WAR IN UKRAINE: Ukrainian Op Targeting Snake Island Continues With Russian Anti-Aircraft System Targeted

Story By:  Ana MarjanovicSub-EditorMichael Leidig, Agency:  Newsflash

These images show how Ukrainian forces reportedly hit a Russian anti-aircraft missile system on Snake Island during an ongoing operation.

Snake Island, which is also known as Zmiiny Island, made international headlines, at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, 24th February, when a group of Ukrainian soldiers famously told a Russian warship that was demanding their surrender that it could “go f**k itself”.

The exchange between the Ukrainians and the Russians has been translated into English as follows:

Russian warship: “Snake Island, I, Russian warship, repeat the offer: put down your arms and surrender, or you will be bombed. Have you understood me? Do you copy?”

A first Ukrainian soldier can then be heard on audio saying to a second Ukrainian: “That’s it, then. Or, do we need to back the f**k off?”

The second Ukrainian then said to the first Ukrainian: “Might as well.”

The first Ukrainian soldier can then be heard communicating their reply to the Russians, saying: “Russian warship, go f**k yourself.”

The Russians then opened fire on the Ukrainian positions. It was at first thought that the Russians had pounded the Ukrainian soldiers into oblivion but it later emerged that they survived. They were detained by the Russians and regained their freedom during a prisoner exchange in late March.

The footage showing the Ukrainian forces hitting Snake Island, which is currently under Russian control, was obtained from the Operational Command “South” of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (OC South) along with a short statement issued on Monday, 27th June, saying that the images show how their “heterogeneous defence forces continue the operation on Zmiiny, inflicting new defeats on the enemy.

They added: “More than 10 hits were recorded, one of them on the anti-aircraft missile system ‘Pantsir-C1’, the rest of the results are being investigated.”

The Pantsir is a Russian group of missile systems that are self-propelled, mounted on vehicles, and geared towards taking down aircraft.

Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February in what the Kremlin is calling a “special military operation”. Today marks the 124th day of the invasion.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between 24th February and 27th June, Russia had lost about 35,000 personnel, 1,552 tanks, 3,687 armoured combat vehicles, 771 artillery units, 243 multiple launch rocket systems, 101 air defence systems, 217 warplanes, 184 helicopters, 636 drones, 137 cruise missiles, 14 warships, 2,575 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 60 units of special equipment.

At least 14 missiles have hit the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian offficials. The strikes come as G7 leaders meet in Bavaria, in Germany, for a three-day summit. Military support for Ukraine is at the top of the agenda. The G7 is made up of Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Other missiles have reportedly hit the central city of Cherkasy, as well as the strategically vital port city of Odesa.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the G7 leaders and said that he wanted the war to end before the end of the year. He repeated his request for anti-aircraft defence systems, as well as further sanctions on Russia. He also repeated his request for help to export grain from Ukraine.

Russian troops have been accused of pillaging vast quantities of grain from farmers in occupied areas of Ukraine, as well as other crops including sunflower seeds. They have also been accused of stealing fertiliser and agricultural equipment.

The eastern Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk is now in Russian hands after Ukrainian troops were ordered to retreat following weeks of siege.

The United Kingdom and the United States, as well as Japan and Canada, are set to ban imports of Russian gold. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the ban will “strike at the heart of Putin’s war machine”.

Last week, the European Union approved Ukraine’s application to become a candidate for admission to the bloc, which is currently made up of 27 countries. The decision was hailed in both Brussels and Kyiv as a “historic moment”, with President Zelenskyy saying that “Ukraine’s future is in the EU”.

Russian Foreign Ministry press secretary Maria Zakharova said that Moscow’s response to Lithuania banning the transit of goods, sanctioned by the EU, to Kaliningrad will not only be diplomatic but also practical. But Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte accused Russia of lying over the blockade, saying that people are still able to travel between Russia and Kaliningrad and that the blockade only affects 1 per cent of goods.

Russia conducted an anti-ship missile exercise in the Baltic Sea amid escalating tensions with NATO member Lithuania after the country blocked the transit of some goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.