Ukraine Claims Responsibility for Offshore Explosion

Ukraine's navy and military intelligence have attacked and damaged a former offshore gas platform used by Russian forces in the Black Sea, the navy spokesman said on Saturday.

"The occupiers used this location for GPS spoofing to make civilian navigation dangerous. We cannot allow this to happen," Dmytro Pletenchuk said on Facebook.

He posted a video taken at night showing an explosion on an offshore platform and the ensuing fire. He said that a half a day before the attack, Russian forces had stationed equipment and military personnel on the platform.

"There were no civilians there. The platform was not performing its normal functions," Pletenchuk said.

He gave no more details.

Reuters could not independently verify the information. There was no immediate comment from Moscow.

After Russia seized the Crimea in 2014, Ukraine lost control of numerous gas and oil offshore platforms, some of which it says Russian forces have since used for military purposes.

Ukraine has managed to dislodge the Russian navy from the western Black Sea using sea drones and missiles, allowing Kyiv to open a crucial maritime transit corridor that has transported about 60 million tons of cargo over the past year.

(Reuters - Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Alex Richardson)