Ukraine says it has pushed Russian forces from
Snake Island
Winning back vital Black Sea island could weaken any
future Russia coastal land attack
Isobel
Koshiw
Thu 30 Jun
2022 11.51 BST
Ukrainian
forces say they have pushed Russian forces from Snake Island, a strategic Black
Sea island off the southern coast near the city of Odesa.
If Ukraine
were to retake the island it would weaken any plans Russia may have for a
future land attack on that stretch of coastline.
Valeriy
Zaluzhnyi, the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, said Ukrainian-made Bohdana
howitzers had played an important role in routing Russian forces from Snake
Island, and he thanked foreign partners for their support.
Russia’s
ministry of defence stated that it had completed its assigned tasks and was
tactically withdrawing to allow for grain exports from Ukraine’s Black Sea
ports.
“In order
to organise humanitarian grain corridors as part of the implementation of joint
agreements reached with the participation of the UN, the Russian Federation
decided to leave its positions on Zmiinyi Island,” the defence ministry said.
Ukrainian
forces also reported a small win in the country's southern Kherson region,
which has been occupied by Russian forces since the very beginning of the
invasion. Ukrainian forces now control the Kherson village of Potomkine,
according to Ukraine's military.
Ukraine
said it had forced Russian troops to flee overnight on two speed boats. The
statement, by Ukraine’s southern command, said explosions could still be heard
and the island was covered in smoke, appearing to indicate that battles were
continuing.
Snake
Island was made famous when Russia first captured it in February. A Ukrainian
soldier posted on the island told an attacking Russian warship to “go fuck
yourself”, which has become one of the most popular Ukrainian slogans of
resistance since the invasion.
The
Ukrainian postal service issued a stamp showing a Ukrainian soldier giving the
finger to the Russian cruiser Moskva.
The
blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports by Russia has caused grain prices to
soar, threatening famine in several countries.
Ukraine’s
military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said in May that the island was
critically important to both Russia and Ukraine. He said whoever controlled
Snake Island controlled the land – and to some extent air – security of
southern Ukraine. He said at the time that Ukraine believed Russia could use
the island to launch an invasion of western Ukraine and send troops into
Moldova’s Transnistria region, where Moscow already has troops stationed.
An adviser
to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, Vadym Denysenko, told Ukrainian TV that Snake
Island’s recapture was a “huge victory” for Ukraine. He said that after Ukraine
had destroyed Russia’s Mosvka warship, Russians wanted to turn Snake Island
into a sort of aircraft carrier, by installing anti-aircraft defence systems.
They would then use it to control the entire western part of the Black Sea and
launch a land invasion, he said.
“Now the
Russians cannot do anything in this area of the sea, except, unfortunately,
shell Ukrainian cities with missiles from their ships,” Denysenko said.
Ukraine’s
armed forces have reported carrying out several attacks on the island since it
was captured. On 2 May the army released a video of strikes carried on two
Russian patrol boats near Snake Island.
Attacks
increased on the island in the last two weeks. A spokesperson for Ukrainian’s
southern command said on Monday that there was “ongoing operation” to liberate
the island but it was likely to go on for a long time. The southern command
also released a video showing 10 strikes on the island, one of which allegedly
shows the destruction of a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defence system.
The
previous week, on 17 June, Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian tugboat that
they said was carrying ammunition, weapons and personnel to the island. On 20
June Ukraine targeted gas platforms near Snake Island that Russia had
reportedly been using. The explosion was so loud that people in Vylkove, the
nearest Ukrainian land settlement, could hear it, according to residents
interviewed by the Economist.
On 22 June
Ukraine published a satellite image of the island. It said black dots
represented places where it had successfully attacked Russian positions.
Russia
appears to have responded by sending missiles into the Odesa region. Ukraine
said six people were injured in the attack, including a child.
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