Ukrainian forces land in Crimea and raise flag - intelligence marks three years since symbolic raid

Three years ago, on August 24, 2023, Ukrainian military intelligence officers landed in Crimea and raised the Ukrainian flag on the occupied peninsula. On Ukraine’s Independence Day, fighters from the Timur Special Unit of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine crossed the Black Sea, reached the Crimean coast and engaged Russian forces before completing their mission without losses. The operation saw the Ukrainian flag raised in Crimea once again.

The landing served as a reminder that nearly a decade of Russian occupation had not made Crimea Russian - and that the Black Sea separating the peninsula from mainland Ukraine had not made it unreachable. The third anniversary of the operation comes as Ukrainian intelligence recalls it as one of the most symbolic chapters in the unit’s broader combat history.

Maritime operations have been part of the unit’s work since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Its fighters took part in the liberation of Snake Island and helped bring captured Ukrainian gas platforms, known as the Boyko Towers, back under Ukrainian control. They also carried out raids and amphibious operations around the Kinburn Spit, repeatedly deploying into the Black Sea for combat missions.

The August 24, 2023 landing in Crimea was a continuation of these operations - and one of their most symbolic moments. From Snake Island to the Crimean coast, the unit’s fighters, alongside other Ukrainian Defence Forces, have sought to reclaim territory and strategic spaces that Russia considered its own and attempted to make inaccessible to Ukraine. On Independence Day, Ukrainian military intelligence said its fighters continue working to ensure that Ukraine remains independent - both on land and at sea.