Ukraine forces have hit back in a revenge attack on Snake Island - the infamous location of the border guards' retort for a Russian warship to “go f***” themselves on the opening day of the Russia-Ukraine war.
The defiance of the defenders of Zmiinyi (Snake Island) on February 24 became symbolic of Kyiv’s resistance in the opening exchanges of the conflict.
The island was captured by Moscow’s navy but not before Ukrainian border guards told a Russian military ship, which had demanded their surrender, where to go.
And in a further show of Ukrainian spirit, President Volodymyr Zelensky ’s armed units have struck back at their invaders on the island, according to unverified Ukrainian media reports.
What happened on Snake Island?
The 13 guards defending the small island in the Black Sea were originally thought to have died after using colourful language to tell the Russian invaders to get lost.
In an audio clip shared online in February by a Ukrainian official and media outlet Ukrainskaya Pravda, a soldier from a Russian military ship was heard telling the Ukrainian guards to “lay down your arms immediately to avoid bloodshed and unjustified deaths” or else face bombardment.
The guards responded “Russian warship, go f*** yourself" in a rallying cry that has become totemic of the staunch Ukrainian defence.
Some have translated the response as meaning “go to hell”.
Ukraine lost contact with its forces defending the island after Russia replied by firing missiles from the air and sea. The view in Kyiv was that the guards could not have survived.
Are the Ukrainian Snake Island guards still alive?
A Facebook statement by the Ukrainian navy four days after the initial Snake Island attack confirmed Russian media reports that the guards had been captured after miraculously surviving the shelling.
On February 28, the navy said: “Regarding the marines and border guards who were taken captive by Russian occupants on the Island of Snake - we are very happy to know that our brothers are alive and well!”
The force’s public relations service said the Russian invaders, as well as taking prisoners, had “completely destroyed the island's infrastructure: lighthouse, towers, antennas, etc” during their attacks.
How did the Ukrainians attack Snake Island?
Ukraine has been looking to break Russia's hold on Snake Island, which is considered vital for protecting sea lanes out of the key port of Odesa.
Ukraine’s South Defence Forces on Tuesday June 21 launched a flurry of attacks on the island, which is 20 miles from the coast, in a move they said had smashed Russian anti-aircraft guns in the Black Sea.
The military, according to Ukrinform, a Kyiv press agency, is said to have “opened fire 150 times”, with 49 Russians being “eliminated” in the assault.
An “e-warfare station”, an ammo depot, and other military equipment was destroyed, Ukrinform said.
What the Ukrainians are saying about the Snake Island revenge hit
Natalia Humeniuk, head of the joint coordination centre of Ukraine’s South Defence Forces, kept the details of the attack to a minimum but said a “massive blow” had been inflicted on President Vladimir Putin ’s occupying forces.
In a statement published by Ukrinform, she said: “There indeed has been a strike.
“In fact, more than just one, but all of this is part of a military operation that requires silence.
“Nevertheless, we understand justified concerns of the population, including those in the Odesa region who have heard the explosions with their own ears.
“The massive blow was inflicted as various forces were employed. We aren’t revealing all of them as the enemy’s also listening to and reading us."
She said the Pantsir anti-aircraft missile system was “very badly damaged, possibly completely destroyed” and that the Russian’s radar station was also targeted.
According to the Daily Telegraph, Moscow has since branded the attack "mad" and said it had repelled a Ukraine plan to "carry out massive air and artillery fire... before landing and capturing" the island.
The mission comes less than a week after the Ukrainian navy claimed it had struck a Russian boat carrying air defence systems, ammunition and personnel to Snake Island.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region remains under heavy bombardment as Russia continues to make attritional gains in its neighbour’s industrial heartlands.
