The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has targeted radar equipment on the Boyko Towers, offshore gas platforms located in the Black Sea.
The Boyko Towers were among the offshore assets seized by Russia following the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and were formally integrated into its gas production infrastructure in 2015. However, their military conversion has made them recurring targets for Ukrainian strikes amid escalating maritime hostilities.
This marks the third documented strike on the Boyko Towers, with previous Ukrainian operations taking place in June 2022 and December 2024. The platforms, originally built for gas extraction, have been repurposed by Russian forces into forward-deployed surveillance and air defense outposts.
In the most recent attack, specialists from the 13th Main Directorate of the SBU’s Military Counterintelligence Department conducted a joint drone operation using both aerial and maritime uncrewed systems. The mission destroyed a Neva radar system along with storage facilities and living quarters on one of the towers.
“Within one special operation, SBU specialists used two types of drones, which demonstrated the effectiveness of pair work,” the SBU said in a statement. “We once again reminded the enemy that no Russian junk has a place in the Black Sea.”
The Neva radar station is a Soviet-era air surveillance system designed to monitor low- and medium-altitude targets. Typically used for air defense and early warning, it can track both aerial and surface activity over a wide area.
It had been used by Russian forces to monitor aerial and surface activity across a wide swath of the northwestern Black Sea. Its destruction marks another step in Ukraine’s campaign to erode Russia’s situational awareness and control in the region.
A contested platform in the Black Sea
While Russia seized the Boyko Towers following the 2014 annexation of Crimea and formally integrated them into its gas infrastructure in 2015, Ukraine claimed in September 2023 that it had regained control of the platforms. However, satellite imagery later showed fires on the platforms in both August and November 2024, suggesting renewed hostilities. It remains unclear when or how Russia may have reasserted control over the structures.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Black Sea has become a critical theater for Ukrainian asymmetric tactics. The SBU has claimed responsibility for several high-profile drone strikes, including an attack on the Kerch Bridge linking Crimea to Russia, and strikes on 11 Russian naval vessels.
