Ukraine destroys Russian radar system on Boyko towers in Black Sea: operation details

The press service of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the information on May 19.

“Recently, officers with the 13th Main Directorate of the Military Counterintelligence Department of the Security Service of Ukraine conducted a combined special operation using sea and air drones. The target was Russian radar equipment placed on Ukrainian gas extraction platforms,” the report says.

First, an air drone struck the platform, followed by an attack from a sea drone. As a result, the Russian Neva radar system, used to monitor the air and sea situation in the region, was destroyed. Storage facilities and a living quarters block on the platform were also damaged.

“In a single special operation, SBU specialists used two types of drones, demonstrating the effectiveness of their combined work. We once again reminded the enemy that no Russian junk has a place in the Black Sea,” the SBU emphasized.

Reference: "Boyko Towers" is the unofficial name for two drilling rigs (self-elevating floating drilling rigs, SEFDs) purchased in 2011 by the state enterprise Chornomornaftogaz for gas extraction in the Black Sea. The name comes from Yuriy Boyko, then Ukraine’s energy minister, who oversaw the purchase. After the annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia seized these platforms, moved them closer to its coastline, and began using them for military purposes — in particular, as observation and radar posts in the Black Sea.