The snake island in the Black Sea was mythologized at the beginning of the war between Russia and Ukraine when a Ukrainian soldier said “idi nahui” – roughly go to hell – to a Russian warship urging them to surrender.
Russia claims they later left the island voluntarily, but now Ukrainian intelligence has released a video it says shows the recapture.
On the same day that Russia invaded Ukraine on several fronts, a Russian warship approached the Ukrainian Ormy, 3.5 miles off the coast of Odessa.
The crew of the ship told the Ukrainian soldiers on the island to lay down their weapons. The answer, which quickly became a symbol of Ukraine’s resistance, has been printed on T-shirts and stickers.
According to a recording that, among others, The Guardian published the next day, one of the Ukrainian soldiers replies “Russian warships, go to hell!”.
Used for the grain blockade
Russia took over the island and several of the Ukrainian soldiers were taken prisoner. The occupation of the island enabled the blockade of Ukrainian grain that Russia maintained in the spring of 2022.
In mid-April, Ukrainian forces sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship Moscow, and by the end of June, Russia withdrew from the island.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense has previously said that the withdrawal was a way of showing goodwill, that they would certainly let Ukrainian grain through.
“Unique and extremely important”
That was firmly denied by Ukraine, which said the island had been liberated during a special operation.
Now, two years after the operation, Ukraine’s intelligence service SBU has released a video it says shows the invasion.
“The unique and extremely important operation consisted of several steps and became the beginning of the gradual dismantling of Russian military influence in the Black Sea,” writes the SBU on Telegram.
Watch the video in the player above.