Snake Island’s now-famous defenders in the Black Sea may be alive, Ukrainian officials said as Russia’s assault on Ukraine carried into its third day.
The announcement is a twist in what quickly became a story of defiance and heroism this week when 13 border guards were reported to have perished after one told an imposing Russian warship, as heard in a viral audio recording, to “go f*** yourself” after they were instructed to lay down their weapons and surrender.
“We [have a] strong belief that all Ukrainian defenders of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island may be alive,” the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a statement on social media Saturday.
Russian forces reportedly attacked the island outpost by air and sea, after which the island’s infrastructure was destroyed and contact was lost, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday. The border guard service also praised the defenders for defying Russian forces and said an effort is underway to determine their fate. In addition, their statement said they “understand that Russian propagandists know how to make the necessary information attacks and use them, noting that Ukrainian defenders have surrendered.”
The exact number of Ukrainians who were stationed on the island remains unclear.
The Russian military said Friday that a garrison of 82 service members at the Snake Island outpost, which is south of the city of Odessa, voluntarily surrendered to the Russian Armed Forces, according to the Russian state-run news agency TASS. “Currently, they are signing written vows to reject military resistance. They will be returned to their families shortly,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said. The Russian bulletin on Friday made no mention of casualties.
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Another bulletin from TASS, this one posted late Saturday, reported the Russian military claiming Ukrainian naval boats attempted to attack Black Sea Fleet ships that were evacuating the Ukrainian troops who surrendered on Snake Island. “As a result of the naval battles, 16 boats of the Ukrainian Navy were destroyed. None of the 82 Ukrainian troops from Snake Island were injured,” Konashenkov said.
The purported recording of an interaction between Snake Island’s defenders and the Russian warship emerged on Thursday, the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A group of Ukrainian border guards were stationed on Snake Island, in the Black Sea south of Odessa, when a Russian warship ordered them to surrender under threat of attack.
Their response: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”
They held their ground. All 13 were killed. pic.twitter.com/GMRsXQRSX0
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) February 25, 2022
Sailors on the Russian vessel, upon its approach to Snake Island in the Black Sea, identified themselves as being on a “Russian military warship” and told the Ukrainian defenders to “lay down [their] weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties.”
The Ukrainian defenders were warned that they would be bombed if they did not put down their weapons. Unmoved, the Ukrainians’ response was, “Russian warship, go f*** yourself.”
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The island was bombarded before Russian soldiers were sent ashore to take control of the facility, according to the Maritime Executive, which noted that Ukrainian media had reported 13 Ukrainian border guards were killed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hailed the 13 guards believed to have died as heroes.
“All border guards died heroically but did not give up,” he said. “They will be awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously.”
