Russian forces have withdrawn from the strategically important Black Sea outpost of Snake Island, in a setback for Russia during its months-long invasion of Ukraine.
Russia's Defence Ministry said it withdrew from the island as a "gesture of goodwill", but Ukrainian officials said they drove troops out after a huge overnight military assault.
The withdrawal could loosen Russia's grip on the Black Sea, and free-up tonnes of Ukraine's grain waiting to be exported overseas through key shipping lanes.
It's also a symbolic victory: The island has become emblematic of the spirit of Ukrainian resistance in the face of Russian missiles and attacks.
How did the rocky island become so famous?
Snake Island — or Zmiinyi Island in Ukrainian — is a speck of land in the Black Sea, stretching just a fraction over 1 square kilometre.
It's about 300km west of Crimea and about 30 kilometres from the mainland.
It sits next to Ukraine's border with Romania, near the mouth of the Danube River and has previously been subject to a long territorial water dispute because it covers an area with important resources.
The island was captured by Russia on the first day of the invasion, when two Russian warships ordered Ukrainian border guards on the island to surrender, but they refused.
"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you will be bombed," the Russian warship Moskva allegedly broadcast.
But the guards responded in defiance.
Island's 'heroic' guards commemorated
Ukrainian officials said the Moskva, the Russian Navy's Black Sea flagship vessel, launched missile strikes on the island.
There was conflicting information at the time about whether all 13 guards stationed at the garrison were killed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the guards for "heroically" defending the island until the end and planned to posthumously honour the guards.
However, Ukraine's State Border Guard later said there was a strong belief "that all Ukrainian defenders of Snake Island may be alive" because Russia reported it had taken 82 prisoners.
While Ukraine lost Snake Island to Russia and soldiers were captured, the guards were hailed as heroes in Ukraine and were commemorated on postage stamps.
Ukrainian Neptune missiles later sunk the Russian guided-missile cruiser Moskva in the northern Black Sea, according to US officials.
Snake Island isn't just important to Ukraine
Snake Island was a strategically important gain for Russia, because it effectively meant it had enough control of the Black Sea to blockade the Ukrainian port of Odesa and prevent grain exports.
The island is also situated very close to NATO member state Romania, so the Russian withdrawal reduces the possibility of fighting spilling over the border.
Institute for the Study of War's Mason Clark told The Washington Post it was "an important defeat", because it freed up sea routes along the Romanian coast which, he said, was the safest route for ships to avoid the Russian blockade.
However, Jeff Hawn — from US geopolitical research centre the New Lines Institute — told France 24 the Ukrainian victory had "very limited strategic importance" but the symbolic importance was not in dispute.
"[Snake Island has become] a kind of battle cry for Ukrainians, who see it as a symbol of their resistance to an enemy most people thought was stronger than them," Mr Hawn said.
Months-long battle to regain control
Fighting intensified around Snake Island as far back as May.
Satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed a Russian Serna-class landing craft making evasive manoeuvres to avoid a missile attack.
Ukrainian forces had claimed their first successful use of Western-donated Harpoon anti-ship missiles to engage Russian forces on the island in June, according to British military intelligence.
Russia was able to repel Ukraine's assault until Friday, when it was forced off the island.
"No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job," tweeted Andriy Yermak, Mr Zelenskyy's chief of staff.
Ukraine's southern military command posted an image on Facebook of what appeared to be the island, seen from the air, with at least five huge columns of black smoke rising above it.
"The enemy hurriedly evacuated the remains of the garrison with two speed boats and probably left the island," it said.
Ukrainian armed forces brigadier-general Oleksii Hromov told a briefing that his country's forces were not yet occupying the island, "but they will be, believe me".
ABC/wires
