A small group of just 13 Ukrainian soldiers was killed in a last stand on Snake Island in the Black Sea against Russian forces after sending a defiant message to the Russian ship: “Go f*** yourself.”
The small group held out for hours before ultimately being wiped out by the Russian bombardments.
This battle was part of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Snake Island is a small island in the Black Sea, east of the Danube River and south of the city of Odesa.
At just 0.17 square kilometers in size, the island has a very small population of just 100 people or less.
In the past, numerous historical events have happened on and around the island, such as the Battle of Fidonisi in 1788 and once housed an Axis radio station during World War II when it was under Romanian control.
In the present day, the island’s biggest purpose is in playing a role in delimiting the exclusive economic zones of Romania and Ukraine. Indeed, many have called the island essential to Kyiv’s maritime claims.
The island became a target of Russian forces during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
On Thursday at around 6 p.m. local time, two Russian military ships, the cruiser Moskva and the patrol ship Vasily Bykov, approached the island.
Moskva sent a communication to the 13 Ukrainian state border guards on the island and ordered them to surrender.
In response, as shown in audio shared by the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda, they replied “Go f*** your self, Russian warship.”
