Kyiv to honour troops killed defending ‘Snake Island’
Soldiers who reportedly stood their ground in the face of Russian naval attack to be honoured, Ukraine president says. 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. A Ukrainian official says 13 border guards were killed after a defiant verbal exchange between Ukraine and Russian forces Ukraine lost contact with its forces on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island , a speck of land south of the port of Odesa, on Thursday after Russia conducted strikes from air and sea. A Ukrainian official said 13 soldiers were killed and he circulated an audio clip that he and media outlet Ukrainskaya Pravda said was a verbal 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,” audio of the alleged Russian warning said. “Russia...