In line with the tasks set by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as part of a 40-day operation to exert pressure on russia, the SSU Special Operations Centre Alfa carried out successful strikes on military support vessels located on the premises of the Zatoka shipyard in the temporarily occupied city of Kerch; russian air defence systems in the Kerch Strait area were also hit.

During the special operation, SSU drones struck the Project 15310 cable-laying vessels Volga and Vyatka, as well as the Petropavlovsk passenger-cargo ferry, which was 96 per cent complete. The strikes caused a major fire on board.

The Volga and Vyatka were built for the russian ministry of defence. Their purpose is to deploy the Harmoniya hydroacoustic surveillance system for underwater military reconnaissance. They can also deploy contactless mines to target ships, undersea pipelines, cables and other critical infrastructure. Each of these vessels is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Furthermore, SSU drones struck weaponry and a radar station of the S-400 air defence missile system, which was providing cover for the Kerch Strait area.

The Security Service’s systematic efforts to target russian military infrastructure in the temporarily occupied Crimea are depriving the enemy of the ability to use the peninsula as a logistical and military hub. The destruction of air defence systems paves the way for new high-precision strikes, whilst the neutralisation of ships and port infrastructure undermines the occupiers’ ability to sustain their forces.