It has been revealed that Ukrainian soldiers who were defending Snake Island in the Black Sea are alive and being help captive.
Last week, 13 guards refused to surrender their post on the island when two Russian vessels approached them.
An audio clip went viral of the incident. “This is a Russian warship,” a voice can be heard saying. “I propose you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims. Otherwise you will be bombed”.
“Russian warship, go f**k yourself,” the Ukrainians responded.
It was believed that the soldiers were dead, with President Volodymyr Zelensky promising to decorate them with the nation’s highest honor.
“On our Zmiinyi Island, defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically. But they did not give up. All of them will be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine,” he said.
In a Facebook post, the Ukraine navy shared that the guards were “taken captive by Russian occupiers”.
“We are very happy to learn that our brothers are alive and well,” the post said.
“The illegal seizure of a non-combatant civilian ship that did not carry out any military tasks is a violation of the rules and customs of war and international humanitarian law,” the Navy also said. “We demand from the Russian Federation immediate release of illegally captured citizens of Ukraine”.
Russia reportedly claimed on Friday that the Ukrainian guards had actually surrendered on the island.
