Ukraine Operational Command South/Handout via Reuters
Russian forces controlling Ukraine’s Snake Island have been forced to flee on speed boats after the Ukrainian military launched a brutal offensive to take it back.
“Operational Command South confirms the Russian occupiers have left Snake Island. They couldn’t stand the weather, the ground was burning under their feet, the sea was boiling, the air was too hot. P.S. Russian warships go f*ck yourselves!” Ukraine’s Defense Ministry tweeted early Thursday.
The announcement came after Operational Command South reported that Russian troops had “hurriedly” evacuated from the island on two speed boats overnight. Footage of the island, a strategic outpost in the Black Sea, showed fire and black plumes of smoke after the Ukrainian offensive.