Ukrainian sailors who were captured after radioing the Russian military to “fuck you” while defending a small island in the Black Sea have been released in a prisoner exchange with Moscow.
It was initially thought that 19 sailors defending Zmeiny Island were killed by the invading Russian fleet in the first week of the war, but it was later confirmed that they were being held as prisoners of war.
On Thursday, exactly one month after the invasion by Russian troops, the Ukrainian parliament confirmed that the sailors had been released as part of an exchange for 11 Russian sailors captured from the sunken ship.
In a tweet, the Ukrainian parliament wrote: “The first hostage exchange took place on the orders of President Zelenskiy.
“In addition, today Ukraine exchanged 11 Russian sailors, whom we rescued from a ship that sank near Odessa, for 19 Ukrainian sailors (authors of the legendary phrase “Russian warship, go fuck yourself”).
The Ukrainian parliament has confirmed that the sailors, who were captured after radioing the Russian military to “fuck you” while defending a small island in the Black Sea, have been released in a prisoner exchange with Moscow.
The Ukrainian Navy previously confirmed that the military on the island repelled two attacks by Russian troops on February 24, but were forced to surrender “due to lack of ammunition.”
The statement also said that Russian troops destroyed the infrastructure of the Serpent Island, including lighthouses, towers and antennas.
The day after the attacks, an audio clip was posted online in which an officer of a Russian warship can be heard telling Ukrainian guards to “lay down their arms immediately to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary deaths,” adding that “otherwise you will be bombed.” ‘.
The guards could then be heard talking among themselves, agreeing “this is it” before they responded to the Russian fleet saying, “Russian warship, fuck you.”
Ukraine later lost contact with its forces defending the island after Russia launched air and sea strikes, officials in Kyiv said.
There was also a video circulated on Twitter showing the moment of the shelling of the island. On it, a Ukrainian soldier was looking at the camera before a shell exploded nearby.
Ukrainian border guards guarding the tiny island in the Black Sea from Russia were thought to have been killed after they ordered the Russian navy to “fuck you,” but Russia has confirmed they were captured.
The Russian Defense Ministry has released photographs that reportedly show guards boarding a bus after they surrendered.
Ukraine on Thursday said its 19 sailors were returning home from the Sapphire rescue ship, which was seized by Russian invaders while trying to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Snake Island.
“Under the terms of the exchange, the lifeboat will also be returned to Ukraine and sent to the Turkish port,” the Ukrainian parliament added.
It was initially believed that the border guards defending Zmeiny Ostrov, a strategically important piece of land south of the port of Odessa, died in the glory during the attack, and Zelensky even promised to posthumously reward the “heroically dead border guards.”
But photographs released by the Russian Ministry of Defense claim that the guards, part of Ukraine’s independent law enforcement agency, the State Border Guard Service, are still alive after “voluntarily” surrendering their garrison to Russian forces.
Nearly a dozen photos released by Russia allegedly show men boarding buses, receiving bottled water and a food parcel, then sitting in their seats.
The Serpent Island is of strategic importance because it allows Russia to claim territorial waters that extend 12 nautical miles out to sea.
The soldiers were stationed on Zmeiny Ostrov in the Odessa region and defended the territory after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The island is under Ukrainian rule but is only a few miles off the coast of NATO member Romania.
Snake Island is just a few miles off the coast of Romania.
This is strategically important as it will allow Russia to claim territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles out to sea.
They cover important shipping routes to the port cities of Odessa, Nikolaev and Kherson.
By capturing the island, Russia could cut off shipping routes, isolating Ukraine from international markets and depriving its economy of vital trade revenues as the country sought to defend itself.