500 days after the start of the war, Zelensky visits Snake Island
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski visited Snake Island in the Black Sea, where Kiev won a prestigious victory at the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The visit comes as Saturday marks 500 days since Moscow launched its war of aggression against Ukraine, reports Agerpres.
"Today, we are on the Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupier, just like the rest of Ukraine, because we are the country of courage," the Ukrainian head of state said in an undated video broadcast on social media on Saturday, AFP reports.
"I want to thank here, from this place of victory, each and every one of our servicemen for these 500 days," Zelensky also said in this video in which he can be seen arriving aboard a ship on the island and laying flowers at a memorial.
Shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Russian army took control of this island, a rocky outcrop strategically located a few dozen kilometres from the shore, where a small contingent of Ukrainian soldiers was stationed.
The Russian cruiser Moskva had asked the military to surrender, but they refused and sent the message "Russian ship, go to hell" during a radio exchange that became internet-famous and was later reproduced on stamps printed in Ukraine.
Eventually, the Ukrainian servicemen were captured and were subsequently included in a prisoner exchange with Russian servicemen. Later, the Moskva cruiser sank in the Black Sea after being hit - according to Kiev authorities - by Ukrainian missiles. Instead, Moscow claimed an explosion on board the ship.
Ukraine managed to liberate the Snake Island on 30 June 2022. The Russian defence ministry described the Russian withdrawal at the time as "a gesture of goodwill", recalls EFE.
