Zelenskyy announced the exchange of captured Russian navy men from Zmiyiniy Island
Sunday, March 27, 2022, 23:12
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that some Ukrainian navy men from Zmiyiniy Island had died, some had been taken prisoner and exchanged for Russian military personnel.
Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with Russian journalists
Verbatim: "Some of them died. Some were taken prisoner. All those who had been taken prisoner were exchanged - there was an exchange of prisoners with the Russian Federation. Russia approached us with this proposal. Without hesitation, we exchanged them. That's all. Those who died are, frankly, heroes. And those who survived - men, we made an exchange, and that’s it."
Background: On March 23, Iryna Vereshchuk, Minister for the Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, expressed hope that Ukraine would soon exchange captured Russian naval personnel for Ukrainian navy men from Zmiyiniy Island.
There is no other official information available about the exchange of naval personnel.
More Background:
On February 24, two unrecognised targets approached Zmiyiniy Island. The aggressors demanded that the Izmail Border Troops surrender under the aggressors’ threats. The aggressor used the international channel of safety of navigation communication. The aggressors fired on Zmiyiniy Island from shipboard weapons, then used combat aircraft.
The State Border Guard Service reported that communication with border guards on Zmiyiniy Island was lost, and the island was probably seized by the aggressor in the late evening on February 24.
The border guards and the Armed Forces of Ukraine later received a gleam of hope that all the defenders of Zmiyiniy Island were still alive. Russian media reported that 82 defenders of Snake Island had been taken to the port of Sevastopol.
Border patrol is doing everything to secure the return the defenders of the Zmiyiniy Island.
At the beginning of the war, the defenders of the Ukrainian Zmiyiniy Island’s retort, "Russian warship, go f* yourself!" became a catchphrase and is now known all over the world. Ukrposhta committed to dedicating a postage stamp to these events.
