Attack on Snake Island
Snake Island 2022
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2022 campaign. Battle of Fidonisi, 1788.
2022 Snake Island campaign Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Селище Біле, острів Зміїний (2008).jpg
2008.
February–June 2022 (4 months and 6 days)
Snake Island, Odesa Oblast
45°15′18′′N 30°12′15′′ECoordinates:
Ukrainian win[1].
[2] Kherson Woman in Battle of Kherson
24 February–30 June Russian control of Snake Island
Russia-Ukraine combatants
Ukrainian Army Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet
UAF
Ukraine's Strength 1 missile cruiser
Moskva[3] 1 patrol ship
Bykov
[3]
80 Ukrainian soldiers
[4]
Russian sources: 82 soldiers (24 February)
16. (25 February)
Damages
Russian seize
Non-Ukrainian Counterattacks
Ukrainian sources:
4-Raptor boats
"Serna"-class landing ship "Vasily Bekh" tugboat
3 air defenses
1 Mi-8 with personnel 3 Pantsir missile systems
Russian seize
Ukrainian sources: 80 captured
[4]
1 rescue boat taken.
Russian sources:
82 captured
6 vessels sank
Ukrainian Retaliation
Ukrainian sources: 10 dead, 1 boat.
[4] 1 Su-24MR, [5] [6] TB2 drone
2022 Black Sea Snake Island campaign 2022 Snake Island Black Sea location vte 2022 Russia invades Ukraine
The Russian Navy conquered Snake Island, a Ukrainian Black Sea island, and its garrison on February 24, 2022, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. An audio tape of Russian cruiser Moskva addressing the island's garrison over the radio demanding their surrender and being told "Russian warship, go fuck yourself" (Russian: "Russky voyenny korabl, idi na khuy") went viral, along with initial false reports of the garrison's fatalities. [7] [8] Later, a civilian search and rescue ship seeking to evacuate the soldiers was captured along with the garrison. Prisoner exchanges released the ship, crew, and one soldier.
Ukraine used anti-ship missiles against Russian naval forces and air, artillery, and missile strikes against Russian positions on the island after capturing the island. On 30 June 2022, Russia left the island after 126 days. Ukraine denies that Russian bombing on the island continued, causing Ukrainian military casualties.
Contents
Russia's capture
Ukrainian military and civilian sailors
3.1 Release
4-Ukrainian counterattacks
Russian shelling of reclaimed Snake Island
6 Analysis
7 Legacy
Likewise
9 References
Background
Snake Island is a small rocky island in the Black Sea off Ukraine's southwestern coast, 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Romania's shore.
[9]
[10]
[11] Its strategic location allows its ruler to blockade Odesa and rule most of the Black Sea, including Constanta. The island's exclusive economic zone contains large hydrocarbon deposits. [12] Bile, built in 2007, is the island's only settlement. [13]
"This island, like the rest of our territory, is Ukrainian land, and we will defend it with all our strength," Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed at a press conference on the island in August 2021, as Russian soldiers surrounded Ukraine.
[11]
Russian capture
Russian Navy cruiser Moskva and patrol ship Vasily Bykov (right).
The Russian cruiser Moskva and patrol ship Vasily Bykov attacked Snake Island at 18:00 local time on February 24, 2022, the opening day of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine[3].
[16]
External video
YouTube logo. Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island tell Russian ship, "Go fuck yourself"—audio on YouTube—via The Guardian.
"Russian vessel, go fuck yourself," said Roman Hrybov, a border guard, after the Russian warship announced itself and ordered the Ukrainian soldiers on the island to surrender. (Russky voyenny korabl, idi na khuy). [18] [19] Anton Herashchenko, a Ukrainian government official, uploaded an audio tape of the dialogue, which Ukrayinska Pravda widely published and Ukrainian government sources certified as legitimate. [21] [22]
A Ukrainian border guard livestream the Russian warship's firing.
The State Border Guard Service reported that island connectivity had been severed later that evening.
[24] Service officials reported at 22:00 (01:00 Moscow Time, UTC+2) that Russian forces had taken the island after a naval and air bombardment destroyed all infrastructure. [25] [26] After the bombardment, a Russian unit took Snake Island. [27]
On 25 February 2022, a squadron of 16 Ukrainian Navy boats assaulted Russian vessels off Snake Island, sinking six of them, according to the Russian authorities.
[28] The Russian government also accused the US of providing intelligence to the Ukrainian squadron during the incident. USA denied involvement. [29]
Ukrainian authorities said that the Russian Navy had taken Sapfir off Snake Island on February 26, 2022.
[30]
Ukrainian military and civilian sailors
According to Ukrainian government sources, 13 border guards—the entire Ukrainian military force on the island—were slain after refusing to surrender.
[31]
Zelenskyy declared the border guards Heroes of Ukraine posthumously.
[19]
Russian defense media said that 82 Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered and were transferred to Sevastopol [22].
[33] Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said the inmates had signed promises not to fight Russia and would be released soon. [34]
Based on Russian reports that the guards were prisoners of war, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said they may have been captured [35].
[36] It stated on 26 February 2022 that "all Ukrainian defenders of Snake Island may be alive". [37] On February 28, 2022, the Ukrainian Navy stated on Facebook that all island border guards were alive and detained by the Russian Navy. [38] [39]
Release
Russia exchanged Sapfir and 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors on March 24, 2022. Ukraine said Deputy Prime Minister Vereshchuk was seeking to liberate Snake Island prisoners. [40]
The soldier who insulted the ship was released in a prisoner exchange and granted a Ukrainian medal on March 30.
[41]
Ukrainian retaliation
See also: Moskva sinking and 2022 Odesa bombing.
Ukrainian anti-ship missiles fired from Odesa sank the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva on April 14. This led Russia to withdraw its ships outside the missile range, leaving the island exposed and making naval replenishment of the occupying forces difficult. [42]
Odesa Oblast's 2S22 Bohdana shelling Snake Island.
From 26 to 30 April, OC South claimed strikes against Russian forces on the island damaged a control station, two Strela-10 anti-aircraft missile complexes, and 42 Russian servicemen.
[43]
[44]
[45]
[46]
A Baykar Bayraktar TB2 drone sank two Russian Raptor patrol and landing boats at daybreak on 2 May after Ukrainian Air Force Command South claimed to have attacked Snake Island and destroyed Russian equipment [47]. The boats were hit by guided bombs and exploded and burned on video. [48] [49]
Ukraine officials showed footage of a Ukrainian drone destroying a Black Sea Russian Serna-class landing craft on Snake Island on 7 May.
[50]
[51] Ukrainian Baykar Bayraktar TB2 drones destroyed two Tor surface-to-air missile launchers, one of which was being unloaded from the Serna-class landing ship, possibly opening the way for two Ukrainian Su-27s undertaking a high-speed, low-level bombing mission that day; [52]
Satellite pictures support footage [53].
[54] The TB2's first aerial kill, a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian Mi-8 on Snake Island, was disclosed later [54]. Reuters confirmed. [56] TB2 drones also damaged two or three Raptor-class patrol boats. [57] [58] The same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated Russian forces repulsed Ukrainian attempts to seize Snake Island. [59] Ukrainian media reported 10 deaths and the assault craft Stanislav on 7 May. [4] [60]
On 9 May, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych warned that the Russian army holding the island allows Ukraine to repeatedly attack Russian targets.
[56] According to the UK Ministry of Defense, Russia was trying to reinforce an exposed garrison on the island after Ukraine successfully launched drone assaults against resupply vessels and air defenses. [61] Ukraine and Russia need the island's military status. [62]
On 12 May, Ukraine claimed it had targeted Russian logistics ship Vsevolod Bobrov on Snake Island while it was delivering an air defense system, forcing it to catch fire and be pulled back to Sevastopol. No casualties were reported, and Russia did not comment. [63] [64] Maxar Technologies got a satellite photograph showing a Russian Serna-class landing craft evading a Ukrainian missile the same day. [65]
The Russian Defense Ministry said a Ukrainian Su-24 was shot down near the island on 16 May.
[66]
Ukraine sank the Russian tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh with two Harpoon missiles on June 17, stopping it from transferring weaponry and troops and pushing Russia to reconsider their island posture.
[42]
[67][68][69] Three days later, Ukrainian soldiers destroyed gas platforms near the island that Russian forces had been using by installing radio jamming devices. [70] [71] Ukraine claimed the destruction of military vehicles, anti-aircraft, and radar equipment, including a Pantsir-S1,[72] which Russia disputed. [16] The Drive doubts Russian claims that they intercepted all incoming shots, destroyed 13 drones, and thwarted an amphibious assault. [73]
Ukrainian officials released footage of 10 precise island attacks on 27 June. The strike destroyed another Pantsir-S1. Russian MoD claimed Pantsir killed 12 rockets and a Ukrainian Su-25. [74] Ukraine's southern command said the island was being recaptured. [70]
Island view on 30 June 2022 morning.
Regular attacks on the island and its resupply ships made the Russian position untenable.
[42] Ukrainian officials said Russian Su-35 warplanes bombed Ukrainian rocket and artillery sites in the Odesa Oblast to limit the intensity of Ukrainian attacks on Snake Island. Ukrainians reported no casualties or damage from three Kh-31D missiles. Ukrainian soldiers claimed to have shot down a Ka-52 helicopter approaching the island on June 29. [75] [76]
Russian forces retreated on June 30, a propaganda coup and big Ukrainian success.
[77][78] Russia claimed that their troops had completed their tasks and that the move was a "goodwill gesture" to demonstrate that Russia was not preventing the establishment of a shipping corridor to export grain from Odesa,[79] while Ukraine claimed that they forced the Russians to withdraw in two speedboats through artillery and missile attacks;[80] photos show the island enveloped in smoke.
[81]
Russian shelling regained Snake Island
According to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, two Russian Su-30s struck the island with phosphorus bombs around 18:00 on July 1.
[82]
[83] Ukrainian officials believe these attacks were an attempt to burn weapons and equipment left behind. [84]
July 2022: Snake Island soldiers raise the Ukrainian flag.
The island was totally reclaimed by the Ukrainian Operational Command South on July 4.
[85]
On July 7, the Russian Defence Ministry announced that its aircraft had launched another missile strike against Snake Island, killing several Ukrainian troops.
[86] Two missiles hit the island, "seriously damaging" a pier. Ukrainian sources reported no casualties. [87]
Analysis
Snake Island, a small, unremarkable island, has been described as strategically valuable, in addition to its symbolic value for Ukrainian resistance due to the famous exchange between the Ukrainian garrisons and the Moskva at the start of the invasion. Russia could use the island to establish long-range air defense, cruise missiles, and electronic warfare assets to cover the northwestern Black Sea and southern Ukraine, as well as reinforce its naval blockade and control civilian vessel traffic. Odesa's port exports most of Ukraine's agriculture. [88] [89] [90] Russia could also strengthen its presence in Transnistria, Moldova's breakaway region, if it controlled the island. Since Romania is 28 miles (45 km) from Snake Island, a Russian-controlled island poses a major security threat to NATO. British naval analyst Jonathan Bentham and Romanian historian Dorin Dobrincu believe Russia's S-400 missile system would threaten NATO's southern flank. Russia can blockade naval traffic between the northwestern Black Sea and the Danube Delta with Snake Island, according to military-political analyst Alexander Mikhailov. Romania's economy would suffer from a Russian port blockade. Romania's Euro-Atlantic Resilience Centre believes Russia wants to annex Snake Island to control as many shipping routes to Turkey's Bosphorus Strait.
The cruiser Moskva's loss weakened Russia's Black Sea naval threat, particularly its air defense. The loss of such a large vessel and the air defense void left for the Russian Black Sea fleet may have emboldened the Ukrainian forces to attack the Russian-occupied Snake Island. Russian forces on Snake Island became increasingly isolated and vulnerable after the Battle of Mykolaiv stalled and reversed their advances. [91] [92] After the Moskva's loss and Ukrainian airstrikes, Russian forces improved Snake Island's air defenses. These included Pantsir and Tor missile deployments. [93] [94] However, the isolated location of Snake Island left resupply ships vulnerable to attacks, which the Ukrainian forces exploited and the US Department of Defense credits for forcing the Russian forces to abandon Snake Island. [95] Pro-Russian reporters credit the French CAESAR self-propelled howitzer and Western weapons, such as Harpoon anti-ship missiles, for Ukraine's success in forcing the Russians to leave the island. [71] [96]
Ukraine's use of TB2 drones to attack Snake Island highlighted drone warfare's growing importance and TB2's service record. TB2s were expected to be vulnerable to Russian air defense systems, so their successful attacks surprised observers. Retired naval officer and defense analyst Tayfun Ozberk attributed the TB2's success on Snake Island to several factors. First, while not stealthy, the TB2's low radar cross-section, low altitude, and slow speed make it hard for radars to track. Second, the drone's deep learning algorithm improves its next mission. Third, the TB2's modular design lets it be assembled and disassembled quickly in areas where larger aircraft or UAVs can't operate. This would help drones survive Russian air strikes on Ukrainian air bases. Fourth, the TB2 resists complex electronic warfare. This, combined with Russian personnel turning off radar and electronic equipment to reduce radio frequency emission, created a perfect storm for Ukrainian TB2s to inflict serious damage on Russian forces. [97]
7 July 2022 island debris
After Russia left the island, the US DoD and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Ukraine could better defend Odesa and nearby coastal regions.
[95]
[98] Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, stressed the importance of Russia's retreat by saying that Russian signals intelligence could monitor the Odesa Oblast, Bessarabia, and Transnistria from the island. [99]
Both sides have accused each other of attacks and damage throughout the campaign. The Drive, a sister publication to The War Zone, and the ISW doubt Russian claims of repeatedly repelling Ukrainian attacks because they are never backed up by evidence. Satellite imagery and combat footage support Ukrainian claims. [98] [73]
On 14 May, Ukrainian intelligence reported that only eight of 40 Russian officers deployed to Snake Island returned to Sevastopol alive. Ukrainian intelligence and a Wagner mercenary also claimed Russian Special Operations Forces died on the island. [55] [100] Forbes estimated that Russia lost $915 million in Snake Island equipment, three-quarters of which belonged to Moskva cruiser. [101]
Legacy
"Russian warship, go fuck yourself!" Ukrainian stamp
"Russian warship, go fuck yourself!" became a rallying cry for Ukrainians and their supporters worldwide.
[102] The Week compared the phrase to "Remember the Alamo" from the 19th-century Texas Revolution. [103]
In March 2022, the Ukrainian government announced a postage stamp honoring Snake Island soldiers. Boris Groh's design of a Ukrainian soldier on a beach flipping off a Russian warship won a public vote. [104]
According to Ukraine, two R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles fired from offshore in or near Odesa exploded and burned the warship Moskva, which the Ukrainians had told to "go fuck yourself," on April 13, 2022.
[105] On 14 April, the Russians tried to tow the damaged ship to Sevastopol, but she sank. [106] [107]