They went down in history as sailors of the “vaffa”.. Now theUkraine rewards one of them with a medal for the courage shown on that dramatic February 24th. Roman Hrybovone of the men who defended the island zminyithe socalled snake island (Snake Island), was awarded by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which published a video of the award ceremony on social networks for the occasion. Hrybov, who like the other sailors was initially presumed dead, was instead a prisoner of the Russians. A few days ago, after a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia, he returned to his Circassianwhere he received the medal.
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Snake Island, the soldier heroes who shouted “vaffa to the Russian ship that attacked them, were released
Roman Hrybov, the author of the famous phrase “Russian Warship, Go F*** Yourself, returned to his native Cherkasy region from Russian captivity. Glory to the hero! #GlorytoUkraine pic.twitter.com/uruPgkBLGv
Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 29, 2022
Island of Snakes, the sailors of the “Vaffa” to the Russian ship
The 19 sailors from Snake Island, a small Ukrainian Black Sea outpost, had attracted international attention for responding to a Russian ultimatum to lay down arms and surrender: “go and fuck yourselfThe response to Russians was shouted over the radio, which had become a viral meme on social media. It was originally thought that Snake Island sailors were killed by the Russian Navy in the first week of the war, but it was later confirmed that they were being held captive. On March 25, exactly one month after the invasion began, the Ukrainian parliament, in an exchange with 11 Russian seamen, confirmed their release.