Ukraine destroyed a Russian tugboat on Thursday, Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said, part of continued efforts to deny Russia use of the Black Sea.

The agency said on the Telegram messaging app that one of its units had struck and destroyed the "Saturn" (or "Proteus") tugboat off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea after successfully breaking through the defensive barriers.

Ukraine has launched multiple long-range attacks on targets on and near the Crimean peninsula during Russia's 27-month-long full-scale invasion, seeking to destroy Moscow's military capabilities and force its fleet to pull back from the Black Sea.

Ukrainian sea drones hit and sank a Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship this March, following a previous successful attack on a Russian landing warship off the coast of Crimea in February. (Reporting by Anastasiia Malenko Editing by Gareth Jones)