In the first hours of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, one of the tragic and yet valiant stories that came to light featured 13 Ukrainian border soldiers on Zymiinyi Island, refusing to surrender despite the insurmountable odds.
After receiving an ultimatum from a Russian warship “to lay down their weapons and surrender to avoid needless bloodshed and casualties”, or they would be bombed, they chose to die as patriots rather than betray their home country.
“Russian military warship, go fuck yourselves,” were the Ukrainian soldiers’ final words.
It has also become a rallying war cry for Ukrainian to fight for their freedom and sovereignty against Russia’s imposition and creeping occupation.
Importance of Zymiinyi Island
Zymiinyi Island, otherwise known as “Snake Island”, sits 35 kilometres away from the closest Romanian city of Sulina, and 50 kilometres away from the nearest Ukrainian city of Vylkove.
It is also a mere 70 nautical miles from Russia and 132 miles from the Russian-annexed Crimea.
Its strategic geographical location on the Black Sea, in spite of being a mostly uninhabited strip of land, cannot be understated.
Should the island fall into Russia’s hands, it will allow the Kremlin to have unfettered dominion over the Black Sea, enabling its troops to enter the Southern borders of Ukraine through Odessa or the annexed Crimea.
Russia’s intentions of overtaking the Southern theatres of war are blatantly displayed through the shelling of Odessa and Mariupol, two strategic ports that Ukraine needs, since the country will be otherwise landlocked.
Since Mariupol is situated along the coast of the Sea of Azov, which requires vessels to go through the Kerch Strait, it has effectively been blockaded by Russia when it built the Kerch bridge that connected Crimea to mainland Russia.
The occupation of Snake Island is simply another pitstop to ensure that nothing slips past the Russian navy in the Black Sea.
Zymiinyi Soldiers Might Be Alive
On 26 February, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine announced in a statement on Facebook: “We [have a] strong belief that all Ukrainian defenders of Zymiinyi Island may be alive.”
It added: “After receiving information about their possible locations, the [border guard service] together with the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting work on identifying our soldiers.”
It mentioned that the initial presumption that the border guards may have met their demise came before the men lost contact.
The reason for the loss of communication was because the infrastructure had been destroyed from the bombardment.
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“We sincerely hope that the boys will return home as soon as possible,” the statement continues, hoping that the reports of the soldiers being Killed-in-Action (KIA) are incorrect.
Lastly, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine’s post reads: “Glory to Ukrainian defenders!”
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Contradictory Photographs from Russia
While Ukraine had been quick to jump to conclusions about the state of the Ukrainian soldiers, be it from the last audio recordings received or the short Twitter video that had been streamed moments before the shelling occurred on the small island, Russia tried to offer a different perspective.
Kyiv’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy had even posthumously honoured the 13 soldiers as heroes in his evening speech on 24 Feb.
Their deaths had also been used as a call for every man or woman in Ukraine to stand up and fend against the Russian troops, wherein the nation was willing to provide weapons to those with will and mettle to fight against the invaders.
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Contrariwise, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed that the Ukrainian soldiers were still alive after they “voluntarily” surrendered to the Russian warship.
On 25 February (Ukrainian time), photographs of said Ukrainian border soldiers were captured boarding buses and being given bottled water and food.
Moscow has even declared that the servicemen will be released and allowed to return to their families.
Oddly enough, the Russian invaders reported that there were a total of 82 Ukrainian soldiers that surrendered to Russia on their own accord, which contradicts the small contingency of 13 that Ukrainian officials spoke of.
Where did the additional 69 soldiers come from?
In the first picture alone, there are already 19 soldiers, 6 more than what was originally declared.
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Moreover, the statement from Russia did make any mention of bombardments being carried out or any resulting casualties on the island.
It is highly suspect, considering how the Twitter video featured a soldier ducking down as bombing noises rang out, and there has been another video which showed the huge damage dealt to Zymiinyi Island after the bombardments.
Ukrainian soldier deployed on Snake Island live streamed the moment a Russian warship opened fire on the Island.
13 soldiers died in the attack. pic.twitter.com/FDe92rYYVR
— C O U P S U R E (@COUPSURE) February 24, 2022
Next, the Russian media reported that the Ukrainian soldiers on Zymiinyi island have been escorted to Sevastopol in Crimea since.
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Alas, the authenticity of the information is unconfirmed, unless the families of the 13 Ukrainian border guards are made to step forward to identify their kin in the photographs provided by the Russian media.
Truth or Falsehood
Despite the announcement of the Ukrainian border guards having a sliver of hope of surviving, the widespread notion that these men had died honourably has not been affected in the least.
Whether it is the Russian media’s attempt to create a narrative that the Ukrainians had “willingly” surrendered, like they were accepting the fact that they belonged to Russia and saw no reason to fight, or Ukraine later clarifying that rumours of their death might have been exaggerated, it has not caused a single ripple as opposed to the tidal waves of emotion and patriotism their deaths have brought.
Which is truth, propaganda, or a fabricated lie is hard to tell, especially given how quickly events happen and there’s an overload of information in this technological era where news promulgates as quickly as the electronic waves can carry them.
Regardless, the thought that the feisty and unyielding Ukrainian soldiers might still be out there, fighting tooth and nail for their lives, does bring a glimmer of hope.
For their families, it’s the barest thread that they can hold onto, instead of having to weep for their loss.
Read Also:
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- China Still Refuses to Call Russia’s Attacks as an Invasion
Featured Image: YouTube (The Telegraph)
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