They challenged Russia like William Wallace did England. They sacrificed their lives in order not to surrender to the enemy. Under the banner of “you can take our lives, but not our freedom”. And now they are the heroes Ukraine clings to. Those who, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised, “will receive a posthumous medal”. They are the thirteen border guards of Snake Island who do not give up in front of the artillery of the Russian warship.
There is an audio in which the voice of a Russian officer is heard: “This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest that you lay down your arms and surrender to avoid unnecessary bloodshed and losses. Otherwise you will be bombed ». Then, silence and the answer: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.” And finally, the sound of the bombs.
But among them there is also the engineer Vitaliy who alone goes to blow up a strategic bridge, and on leaving he says goodbye to his companions. That of the Island of the Snakes is an impossible resistance that has become a symbol of an entire country: thirteen soldiers guarding this strip of territory in the Black Sea, a few hundred meters of meadows and a lighthouse 45 kilometers off the coast of Romania, strategic for the sea routes to Odessa and the Balkans. An outpost that has always had its importance (the Russians and Turks had already disputed it at the end of the eighteenth century in what took the battle name of Fidonisi), so much so that last August Zelenskiy had come to the island to guarantee: ” Like the rest of our territory, this is Ukrainian land, and we will defend it with all our strength ».
The alarm goes off at 5 pm on February 24, and at 9 pm contacts with the outpost in the middle of the sea are interrupted. Soon after, the Ukrainian authorities report that the island fell into Russian hands, after a bombardment from the air and from the sea. All thirteen Ukrainian soldiers were killed.
And Zelenskiy confirmed the fall of the men and women guarding Zmiinyi in a message on Telegram: “All the defenders of Snake Island are dead, but they haven’t given up.” And he has announced that he will be awarded the title of “heroes of Ukraine”.