The Ukrainian authorities raised the national flag at Snake Island on Monday after Russian troops withdrew from region.
The Ukrainian flag was raised at Snake Island located in the Black Sea on Monday. (Photo from @MFA_Ukraine on Twitter)
Ukraine raised its flag over Snake Island in the Black Sea on Monday. Military officials said the national flag was raised after Russian troops withdrew from the region last week.
Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, while addressing a news conference said, “The military operation has been concluded, and… the territory (Snake Island) has been returned to the jurisdiction of Ukraine.” According to officials, Ukrainian troops drove the Russian forces out after an armed assault.
The #Ukrainian flag is on Snake Island. #Ukraine’s state symbols will be returned to every corner of our country.#SlavaUkraine #GloryToUkraine#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/ik76qOcfOf
— MFA of Ukraine (@MFA_Ukraine) July 4, 2022
However, Russia had said it withdrew its forces from the island last Thursday as a “gesture of goodwill” to prove that it was not standing in the way of the attempts made by the United Nations to open a humanitarian corridor for grains to be shipped from Ukraine.
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STRATEGIC REGION IN UKRAINE WAR
The island located just 22 miles from the shores of Nato member Romania had become one of the most talked about pieces of land during the war. Also known as Zmiinyi Island, the island was under Moscow’s command from February before it was taken back by Ukraine last week.
A Ukrainian soldier’s defiant response to the Russian warship Moskva, which had asked troops there to surrender, was adopted as a popular battle cry. The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was subsequently sunk in April.
Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday said it had ceded the territory in conjunction with the UN-brokered agreement. The announcement came after Kyiv reported the launch of a barrage of strikes on the island.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov had earlier said that control of Snake Island would mean dominance over the land and, to some extent, the air security of southern Ukraine.
Analysts said Russia’s withdrawal from Snake Island off Ukraine’s southwestern coast could loosen its blockade on Ukrainian ports.