Russia says it destroyed two Ukrainian speedboats east of Snake Island

Russia's defence ministry said in two separate statements on Wednesday that its aircraft had destroyed two Ukrainian speedboats east of Snake Island, in the Black Sea.

Reuters was unable to verify the reports, which followed a similar incident on Aug. 22 when Russia said it had destroyed a U.S.-made military speedboat carrying Ukrainian military personnel in the same area.

Snake Island is a small Ukrainian outpost in the northwest part of the Black Sea, where tensions have escalated since Russia last month pulled out of a deal that had enabled Ukraine to ship grain from its southern ports despite the war.