainian Air Force aircraft were spotted flying over the area 'more frequently,' according to Kemal.
According to footage posted by MEP OSINT, an open source intelligence aggregator-analyser for the Middle East, EURASIA and Pacific Asia, on 30 April, a Ukrainian Su-27 was spotted in the skies going over Odessa.
Most interestingly are todays Russian losses: a Serna-class landing craft and SA-15 Gauntlet air defense system. The Gauntlet was either a reinforcement or replacement for the sustained losses.
— Kemal (@kemal_115) May 7, 2022
Satellite imagery confirms the Serna and Gauntlet were lost between May 6ht and 7th. pic.twitter.com/srgvBjWlQc
Kemal has collected multiple satellite images into one post, claiming 'between April 30th and May 7th, Ukrainian TB2 UCAVs have hit and destroyed nine Russian ground based A2/AD assets and naval vessels on Snake Island'.
The user resolved: "The Ukrainians have systematically destroyed Russians assets on the Island and have also successfully destroyed reinforcements."
The attack comes after Ukraine claimed to have destroyed a Russian landing ship supplying a TOR anti-aircraft missile system to Snake Island with drones.
Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko stated: "Enemy units remaining on Snake Island remain without air cover and will be destroyed and burned out like cockroaches or locusts."
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Featured Image Credit: Ukrainian Defense Ministry/Alamy
Topics: News, Ukraine, Russia, Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky
