Watch: Ukrainian special forces recapture strategic drilling rigs near Crimea

Footage released by Ukrainian military intelligence shows troops flying the country's flag over structures known as Boyka Towers

Video footage of individual units During the operation, Ukrainian military intelligence operatives are seen bobbing through the water as they approach giant platforms in small inflatable boats.

Its forces are seen firing at a Russian Su-30 fighter jet flying overhead one of them . moment in the 13-minute video.

The plane “was damaged and was forced to retreat,” the GUR said in a statement.

The British military reported a collision between Ukrainian military on a boat and a Russian fighter in mid-August, but it remains unclear whether this corresponds to the GUR statement.

The seizure is the latest attack by Ukrainian special forces in or around Crimea

It is unknown how long it took the Kievites to regain control of the structures but the operation is believed to be part of a long-term effort to weaken Russian forces in the Black Sea.

“For Ukraine, regaining control of the Boykovo Towers was of strategic importance and, as a result, Russia lost the opportunity to use them for military purposes,” — says the GUR video.

“Russia has been deprived of the ability to fully control the waters of the Black Sea, and this brings Ukraine many steps closer to the return of Crimea.”

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Neutralization of Russia’s use of the Black Sea is seen as an important task for ensuring Ukrainian security, grain exports and preventing cruise missile attacks on Moscow's Black Sea Fleet.

The GUR said it had captured unguided missiles fired from helicopters and the Neva radar system used by Russia to monitor maritime traffic in the Black Sea.

Ukrainian special forces also claim to have landed on the mainland in recent weeks Crimea and attacked Russian air defense systems protect against attacks by Ukrainian aerial drones.

It is believed that attacks on mainland Crimea are aimed at degrading key supply routes to the front lines in southern Ukraine.

Oil and gas platforms in the north-west of the Black Sea have been under Russian control since the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula

Boika Towers They include four drilling platforms, the first turn Petro Godovanets and Ukraina, which were controlled by the Crimean oil and gas company Chernomorneftegaz.

Russian-backed officials seized the firm from Naftogaz, Ukraine's state gas utility, as the Kremlin tightened its control over occupied peninsula.