A Ukrainian soldier who told a Russian warship to "go f*** yourself" before he was captured by the invading force has returned home, Ukraine's Defence Ministry tweeted.
The soldier and his small squad had been defending a small island called Snake Island in the Black Sea during the early days of the Russian invasion in late February.
When a Russian warship challenged them to surrender, the soldier, in an audio clip of the incident that surfaced on social media, was heard bluntly replying, "Russian warship, go f*** yourself."
It was reported then that the small squad of Ukrainian soldiers defending Snake Island was killed. Later, Russian media reported that they were taken into captivity.
In the tweet today, Ukraine's Defence Ministry said, "Roman Hrybov, the author of the famous 'Russian warship, go f*** yourself' phrase, returned from Russian captivity to his native Cherkasy region. Glory to the Hero."
A photo accompanying the tweet shows Roman Hrybov receiving what appears to be a medal.
Over a month after Russia launched its invasion, it said it will "radically" reduce its military activity around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and the northern city of Chernigiv after "meaningful" progress in peace talks held in Istanbul.
Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the talks yielded the "most significant progress" since the war began.
