Ukraine says it hit two Russian ships transporting military equipment in Caspian Sea

· The Straits Times

KYIV, Dec 12 - Ukraine's special forces said on Friday they had conducted an operation alongside what they described ‍as ​a local resistance movement to ‍hit two Russian ships transporting weapons and military equipment in ​the ​Caspian sea.

They did not specify when the strike took place. A Ukrainian official said on Thursday that ‍Kyiv's drones had hit a Russian oil rig ​in the Caspian Sea ⁠for the first time, disabling the extraction of oil and gas from about 20 wells.

The special forces' statement on Telegram ​did not say how they had hit the vessels or what ‌the extent of any ​damage was. They said the ships were hit off the coast of the republic of Kalmykia, a region of Russia.

They named the vessels as the Composer Rakhmaninoff and the Askar-Sarydzha, which they said were sanctioned ‍by the U.S. for carrying military cargoes between Iran ​and Russia.

The statement said that the "Black Spark" resistance movement ​had provided detailed information on the ‌movement and cargo of the ships. REUTERS