Ukraine Says Its Rocket Strike Destroyed Russian Air Defenses On Snake Island, Moscow Denies

The Ukrainian army carried out more attacks on Russian-occupied Snake Island in the Black Sea, with 10 rockets precisely hitting targets, Kyiv authorities claimed.

New video emerged showing what Ukraine officials say is yet another attack on the strategically important island. The video was released Sunday shortly after the strike occurred, a Ukraine intelligence source told The War Zone.

Nataliya Gumenyuk, the spokeswoman for Operational Command South, described the attack during a news briefing, Monday.

“We are continuing our operation on Snake Island,” Gumenyuk said. “This past night, our army hit the island with 10 high-precision strikes, and now we’re looking into the degree of damage (to the Russian forces). We have an initial report on this that says a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system was hit.”

However, Russia's ministry of defense (MoD) denied any of its systems were destroyed.

“The enemy unsuccessfully attempted to launch attacks by aviation and [multiple launch rocket systems] at Snake Island,” the Russian MoD said Sunday. “The attack was repelled by Pantsir-S air defense missile and gun system and has resulted in the destruction of 1 Su-25 airplane of Ukrainian Air Force and 12 rockets. Neither victims among garrison personnel, nor damage have been caused.”

This marked the second time in less than a week that Ukraine said it destroyed Russian air defenses on the island, according to Ukrinform.

According to Gumenyuk, Ukraine’s military operation is working toward taking the Snake Island under its full control. On June 20, local media reports said heavy explosions on Snake Island triggered fire across its territory. It was alleged the explosions were caused by Ukrainian missiles or rockets. The following day, Operational Command South confirmed it had carried out a rocket attack on Snake Island.

Satellite data provided by Maxar Technologies, a U.S. aerospace company, showed images of the damage done to Russian positions on the small Black Sea island where Moscow controls several Ukrainian territories.

Ukraine's exports by sea have been hit as the Russian military fleet remains stationed in the Black Sea, leading to a decline in the commercial activity of the ports of Odessa, Illichivsk, Mykolayiv and Kherson.