They were given up for dead, and instead the 13 Ukrainian soldiers snake island Not only are they alive, they were recently released. The men from the Island of the Snake captured by Putin’s army became known for resisting the Russian advance, even going so far as to send the approaching enemy ship to “f***”.
What happened
The case of Ukrainian soldiers had gone viral on the internet thanks to a video posted on social media. In the recordings from last February, the military could be heard reacting vehemently to the crew of an approaching Russian warship. When asked to surrender and lay down their arms, they actually yelled, “Russian military ship, fuck off.”
The episode that took place at the beginning (February 24) of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine became for some an example of the resistance of the Ukrainian armed forces. At the time, it was rumored that the soldiers on the island did not survive the Russian Navy attack. The President of Ukraine himself Volodymyr Zelenskyy He had wanted to remember the heroic deed of his men and announced that they would receive the posthumous Hero of Ukraine award.
Then the Navy’s denial, which arrived a few days later: the soldiers were alive, and they had been taken captives. So the men from Snake Island, a strategic outpost a few kilometers from Romania, had been captured, not killed. Moscow also denied news of the deaths of Ukrainian soldiers, stating that 82 men, not 13, voluntarily surrendered to Russian forces and were captured. Escorted to the quay, they were given food and water before being taken to Sevastopol in Crimea.
After a month of freedom
As Repubblica reports, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov had assured that the soldiers would be returned to their families soon. Only today, exactly one month after their arrest, were the men released as part of a prisoner exchange, as the Ukrainian parliament itself confirmed. In exchange for the liberation From the soldiers, Russia wanted 11 of its soldiers to be released, crew of a sunken ship near Odessa.
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.
Her reply: “Russian warship, fuck yourself.”
They asserted themselves. All 13 were killed. pic.twitter.com/GMRsXQRSX0
Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) February 25, 2022