Ukrainian soldiers believed to have died while defending an island after telling a Russian warship to “go fuck yourself”, may still be alive, according to Ukraine’s State Border Guard.
Initial reports said the 13 border guards had died after refusing to surrender Snake Island, which sits 186 miles (300km) west of Crimea, from a Russian air and sea bombardment on Thursday.
In his address after the first day of the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, announced he would posthumously award all the soldiers the Hero of Ukraine award. “All border guards died heroically but did not give up,” Zelenskiy said.
They had reportedly responded to an officer on board the Russian warship with a defiant: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself” when asked to lay down their weapons.
But in a recent statement posted on Facebook, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said: “We [have a] strong belief that all Ukrainian defenders of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island may be alive.”
“After receiving information about their possible location, the [border guard service] together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting work on identifying our soldiers.”
It said preliminary information that border guards may be dead came before the men had lost contact. “We sincerely hope that the boys will return home as soon as possible,” it said, adding that it hoped that reports of the soldiers’ death proved incorrect. “Glory to Ukrainian defenders!” it added.
Amid widespread admiration for the men’s bravery, the Republican senator for Nebraska, Ben Sasse, changed his Twitter bio to “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”
The Russian navy is reported to have bombarded the island with deck guns before sending soldiers to take control, according to the Maritime Executive, citing local media reports.
Snake Island – known as Zmiinyi Island in Ukrainian – is situated near the Ukrainian and Romanian coasts along the Black Sea, and has previously been the subject of a territorial dispute between the two countries.
A marine research station is situated on the island, and its maritime borders take in an area understood to be strategically important for resources including petroleum.
