‘Russian warship, go f*ck yourself’: Ukraine troops killed guarding strategic island
All 13 border guards stationed at remote Zmiinyi Island refuse to surrender to invading Russians; they will be posthumously awarded Hero of Ukraine medals, president says
Thirteen Ukrainian border guards killed Thursday while defending a strategic Black Sea island gave a defiant final message to the invading Russian military, according to an audio recording of the incident.
The 13 guards stationed at the remote Zmiinyi or Snake Island — some 40 kilometers from the border of Romania — were informed by a Russian warship that they should surrender or “be hit with a bomb strike.”
“Russian warship, go fuck yourself,” a Ukrainian border guard replied.
The audio recording, first obtained by Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda, has since been confirmed as authentic by Ukraine’s interior ministry, according to CNN and the Independent.
The guards were hailed as heroes by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky said in a video address that 137 “heroes” had been killed and 316 people wounded since the Russian invasion began on Thursday.
A group of Ukrainian border guards were stationed on Snake Island, in the Black Sea south of Odessa, when a Russian warship ordered them to surrender under threat of attack.
Their response: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."
They held their ground. All 13 were killed. pic.twitter.com/GMRsXQRSX0
— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) February 25, 2022
The dead included the 13 border guards who refused to surrender as the island was taken over by Russians, the Ukraine Foreign Ministry said.
They would be posthumously awarded Hero of Ukraine medals, Zelensky added.
Russia blatantly captured Ukrainian island #Zmiinyi, destroying the infrastructure. All 13 ???????? border guards were killed, refusing to surrender. They will be awarded the title «Hero of Ukraine» postmortem, says @ZelenskyyUa
Glory to Ukrainian heroes! ????????#StopRussianAggression pic.twitter.com/PWEIvqzxyJ
— MFA of Ukraine ???????? (@MFA_Ukraine) February 25, 2022
Two Russian vessels approached the island on Thursday after Russia President Vladimir Putin declared the start of an invasion at dawn.
“Propose to put down arms immediately to avoid bloodshed and unjustified deaths,” the ship called via loudspeakers.
Wow. It seems the Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island really did tell Russian warships to "go to hell" before they were killed. @unian pic.twitter.com/lRrXQDk3xQ
— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn) February 25, 2022
“In worst case, you will be hit with a bomb strike. I am repeating…,” they said, according to a translation by CNN.
Two Ukrainian guards are heard engaging in a brief exchange — “should I tell them to go f*ck themselves?” — before responding: “Russian warship, go f*ck yourself.”
