Ukrainian flag flies over Snake Island again! The banner is raised after Putin’s forces withdraw from a strategic and symbolic location where the Russian invaders were famously told: ‘Go f*** yourself!’
Ukraine has raised its flag over Snake Island after Russia withdrew last week
Colors were flown by volunteer unit Zgard as it visited the island for 15 minutes
Snake Island has always been and always will be Ukrainian,” said the guard
Spit of land became symbolic of resistance to Russian invasion when defenders memorably told an approaching warship to ‘f*** yourself’
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Ukraine’s flag flies over Snake Island for the first time since Vladimir Putin’s forces withdrew from the strategic island in a major victory for Kiev’s forces.
Troops from Special Volunteer Unit Zgard inspected the devastated Black Sea island and waved the blue-and-yellow national flag as a symbolic gesture of defiance.
Guards chief Arut Papoian said: ‘Snake Island has always been and always will be Ukrainian. And no temporary occupation will change that.
Ukrainian volunteer soldiers from the Zgard battalion visited Snake Island for 15 minutes after Russian troops withdrew last week, raising their flags over the small headland
Russia captured the island on the first day of the war, but it became symbolic of the Ukrainian resistance after its defenders memorably told an approaching warship to ‘f*** yourself’
“Our battalion was the first to visit Snake Island after the liberation. It was risky, but now our flag is flying on the island.
“Soon all of Ukraine will be liberated. We will win together.’
A source said: ‘The soldiers were on the island for 15 minutes. They put up flags, took selfies and evacuated to the mainland.’
Footage shows the destruction of infrastructure on the remote island.
Previous photos claiming to show the Ukrainian flag on Snake Island actually showed a pre-war scene.
The 100-acre Snake Island outpost has proved a valuable strategic position for both sides, about 80 miles off Ukraine’s southern Black Sea coastline.
Russia captured the island early in the war and has largely succeeded in retaining control of the island, but its forces there have been subject to bombing raids ever since.
In February, Ukraine’s Roman Hrybov Border Guard on Snake Island broadcast the famous “Russian warship, go f*** yourself” radio station to Russian officers aboard the Moskva.
Hrybov and his crew were presumed dead after the Moskva bombarded the island with artillery fire, but miraculously survived and received awards when they were returned to Ukrainian soil in captivity last month.
Russia had moved troops and anti-aircraft batteries to the island to provide cover for its naval forces, but was forced to withdraw after being shelled by Ukrainian artillery and fighter jets.
Explosions can be seen on Snake Island via thermal imaging as Ukraine shells it with artillery and jet bombers, before Russia decided to give up and withdraw