Ukraine’s jet ski raiders strike at the heart of Crimea
Ukrainian commandos reveal the storming of Russia’s naval stronghold
Ten jet skis crept towards the coast in darkness, their engines barely audible over the slapping of waves. Each carried two Ukrainian frogmen, invisible against the night sky. The Russians never saw them coming.
Slipping ashore in Crimea, the soldiers readied their rifles, explosives and anti-tank weapons. They had already travelled 125 miles over sea from the nearest Ukrainian-controlled territory and would have to return another 140 miles at speed.
They were the first Ukrainian troops to set foot on the Crimean peninsula in nearly a decade.
A fortnight earlier, planners had counted and weighed every gram of equipment, reducing the load wherever possible. Their commander, Levan, spent two weeks running the route in the Black Sea before he concluded that the scheme could work
