Ukraine Claims Successful Strike on Russian Military Transport Ships in Caspian Sea

According to reports, the vessels were struck near the coastline of Russia's republic of Kalmykia. (File)

Ukraine's special forces announced on Friday that they had conducted a joint operation with what they described as a local resistance movement to strike two Russian vessels that were transporting weapons and military hardware in the Caspian Sea.

The timing of the strike was not specified in their statement. On Thursday, a Ukrainian official revealed that Kyiv's drones had targeted a Russian oil rig in the Caspian Sea for the first time, disrupting oil and gas extraction from approximately 20 wells.

The Telegram statement from the special forces did not disclose the method of attack or the extent of damage inflicted on the vessels. They indicated that the ships were targeted off the coast of Kalmykia, a region within Russian territory.

The vessels were identified as the Composer Rakhmaninoff and the Askar-Sarydzha, which they claimed had been sanctioned by the United States for transporting military cargo between Iran and Russia.

According to the statement, the "Black Spark" resistance movement had provided detailed intelligence regarding the ships' movements and cargo contents.