The Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday announced its forces have withdrawn from Snake Island, which Russia occupied on the first day of its war against Ukraine.
Snake Island was the scene of a mythologized confrontation between a tiny unit of Ukrainian soldiers and invading Russian naval forces.
The first version of the story claimed the 13 defiant Ukrainian defenders replied “Russian warship, go f**k yourself” when the Russians demanded their surrender and were then killed to the last man. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared he would posthumously name them “Heroes of Ukraine.”
The Ukrainian navy later revealed that at least some of the Snake Island soldiers were captured alive, along with the crew of a civilian ship that tried to evacuate them from the island. They were released in a prisoner exchange in March.
The soldier who allegedly said “go f**k yourself,” Roman Hrybov, was indeed awarded a medal for his bravery and declared a hero by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry soon after his release. The Snake Island defenders were also commemorated with a series of immensely popular postage stamps designed by social media users.
Ukrainian stamps marked ‘Russian warship, Go…!’, depicting the Moskva missile cruiser, which has been sunk. (AFP)
The Russian ship that demanded their surrender, the Black Sea flagship Moskva, was destroyed by Ukrainian missiles in April, reportedly with assistance from U.S. intelligence.
In this photo provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, Russian missile cruiser Moskva is on patrol in the Mediterranean Sea near the Syrian coast on Dec. 17, 2015. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island in Ukraine, is a small, rocky outpost in the Black Sea about 22 miles from the Ukrainian coast. It has the unique distinction of being strategically important, for either attacking or blockading the vital port of Odessa, and nearly impossible to defend.
The group of Ukrainian troops were defending Snake Island in the Black Sea when they were approached by a Russian warship, and were believed to have been killed. (Photo courtesy Фотонак/Wikimedia)
The Ukrainian military — and NATO — were concerned Russia might turn the island into a launching platform for surface-to-air missiles, replacing the missile cover lost when the Moskva was eliminated. Russia’s presence there was also seen as a strategic threat to Romania’s port of Constanta, and to the development of undersea petroleum and gas resources in the area.
As is usually the case with developments in the Russia-Ukraine war, the two sides had vastly different explanations for why Russia withdrew from Snake Island.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the withdrawal was a voluntary “goodwill move” to show the international community that “Russia does not interfere with the U.N. efforts to create a humanitarian corridor for the export of farm produce from Ukraine.”
“This decision will not let Kiev indulge in insinuations over an impending food crisis or argue it is impossible to export grain due to Russia’s total control of the northwestern part of the Black Sea,” Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov sneered on Thursday.
“The ball is now in Kiev’s court. To this day Ukraine has done nothing to clear the Black Sea near its shores, including seaports’ areas, of naval mines,” he added.
The Ukrainian government, on the other hand, said Russia was driven from Snake Island by its forces. Ukraine celebrated Moscow’s withdrawal announcement as a great victory:
“KABOOM! No Russian troops on Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job,” exulted Andriy Yermak, chief of President Zelensky’s office. He illustrated this claim with a photo of smoke plumes rising from the island.
“More kaboom news to follow,” he promised.
The British, ardent supporters of Ukraine, seemed inclined to buy Kyiv’s version of the story. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson saluted the Snake Island withdrawal as “evidence of the amazing ability of the Ukrainians to fight back to overcome adversity and to repel the Russians.”
“In the end, it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept his rule,” Johnson predicted.
The New York Times noted the Kremlin was bragging only a week ago about repelling a Ukrainian attack on Snake Island. The last Russian troops were spotted departing the island in two speedboats, which does not sound like an orderly withdrawal performed as an act of global goodwill. The Ukrainian military speculated the Russians beat a hasty retreat after a Ukrainian strike wrecked the island’s radar station, eliminating much of its strategic value to the invaders.