(Kyiv) The Ukrainian army congratulated itself on Thursday for having forced the Russians, “unable to resist the fire of our artillery”, to withdraw from Serpents’ Island, “strategic” territory in the Black Sea, occupied since the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Posted at 10:27
“I thank the defenders of the Odessa region who have done their utmost to liberate a strategically important territory”, welcomed on Telegram the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valeriï Zaloujniï.
“Unable to resist the fire of our artillery, our missiles and our air strikes, the occupiers left Serpents’ Island”, he rejoiced, accompanying his message with a video showing strikes on the island.
“Our armed forces have done a great job,” Andriï Yermak, the head of the administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Twitter.
The Russian army had announced its withdrawal from the islet earlier Thursday, claiming to have done so “as a sign of goodwill”, the “objectives set” on the spot having been “accomplished” according to it.
This gesture should facilitate the export of cereals from Ukraine by the Black Sea, had also justified the spokesman of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov.
The southern command of the Ukrainian army had, for its part, indicated that “the enemy (Russian) fled in two speedboats”, leaving the island “on fire” where “explosions are still heard”.
For the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba, the Russians are trying to “minimize their defeat, as usual”, he reacted on Twitter.
The Foreign Minister once again called on Kyiv’s Western allies to “provide more heavy weapons” to “liberate more territories” occupied by Moscow.
Little Serpents’ Island, located in the northwest of the Black Sea facing the mouth of the Danube, became emblematic from the first day of the Russian offensive when a member of the small Ukrainian garrison defending it challenged the Russian ship demanding its surrender to “fuck off”.
The Russian military had finally taken control of it.
The island was then regularly targeted by Ukrainian drone and missile strikes.
Russia assured on June 21 that it had repelled an attempt by Kyiv forces to retake Serpents’ Island.