Ukrainian forces attacked drilling platforms at the Black Sea that were owned by a Crimean oil-and-gas company, according to the pro-Russian head of the annexed peninsula. He did not give details about the weapons used.
Three people sustained injuries and seven others were missing from Chernomorneftegaz, Sergei Askyonov (the Russian-installed head in Crimea) said in a Telegram post.
Officials from Crimea said that work on three drilling platforms was suspended following the strike and that there were fires.
Russia-backed officials took Chernomorneftegaz, Ukraine’s national gas company Naftogaz, as part of Moscow’s 2014 annexation. The U.S. and European Union have placed sanctions on the company.
Askyonov stated that Ukraine reached the platform at 0800 GMT (0500 GMT). At that time, 109 people were already working on platforms within the region.
The rigs can be found off Ukraine’s southern coast in the Black Sea, 71km from Odesa. This is according to the RIA Novosti news agency. Olga Kovitidi (a senator representing Crimea in Russia’s upper house) reported RIA Novosti news Agency.
Russian officials expressed concern about Ukrainian military personnel saying that they would like Crimean infrastructure, such as the Kerch bridge connecting Crimea to Russia, to be targeted as part of a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south.
