New Delhi: “Russian warship, go f*** yourself,” these were allegedly the last words of a Ukrainian border guard on a tiny island in the Black Sea, before an audio clip recording an exchange between the two warring forces went silent.
In a purported audio exchange that went viral Friday, a Russian warship was heard ordering 13 Ukrainian border guards to “surrender” their weapons and “capitulate” on Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island.
“Otherwise, I will open fire. Do you copy?” the warship repeated.
After a few seconds of deliberation, a Ukrainian border guard responded, “Russian warship, go f*** yourself.”
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had early Friday tweeted that all 13 border guards were killed for “refusing to surrender” and cited Zelensky’s remarks that they will be awarded “hero of Ukraine” titles postmortem.
However, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service Saturday said that the border guards may yet still be alive, allegedly captured and sent to Sevastopol in Crimea after Russia had taken control of the island and “destroyed” the infrastructure.
Russia blatantly captured Ukrainian island #Zmiinyi, destroying the infrastructure. All 13 ?? border guards were killed, refusing to surrender. They will be awarded the title «Hero of Ukraine» postmortem, says @ZelenskyyUa
Glory to Ukrainian heroes! ??#StopRussianAggression pic.twitter.com/PWEIvqzxyJ
— MFA of Ukraine ?? (@MFA_Ukraine) February 25, 2022
“Currently, after receiving information about their probable location, the SBGS together with the Armed Forces is working to identify our soldiers, which is common in open networks. We sincerely hope that the boys will return home as soon as possible, and the information received at the time of the attack on the death will not be confirmed. Glory to Ukrainian defenders!!!” the service posted on Facebook
“They [Ukrainian border guards] were all killed [in the subsequent bombardment] but with dignity,” the video, uploaded to YouTube by a Ukrainian account, had said.
Till Saturday, 198 Ukrainians have been killed, including three children, Ukraine Health Minister Viktor Liashko said.
Significance of Zmiinyi Island
Located 35km south of the Ukrainian coast in the Black Sea, Zmiinyi Island is of strategic importance to Ukraine. The island’s nearest contact to mainland is the port city of Odessa. It’s about 300 km west of Crimea, the Ukrainian territory that Russia annexed in 2014.
The surrounding waters were under territorial dispute between Ukraine and Romania in recent years after the International Court of Justice declared the waters as part of Romania in the 2000s.
According to a Newsweek report, Zelensky had held a press conference on the island last August amid Russian troops build-up on the Black Sea border.
Also read: Psychological warfare, avoiding casualties: Why Russians aren’t storming Ukraine’s cities