The Russian Ministry of National Defense reported on September 11 (local time) that Ukraine's attempt to seize a Russian jack-up drilling rig in the Black Sea was repelled. The attack took place on the night of September 10 to the morning of September 11.
According to the Russian Ministry of National Defense, the Directorate of Military Intelligence of Ukraine (GRU) has deployed 14 US-made Willard Sea Force ships and a naval task force to seize the Krym-2 drilling rig. Media reports say the rig is located between the Crimean peninsula and the Ukrainian city of Odessa.
In the report, the Russian Ministry of National Defense stated that the Russian military and the Black Sea Fleet sank eight ships and defeated 80 Ukrainian servicemen. The remaining ships of the flotilla escaped, not even turning back to rescue wounded soldiers in the water.
In its daily update, the Russian Ministry of National Defense wrote: "Another Ukrainian operation in the Black Sea on September 11 coincided with the arrival of high-ranking representatives of the United States and the EU. They were prevented and dozens of Ukrainian servicemen lost their lives."
Ukrainian forces previously made similar attempts to seize other Russian rigs in the Black Sea in September 2023 and June 2022. The installations, including Krym-2, belong to Chernomorneftegaz, which was once part of the Ukrainian energy company Naftogaz. Russia nationalized it and registered it as a company in Crimea in 2014, when the peninsula was annexed by Russia.
