31 May 2024 , 18:48
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Nineteen Ukrainian heroes from Snake Island have finally returned home after a landmark prisoner exchange with Russia.
The troops became an international symbol of Ukraine's resistance at the start of the brutal war over two years ago when they told a Russian warship: "Go f**k yourself."
They were along 75 PoWs from each side swapped in a new release deal. On the Ukrainian side it also included defenders of the radioactive Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which briefly fell under Russian control during the invasion, and fighters from Mariupol.
The returnees were seen singing a patriotic song led by former PoW Konstantin Mirgorodsky as they were driven to meet their families following months of captivity.
Ukraine's heroes of Snake Island have finally been freed after 27 months as prisoners of war (Koord_shtab / East2west News)In the famous audio clip which spread across the world in February 2022, a soldier from a Russian military ship was heard telling the Ukrainian guards to “lay down your arms immediately to avoid bloodshed and unjustified deaths” or else face bombardment. The guards responded “Russian warship, go f*** yourself" in a rallying cry which quickly became symbolic of the staunch Ukrainian defence.
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Ukrainian defenders on the island then spent more than 800 days in Russian captivity. The Russians grabbed the island but later retreated in a humiliating setback for Vladimir Putin which was styled bizarrely a “gesture of goodwill” by Moscow.
The troops became famous around the world for their three-word retort to invading Russian forces (Koord_shtab / East2west News)The Russian vessel - the Moskva, flagship of the Black Sea Fleet - was later sunk in a Ukrainian missile strike, perhaps Putin's biggest single setback of the war. The strategic rock outcrop was visited by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the 500th day of the war.
He said today: ”Throughout all of this time, we have not stopped working for a single day to bring everyone home from Russian captivity. We remember every person. We are making every effort to find each and every one of our people. I am grateful to the team responsible for the exchanges.”
The Ukrainians were among 75 prisoners from each side swapped in the deal with Russia (Ombudsman of Ukraine / East2west News)Another emotional returnee today was Ukrainian policewoman Maryana Chechelyuk, 24, who had been feared dead after being held in Olenivka detention centre where dozens of Ukrainians PoWs died in a massacre. The young police officer had been in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol when defenders surrendered to Putin’s forces. She was separated from her younger sister and taken to a brutal filtration camp.
The same number of Russians - 75 - were also returned home in a swap brokered by the United Arab Emirates. It was the first PoW exchange since February.