Ukraine and Russia claim successes in ongoing Black Sea combat

Both the Russian and Ukrainian military on Sunday claimed successes in what appears to be ongoing combat in the Black Sea, and especially on Russian-occupied Cobra Island.

Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesman for the military administration of the Odessa region, said on Sunday that a Russian helicopter on the island was hit and destroyed on Saturday night (7). The military released a drone video purportedly showing the attack.

He also said a small landing craft with a capacity of around 80 to 100 people had been eliminated, as well as two Raptor-class patrol boats.

Brachuk said that, according to preliminary information, about 40 Russian soldiers had been killed.

A satellite image from Sunday morning showed at least one plume of smoke rising from the island.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Sunday gave a very different version of events.

Major General Igor Konashenkov said that overnight on Saturday, two more Ukrainian Su-24 bombers and a Ukrainian Air Force Mi-24 helicopter were destroyed by Russian air defense systems over the island.

Both sides also reported attacks near the port of Odessa. The Russians said they shot down a Bayraktar-TB2 combat drone near Odesa, while the Ukrainian military said it intercepted two cruise missiles launched by Russian aircraft.

Bratchuk said a total of 10 Russian cruise missiles were fired in the Odesa region on Saturday. The main airport runway was hit again. A residential neighborhood was also hit.