Ukrainian forces have regained control of the gas drilling platforms in the Black Sea, known in Ukraine as ‘Boyko towers’, in a weeks-long covert operation involving aircraft and sea vessels, its defence intelligence revealed on Monday.

The strategically important gas and oil platforms in the Black Sea between Crimea and the city of Odesa were named after Yuriy Bokyo, an energy minister under the fugitive president Viktor Yanykovych, who lobbied for their purchase in 2010.

The platforms were revealed to have been paid twice their real value, which at the time was one of the most high-profile corruption cases in Ukraine.

The platforms were revealed to have been paid twice their real value, which at the time was one of the most high-profile corruption cases in Ukraine.

Ukrainian defence intelligence, or GUR, says the unique operation to recapture the ‘Boyko towers’ was carried out by special forces units.

During the operation, the Ukrainian forces captured trophies, including a stockpile of unguided aircraft missiles and a radar station, which can track the movement of ships in the Black Sea.

In a striking episode, several Ukrainian soldiers on boats fought with a Russian Su-30 fighter jet. The aircraft was damaged and had to retreat.

In 2015, following the annexation of Crimea, Russia occupied the ‘Boyko towers’ and militarised them, deploying helicopters and air defence radars.

The operation follows a series of daring strikes on military facilities in Crimea, and the landing of Ukrainian troops in the peninsula’s Cape Tarkhankut in August, on Ukraine’s Independence Day.

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