Not shortly after Kiev declared the raising of the flag at snake island, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced an assault on Ukrainian forces on Snake Island.
“On July 7, at five in the morning, a large contingent of Ukrainian soldiers entered Zmiinyi island by motorboat, raised the flag, and snapped photos. As this group fled to the province of Odessa, high-precision missiles fired from Russian planes destroyed a portion of it “Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, stated today.
The declaration was made following the posting of an image on the Telegram app by Andriy Yermak, the chief of staff to the president of Ukraine, depicting Ukrainian soldiers hoisting a flag on the island.
General Konashenkov continued, “The Ukrainian administration is trying to establish an image following a string of failures and significant withdrawals from the Donbass region.”
On the Russian statement, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry has not yet made any remarks.
About 35 kilometres from the Ukrainian city of Odessa, Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, has a surface area of about 17 hectares and is situated in the Black Sea. Ukraine set up a force of roughly 100 border soldiers to guard the island before the war. From the very beginning of its military action in Ukraine, Russia dispatched amphibious soldiers to take the island.
The island plays a significant role in regulating shipping lanes throughout the Black Sea, including access to the port of Odessa, despite having almost no natural resources or permanent military bases. Furthermore, it is one of the characteristics that distinguishes the exclusive economic zones of Romania and Ukraine, and it is crucial to Kiev’s maritime rights.
On June 30, the Russian Defense Ministry declared that its forces had left Snake Island after “completing the work” as a “goodwill gesture” to help Ukraine’s grain shipments. In the meantime, Ukraine claims that its artillery and missile counterattacks have driven Russia out.
On July 1, Alexey Chernyak, the deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma, affirmed that the country’s armed forces were still in charge of the island. But on July 4, Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian army’s Southern Operations Command, declared that Kiev had reclaimed command of Snake Island.
