Russian defense ministry says warplane hit Ukrainian troops on Snake Island

Russia's defense ministry said on Thursday that a Russian warplane struck Ukraine's Snake Island in the Black Sea overnight, shortly after Ukrainian troops claimed to have raised their flag over the island.

Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian President's chief of staff, posted a video on Telegram on Thursday of three soldiers raising a large Ukrainian flag on the island, from which Russian forces withdrew on June 30 after coming under heavy bombardment from Ukrainian artillery. At the Russian defence ministry's daily briefing, spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said that part of the Ukrainian detachment on the island was "destroyed".

The tiny island is strategically important because of its proximity to the sea lanes to Ukraine's port of Odesa.