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Spray sprays over the dinghy’s railing as it struggles over the waves of the Black Sea. On board are heavily armed Ukrainian special forces carrying out a special mission. Their destination: the Boiko oil rigs, not far from Crimea, which is already looming on the horizon.

In a previously secret operation, units of the military intelligence service GUR recaptured the oil rigs at the end of August – capturing the “unique action” in a video lasting almost 15 minutes. “The route to the target is particularly dangerous for the special forces,” explains another soldier. The reason: “You can’t hide from Russian planes and drones.”

Nevertheless, the special forces successfully completed their mission and captured the Boiko oil rigs – without any losses, as Kiev reports. But what makes the Black Sea platforms so important for Ukraine? And have the special forces really succeeded in delivering what they call a ‘slap in the face of our enemy’? t-online answers the most important questions.

What are the Boiko rigs?

Boiko’s drilling rigs are platforms for the production of oil and gas in the Black Sea. Russia had already occupied the area in 2015, shortly after annexing the Crimean Peninsula, in violation of international law. As a result, Russia moved offshore facilities from the Odessa gas field closer to Crimea. In recent years they have been located about 110 kilometers west of the peninsula in the Golitsyn gas field.

“Russia occupied the oil rigs in 2015 mainly for economic gain. There is enormous wealth hidden under the drilling platforms because of the oil and gas reserves,” military expert Ralph Thiele explains in an interview with t-online. By recapturing the Boiko platforms, Ukraine has inflicted both military and economic damage on Russia.

What is known about the secret special operation?

According to Ukrainian information, special units of the GUR military intelligence were responsible for the recapture of the Boiko oil rigs. They have brought the oil rigs “Petro Govanets” and “Ukraine” as well as the platforms “Tavrida” and “Syvash” under Ukrainian control. The elite soldiers filmed their action and later posted it online, as shown in the following post on the social network X (formerly Twitter):

The Ukrainian troops captured, among other things, helicopter munitions of the NAR type (unguided rockets) and a Neva radar system for monitoring the surface of the Black Sea.

“One problem we faced was an enemy fighter jet,” a soldier explains in the video shared by GUR. The aircraft only flew past the platforms about 500 meters further. Shortly afterwards, a bomb fell on Snake Island, several dozen kilometers away. As the Ukrainian newspaper “Kyiv Post” writes, this could be a case of fighting that took place on August 22 near Snake Island. However, this cannot be independently verified, nor can the soldiers’ statements from the video.

According to the GUR, the operation to recapture the Boiko Towers also included fighting between special forces on boats and a Su-30 fighter plane. The Ukrainians hit the Russian fighter jet with a surface-to-air missile. The aircraft subsequently returned damaged and retreated to an unknown base.

Why are the Boiko oil rigs of military importance?

Because Russia also used the oil rig to monitor the Black Sea. “Russia equipped the platforms with sensors at the beginning of the attack last year,” Thiele continued. This would allow “Black Sea movement data and other radar and communications data to be collected.”

The Kremlin can “get an accurate picture of who is traveling where in the Black Sea and then plan appropriate actions,” the retired colonel explained. “This is extremely important for Russia because data is the new oil in terms of its importance for the military, but also for the economy,” Thiele said.

And indeed: according to Ukrainian information, both helicopter ammunition and a Neva radar device were captured during the operation. The latter could be used to track the movements of ships in the Black Sea, the GUR wrote in a message on Telegram. The intelligence service described the loot as “valuable trophies.”

Although Russia can no longer rely on the data collected by radar on the Boiko oil rigs, the country will likely be able to “compensate for this fact with the help of drones, satellites and the presence of its navy on the Black Sea,” Thiele says . of the Ukrainian operation.

What does taking back the oil rigs mean?

This cannot yet be definitively assessed. One thing is certain, says Thiele: the recapture of the Boiko oil rigs, but especially the capture of the Russian sensors on the platforms, could provide an advantage that could also influence the offensive: “Ukraine could benefit from the sensors located on the platforms The platforms that have been captured are now collecting important data for their counter-offensive in the south of the country,” Thiele explains. This sensor system could be an “important mosaic element”.

What are the consequences for Ukraine?

In addition to the military and economic significance of Ukraine’s success in the Black Sea, a psychological component also plays a role. Because the defenders have now shown one thing, military expert Thiele says: “Not only Russia can attack Ukrainian infrastructure, but we can attack theirs too.” Overall, the recapture of the Boiko oil rigs was “a fairly minor success, now being blown up as part of the information war. But it is a success,” says Thiele.

Like drone strikes on Russian territory, the special operation in the Black Sea is part of the Ukrainian tactic of “a thousand needle pricks,” the chairman of the Political-Military Association explained.

The question now is how well Ukraine can protect the recaptured offshore facilities, Thiele says. A quick counterattack by Russia is conceivable. “The Ukrainian attacks on the Crimean bridges show that you can never protect such infrastructure 100 percent. “Russia could sink the platforms with an attack in the future.”