Ukrainian soldiers who were reported to have been killed on the Black Sea’s "Snake Island," after telling a Russian warship to "go f**k yourself" may actually be alive, according to Ukraine’s State Border Guard, The Guardian reported on Sunday.
Initial reports on the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday had been that 13 border guards stationed on Snake Island, which is 300 kilometers west of Crimea, had died after refusing to surrender to the Russians.
The island has been part of a territorial dispute between the two countries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had announced that “all border guards died heroically but did not give up,” adding that he would posthumously award all the servicemen the Hero of Ukraine distinction.
But the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has since posted a statement on Facebook that "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," the statement continued.
It added that "we sincerely hope that the boys will return home as soon as possible" and hoped "that reports of the soldiers' death proved incorrect."
The Russian navy is reported to have bombarded the island with deck guns before sending in soldiers to take control of it, The Maritime Executive reported.
The maritime borders are in an area that is of strategic important for petroleum and other resources, with the island also containing a marine research station.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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