The strategically important island became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the first days of the war in February, when the rocky outcrop’s defenders told a Russian warship to ‘go f%^& yourself’ after being asked to surrender
This image from Maxar Technologies shows an overview of Snake Island, in the Black Sea, on Thursday June 30, 2022. (Satellite image (C)2022 Maxar Technologies via AP)
On Thursday, Russian forces withdrew from the small but strategically significant Snake Island.
Though the Kremlin attempted to portray the pull out as a ‘goodwill gesture’, Ukraine’s military said Russians fled in two small speedboats after a barrage off artillery and missile strikes.
“Unable to withstand the impact of our artillery, missile and aviation units, the Russian occupiers have left Snake Island. The Odesa region is completely liberated,” the Ukrainian military said in its regular social media update Thursday evening.
The exact number of troops was not disclosed.
Let’s take a closer look at why Moscow’s abandonment of Snake Island is significant:
What is Snake Island?
Known as Zmiinyi Ostriv in Ukrainian, Snake Island is located around 48 kilometers off the coast of Ukraine.
It’s a tiny place – 46 acres of rock and grass. Also, it doesn’t have snakes.
As per CNN, Moscow has never laid claim to Snake Island, and it’s a long way from any part of the Russian mainland. Over 180 miles away from Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, Russia can in no way claim it.
How did it come to prominence?
The island became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance in the first days of the war in February, when the rocky outcrop’s defenders told a Russian warship to “go f*ck yourself” after it called on them to surrender – an incident that spurred a defiant meme.
Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervor, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration.
The island’s Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange. After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there and its air defences.
As per the BBC, the island is exposed to attacks from all directions from air and sea. Military experts have described the small garrison tasked with defending it – first Ukrainians and later Russians – has been described as “sitting ducks”.
So why did Russia want it?
Because of its strategic location.
Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa.
Russia’s control of it left the Black Sea coast vulnerable to attack. Military experts in Kyiv had voiced fears that Russia could install long-range air defences, such as an S-400 air missile system.
Snake Island is also close to the sea lanes leading to the Bosphorus and Mediterranean.
The rocky outcrop overlooks sea lanes to Odesa, Ukraine’s main Black Sea port, where Russia is blocking food cargos from one of the world’s leading grain suppliers.
As per BBC, Russia already controls a large stretch of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, plus the Crimean Peninsula and the entire Sea of Azov. Holding Snake Island was the final piece of the blockade of Odesa.
As per CNN, On normal times, Ukraine would export around three-quarters of the grain it produces. According to data from the European Commission, about 90 per cent of these exports were shipped by sea, from Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
Ukraine’s defence intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said in May that whoever holds Snake Island controls “the surface and to some extent the air situation in southern Ukraine.”
“Whoever controls the island can block the movement of civilian vessels in all directions to the south of Ukraine at any time,” Budanov added.
Last year, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flew to Snake Island, where there are no voters but some sheep, to emphasize that it mattered. “This island, like the rest of our territory, is Ukrainian land, and we will defend it with all our might,” he said.
Lifting the blockade has been a primary goal of the West. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has accused Russia of deliberately causing world hunger as “blackmail”.
Moscow denies blocking the ports and blames food shortages on Western sanctions it says limit its own exports.
“We do not prevent the export of Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian military has mined the approaches to their ports; no one prevents them from clearing those mines and we guarantee the safety of shipping grain out of there,” Putin said on Thursday.
Is this a game-changer?
Not exactly.
Zelenskyy said the recovery of Snake Island was significant for the Black Sea situation but “it does not yet guarantee security. It does not yet ensure that the enemy will not come back,” he said.
Experts agree, saying there is little prospect that Ukrainians could resume grain exports to reboot their war-ravaged economy.
“Does that mean that suddenly the grain flows? No it doesn’t really,” said Marcus Faulkner, a lecturer of War Studies at King’s College London.
“Practically, you need 10 things to happen before you can safely export grain and this is only one,” Andrew Wilson, professor of Ukrainian studies at University College London, told BBC.
Not first conflict over it
As per CNN, Romania and Ukraine have had a long-running dispute over the island and the surrounding seabed, which may contain hydrocarbon potential. The International Court of Justice finally determined the island’s status, and the borders of Ukraine’s and Romania’s exclusive economic zones in 2009.
With inputs from agencies
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