Explained: Ukraine drives Russia out of Snake Island; why is this significant?
Explained: Ukraine drives Russia out of Snake Island; why is this significant?
Ukraine troops have taken the control of Snake Island in the Black Sea, which is occupied by Russia very early in the war. The Western commentator said on Thursday (June 30) that Russian retreat marked a big setback, and the possibility of weakening their control over the shipping route which was the key to Moscow’s strategic purposes.
Last week Ukraine said it had caused a “significant loss” for Russia in air strikes on the island. The blow is believed to be the success of the second big military using missiles given to the regime in Kyiv by the West.
Ukraine previously claimed the success of the use of Harpoon’s anti-capal missile, reported by Reuters, quoted British military intelligence.
What are the Ukrainian and Russian statements on this?
Both Moscow and Kyiv confirmed Russian retreats. Ukraine said Russia had surrendered to target the targets of the islands and Russian supply routes by missiles and artillery shots for more than a week.
The last Russian army has gone with two speedboats at night, said the Ukraine military. “There is no more Russia in Zmiinyi (the name of Ukraine for the island),” the New York Times quoted Andrii Yermak, Head of the Ukraine President’s Office, such as saying.
The Ukraine military said on Tuesday (June 28) that they had destroyed three anti-implantic missile systems that were recently installed by Russia on the island. Radar has been eliminated, as a result Russia can no longer help its troops on the island.
The Russian Ministry of Defense also said that he had left the island, but tried to paint it as a “goodwill signal” which “did not allow Kyiv to speculate about the future food crisis,” NYT reports said.
Russian warships and submarines in the Black Sea have blocked the exports of Ukraine seeds, which averaged 5 million tons per month before the war. The important port of Odessa in the West Black Sea is still under the control of Ukraine, but the western analyst said the withdrawal of Russia from Snake Island does not always mean that traffic from the port will be safer against Russian attacks.
What is the island’s importance?
Snake Island or Serpent, called Zmiinyi in Ukraine, is a rocky outcrops that extends less than 700 meters from end to end, and is often described as “X -shaped”. Located 35 km from the beach, to the east of the mouth of Danube and Kira -Kira southwest Odessa.
This island has been known since ancient times. Tales about it returned to the mythological Trojan war, Reuters reported. It has a long relationship with Achilles, an invincible mystical Greek soldier but because of his vulnerable heels.
Today, the island is marked on the map by the small village of Emiles located on it. The island is close to Romania Beach, with which Ukraine has a dispute – and which was completed in 2009 by the International Court, which withdrew the new maritime border between the two countries, a Reuters report said. Part of the black sea around the Snake Island is believed to have significant oil and gas reserves.
On February 24, Russia’s Day launched an invasion, two warships from the Russian Black Sea fleet, Vasily Biov and Moskva, attacked Snake Island, followed by Russian troops that landed on it. The salty response of a Ukraine soldier – “Russian warship, go alone” – quickly became a war legend. Ukraine issued a stamp that celebrated its defiance, and in April, destroyed Moskva, 600 feet seeded from the Black Sea fleet, which had attacked the island on day 1 war.
