Ukraine says it will posthumously honour a group of Ukrainian border guards who were killed defending a tiny island in the Black Sea during a multi-pronged Russian invasion.
Ukraine lost contact with its forces on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, a speck of land south of the port of Odessa, on Thursday after Russia conducted strikes from air and sea, Kyiv said.
A Ukrainian official said 13 soldiers had been killed and he circulated an audio clip that he and media outlet Ukrainskaya Pravda said was an exchange between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims. Otherwise you will be bombed."
The 13 heroes of #UKRAINE ???????? army soldiers who were stationed on snake island in the audio, one says ‘This is it ‘ they are heard telling #Russian warship to go ‘fuck yourself' all died defending just 25 miles away from #NATO Territory #Ukrainian #UkraineInvasion #RussianArmy pic.twitter.com/fDdCVuc0Cz
— Bahaka (@Petebahaka) February 25, 2022
"Russian warship, go fu*k yourself," came the reply.
Ukrainian soldier deployed on Snake Island live streamed the moment a Russian warship opened fire on the Island.
— C O U P S U R E (@COUPSURE) February 24, 2022
13 soldiers died in the attack. pic.twitter.com/FDe92rYYVR
Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister, said Russia then began strikes.
The authenticity of the recording could not be independently verified by Reuters.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy promised in a speech summarising Thursday's fighting to decorate the deceased border guards.
"On our Zmiinyi Island, defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically. But they did not give up. All of them will be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine," he said in comments on his website.
On Friday, Russia's defence ministry said 82 Ukrainian soldiers on the island had surrendered to them voluntarily. It made no mention of carrying out strikes or inflicting casualties.
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