Snake Island is small. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s a strategic island. The Russians now control it. They’re a mere 40 miles from Romania, a NATO member state. It’s one of the many skirmishes that have erupted all over the country amid this new war launched by Vladimir Putin. It’s a war we all saw coming, but one our government seems woefully behind with regards to strategic thinking. They don’t even know where they stand on sanctions and their effect. Were they handed down as a deterrent or not? Half of this administration thinks so, the other half do not. It’s a circus. As the West figures out what to do, the Ukrainians are reportedly fighting hard. They’re not giving up, and this comes as almost every one of them knows they cannot defeat the Russians.
On Snake Island, 13 Ukrainian troops who were there serving as border guards were ordered to surrender. They could have—but this is war. This is a fight for their home. And there would be no retreat. A Russian naval ship ordered them to throw down their arms. They told them to screw off—literally.
“Russian military ship, go f**k yourself,” they replied. All were killed as a result (via Daily Mail):
…the Ukrainian troops defiantly refused to give up the territory and instead replied with a defiant message of 'go f*** yourselves'.
Soon afterwards, all were killed in an aerial bombardment.
Late on Thursday, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the deaths of the soldiers.
[…]
The island is ruled by Ukraine but sits just miles from the coast of NATO member Romania.
Snake Island is strategically important because it will allow Russia to claim territorial waters stretching 12 nautical miles out to sea.
They cover important shipping channels to the port cities of Odessa, Mykolaiv and Kherson.
After taking the island, Russia would have been able to cut off the shipping channels, isolating Ukraine from international markets and depriving its economy of vital trade revenues as it seeks to defend itself.
Snake Island is just 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Romanian border, a NATO member state https://t.co/PrSokZjs18
— BNO News (@BNONews) February 24, 2022
Ukrainian post at Snake Island in the Black Sea told Russian warship to "go fuck yourself" after being told to surrender. The 13 service members were killed pic.twitter.com/2FuKHc04D3
— BNO News (@BNONews) February 24, 2022
A group of Ukrainian border guards were stationed on Snake Island, in the Black Sea south of Odessa, when a Russian warship ordered them to surrender under threat of attack.
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) February 25, 2022
Their response: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."
They held their ground. All 13 were killed. pic.twitter.com/GMRsXQRSX0
Reportedly audio from Snake Island in Black Sea:
— Shaun Walker (@shaunwalker7) February 24, 2022
-This is a Russian military ship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims. Otherwise we will open fire on you.
-Russian military ship, go fuck yourself.
They were all killed https://t.co/QmD9RkYamE
All deserve a medal and I’m sure they’ll be posthumously awarded.