“Russians go get f … e.” They were 13 Ukrainian sailors, stationed on Snake Island, a Kiev-controlled islet 300 kilometers from Crimea in the western Black Sea. A remote island, but important for its strategic position. So when the Russians arrived, the 13 soldiers decided to get themselves killed rather than surrender.

Audio from Snake Island, Black Sea:

Russians: This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you? Ll be bombed.

Ukrainians: Russian warship, go fuck yourself.

They were all killed https://t.co/uNqh5b9L8C

– Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) February 24, 2022

In an audio, the voice of a Russian officer is heard saying: “This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest 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.

The recording was disseminated by several Ukrainian media including the Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrayinska Pravdaand was shared on social media by Anton Herashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry. The Russian Navy reportedly bombed the island with cannons from the deck of two ships, the “Moskva” and “Vasily Bykov”before sending soldiers aboard to take control of Snake Island.

In his speech after the first day of the invasion of his country, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the incident and announced the decision to posthumously award all soldiers the Hero of Ukraine medal. “All the border guards died heroically but did not give up,” Zelensky said. Zelensky confirmed that the 13 military who defended the outpost they were among at least 137 civilians and soldiers killed on the first day of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

The island of snakes – known as Zmiinyi island in Ukrainian – is located near the Ukrainian and Romanian coasts of the Black Sea and has been the subject of one territorial dispute between Russia and Ukraine. A marine research station is located on the island and its maritime borders embrace an area considered strategically important for energy resources, including oil.

The island was bombed Thursday by the Russian navy which took off from the Crimean ports, thus taking control of the stretch of sea off the coast of Ukraine. The location was chosen by Zelenskyy in August 2021 for a press event ahead of a summit on Crimea. “This island, like the rest of our territory, is Ukrainian land and we will defend it with all our strength,” the Ukrainian president said in an interview in August.

Before the invasion began, the Russian Navy mobilized six other ships from the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to strengthen amphibious capabilities in the Black Sea. The combined flotilla has the ability to land full-scale forces on the coast; some analysts have predicted that this force is large enough to be used for tactical operations, but too small to take on a strategic target as important as Odessa on its own. In the Mediterranean, however, a force of Russian Navy warships – including two Slava-class guided missile cruisers, designed and built to target aircraft carriers – were deployed for exercises before the invasion began. Shortly after hostilities began, this force gathered in compact formation and began sailing east, away from NATO forces and towards the Russian Navy base in Tartus, Syria. For this reason, on Thursday, the Ukrainian government officially asked the Turkish government to close the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles to Russian navy ships.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Hanna Malyar confirmed that at least 800 Russian personnel have been killed so far. Seven Russian air units, six helicopters, more than 30 tanks and 130 armored vehicles were shot down.