Snake Island is a key and symbolic stronghold in the Black Sea that Russian troops retreated from last week after months of severe shelling. Ukrainian forces are preparing to host the country’s flag on the island, which will be a victory for Ukraine.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s southern military command, informed reporters that “the military operation has been finished, and… the area, Snake Island, has been restored to the sovereignty of Ukraine.” This information was provided by Humeniuk.
An previous statement made by Ukraine’s military indicated that the country’s flag had been brought back to the island just before 11 o’clock at night on Monday. According to the most recent information available, “The Ukrainian flag has once again been restored to the island of Zmiiny.”
However, later on, a correction was published stating that it had been confirmed that the flag had been transported by helicopter and that it would be flown as soon as Ukrainian forces were on the island.
The flag was flown over the island by a helicopter after it was delivered. According to what Humeniuk told CNN, “it will wait for the arrival of the army, and then it will wave,” adding that her previous comments should be “taken symbolically.”
“No one arrived on the island,” the narrator said. “So who will install it, shove it in, or lift it?” she said. “Who would do all of that?” “And nobody would put other people in danger for the sake of a shot for the media,” you can be certain.
The Ukrainian government has long viewed the seizure of control of the island as a necessary step toward easing Moscow’s embargo on the country’s southern ports.
In spite of this, it was not quite obvious whether or not Ukrainian soldiers would want to re-establish a permanent presence there, given the fact that it is in danger of being bombarded.
According to a statement made by a military officer on Sunday to the Guardian newspaper, the region of the Black Sea surrounding Snake Island was still considered to be a “grey zone,” which indicates that the Ukrainian government does not, in fact, intend to bring their soldiers back.
After Russia’s first conquest of Snake Island in February, the island gained notoriety around the globe. The phrase “go fuck yourself” was spoken by a Ukrainian soldier stationed on the island to a Russian cruiser that was bombarding the island. Since then, the phrase has become one of the most prominent slogans of resistance for the Ukrainian people.
A stamp was produced by the Ukrainian postal office that depicted a Ukrainian solider throwing the middle finger to the Russian ship Moskva, which was subsequently sunk. Since Russia assumed control, Ukrainian forces have made many attempts to regain control of the region.
Russia said that it had withdrawn its forces from the island on Thursday as a “gesture of goodwill” to demonstrate that it was not impeding efforts being made by the United Nations to construct a humanitarian corridor that would allow grain to be carried from Ukraine.
The Russian military assault on the Ukrainian village of Serhiivka, which took place on Friday and was located near Odesa, has been regarded by Ukrainian officials as retaliation for the expulsion of Russian forces from Snake Island on Thursday.
At least 21 people, including two children, were killed as a result of the strike, which was caused by two Russian missiles hitting a multi-story apartment building as well as a leisure center.
According to Ivan Bakanov, the head of Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, “the invaders cannot prevail on the battlefield, so they turn to the horrible massacre of people.” Bakanov made these statements. “After the adversary was expelled from Snake Island, [they] made the decision to reply by cynically bombarding civilian locations,” the author writes.
According to the president of Ukraine, Volodymr Zelenskiy, the disengagement will “seriously limit” Russian actions in the Black Sea region, despite the fact that it does not ensure the safety of the region. “We will force [Russia] out of our sea, our land, and our sky,” he added. “We will do this step by step.”
On Saturday, Kyiv leveled the accusation that Russia had deployed incendiary white phosphorous on Snake Island. At the time of the attack, Ukrainian forces were not present, and military analysts believe that the Russians used it to burn the weapons and ammunition that they had left there before retreating.
