The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine has disclosed previously unknown details of the operation "Boyko’s Tower" in the Black Sea. The Special Forces personnel were obstructed by engineering barriers and Russian "Sushki", but Ukrainian warriors completed the task and obtained valuable trophies, which the occupants hid in the holds of the "Tavrida" and other drilling platforms.
The DIU Special Forces told ICTV journalists about the episodes of the operation. The TV channel also published unique footage from the fighters’ body cameras.
Despite the storm, enemy mines and enemy air superiority, Ukraine’s defenders managed to take control of the "Boyko towers", which the occupants used for strategic purposes in the Black Sea.
“There were two huge problems - the presence of engineering obstacles and enemy aviation, because they have an advantage in the air, their assets fly constantly, they are very active. We had three such starting points from which we could set off to carry out this task. These The points were constantly changing so that the enemy could not accurately detect the place from which we were starting,” said Special Forces Special Forces “Bob,” who developed the mission plan and participated in its implementation.
To carry out the operation, the scouts chose an "Akula" class landing boat. We set out on a mission at night, the sea was stormy. However, it was possible to land on the platform only on the third attempt - due to “non-flying” weather and waves.
They acted carefully because no one knew for sure whether there were Russians on the platform. Fortunately, there were no occupiers there.
At Tavrida, special forces discovered important trophies and intelligence data. Going downstairs, the fighters found something similar to an office. Russian flags hung on the walls; the occupiers stored all sorts of rubbish there, as well as their documentation. In another hold they found boxes with military contents.
“We checked these boxes, some of them were closed. There they have devices that are triggered by tilt, triggered by vibration, by light. That is, the box is closed, you open it, light comes in, it locks the chain and triggers,” said the soldier units of the DIU "Artan" with the call sign "Saba".
Fortunately, the occupiers did not have time to replace the boxes. And inside the fighters found a “gift” for the Ukrainian Air Force - ammunition for aviation, including aircraft missiles. Much ammunition was also found on other towers. However, they were not easy - each subsequent raid by soldiers took place with the constant presence of the enemy in the sky.
At one of the combat exits, a Russian fighter tracked down a boat of DIU soldiers and opened cannon and missile fire. However, the pilot of this plane did not expect that he would be hit with MANPADS directly from the boat.
“Saba” was on the tower then and saw everything from the outside.
“I saw it like this. The Sushka was flying, there was an explosion - it sank, it returned, but the pilot pulled it out. After that, they no longer behaved so brazenly,” he said.
However, during difficult maneuvers, one of the Conan warriors ended up overboard. The fighters were forced to retreat, but as soon as they came out from under enemy fire, they began a rescue operation.
The fighter "Bondar" received the task of going to the sector where "Conan" could be.
“There were two scooters on Zmiyinyi Island. My brother and I got on them and went there. ... We almost got to the tower, we were plus or minus a hundred kilometers in the open sea together. As we were already approaching it, the “Sushka” fired at us.” ... I was simply thrown out of the scooter, the vest inflated. I swim to the scooter, we make a loop. And at that moment, about three meters passed a stripe, and at that speed I hit normally, I had a crack in the rib," - he recalls.
"Conan" was found at sea with the help of a UAV and rescued. He spent about 14 hours in the water.
“I didn’t want to give up, I wanted to swim, to survive. That was my main motivation, to return home to my family,” Conan said.