(ConservativeJournal.org) – NATO’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine has yielded much confusion on both sides of the conflict and the latest promotional video released by the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Agency has only added to the mix. A two-minute piece that was uploaded to the internet purports to show Ukrainian commandos successfully storming Russian-held oil platforms on the Black Sea.
Outside the economic significance of the platforms, the rigs are reported to have strategic value in that they provide their host nation with the ability to monitor their adversary’s naval assets from a distance. Bokyo Towers, as the regional platforms are known, were first reportedly seized by Russia in 2015. Ukraine’s reacquisition of the offshore rigs is being hailed by some and questioned by others.
In the uploaded video, Ukrainian troops can be seen approaching the derricks on speedboats. They can also be seen ascending a platform stair system and hoisting their national flag atop one of the structures. Inside a side room, troops uncover what appears to be a small ammunition cache.
Aside from the Ukrainians firing their weapons at what the video purports to be a distant Russian fighter jet, the video contains no combat. No one shoots at the soldiers when they approach or attempt to board the platforms. No Russian soldiers, civilians or prisoners are shown and one could possibly be forgiven for making the assumption that the structure may have been sitting idly and only used at certain times.
To add more confusion to the events, Russian officials are reportedly claiming that Bokyo Towers was never seized to begin with. Rybar, a popular military blogger, said that Ukrainian forces abandoned the facility not long after boarding it for fear of strafing runs from the Russian Air Force.
Former Trump advisor Col. Douglas McGregor is among a minority who say Ukraine’s much anticipated spring and summer counter offensives never materialized because the nation is overwhelmingly losing the conflict.
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