Ukraine will posthumously declare 13 soldiers Heroes of Ukraine, the nation’s highest honor, after making a defiant stand on Thursday and losing their lives* defending the strategically important Snake Island from a Russian warship.

*UPDATE — February 26th 2022: Despite President Zelensky’s statement on the Snake Island garrison’s alleged demise, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service now suggests they may have been taken prisoner, citing Russian media reports. The border force said that the fate of the men is currently unknown and that “Russian propagandists know how to produce false information reports”. The SBGS claimed the news of their supposed deaths came prior to communications with the island being cut off.

Original article continues below:

On the first day of fighting amid the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s Russia, 13 Ukrainian border guards died after being shelled by a Russian warship as they attempted to defend the island in the Black Sea. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that all 13 border guards lost their lives defending the island after the Russian warship fired upon them.

“Defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically. But did not give up. All of them will be awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously. Eternal memory to those who gave their lives for Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

Despite their efforts, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine reported on Facebook that the Russians have seized control of the territory.

Ukrainian and other international outlets have spread unverified audio, first published by Ukrainian newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda and allegedly verified by Interior Ministry advisor Anton Gerashchenko, that appears to capture the last moments of the Snake Island troops.

“I am a Russian warship. I offer to lay down our arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unjustified casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed,” the Russian warship reportedly said twice in the audio.

The radio operator then allegedly replied: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself!”.

Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi, is located around 30 miles (48 kilometres) off the coast of Ukraine. According to the Atlantic Council, having control of the island allows Ukraine to claim territorial waters 12 nautical miles from all directions of the island, thereby extending protection for major shipping routes in the Black Sea.

“This Black Sea access is crucial to Ukraine’s grain and metals exports, as well as consumer goods imports from China. Without a viable shipping lane to global markets, the Ukrainian economy would rapidly plunge into crisis,” the think tank wrote in August of last year.

Addressing the strategic importance, Zelensky said in an interview on the island last year: “We know about Russia’s interests [in the Black Sea]. We see what plans they have for the joint Russian-Belarusian exercises in September 2021. We are ready for the various steps they might take.”

He went on to proclaim that Ukraine will defend the island “with weapons in hand!”

The soldiers who lost their lives on Snake Island came amid 137 deaths on the Ukrainian side of the fighting, with another 316 wounded or injured on Thursday, according to Zelensky. Despite the heavy losses, the Ukrainians have touted that they successfully pushed back against the invasion by Russia, claiming over 1,000 Russian soldiers killed. Russia has not made specific casualty claims in return, but a spokesman discussing the battle to claim Antonov airport asserted “There is no loss in the Russian Armed Forces” on Friday.

In a national address delivered on Friday morning, President Zelensky said that “the enemy was stopped in most directions” on the first day of fighting.

Lashing out against the Russian Federation after Putin’s decision to launch an invasion past the disputed Donbas regions, Ukrainian Ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya said: “There is no purgatory for war criminals, they go straight to Hell.”

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