Ukrainian troops land on Snake Island to raise national flag
Al JazeeraUkrainian officials post footage of soldiers raising flag on strategic island; Russia later says it fired missiles and ‘destroyed’ military personnel. Ukrainian troops have landed on Snake Island where they raised Ukraine’s flag, according to officials, one week after Russian forces withdrew from the strategic islet in the Black Sea. An aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces immediately launched a strike with high-precision missiles on Snake Island, as a result of which part of the Ukrainian military personnel was destroyed,” Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. Snake Island, or Zmiinyi, achieved international fame when Ukrainian border guards stood their ground and impolitely refused a Russian warship’s ultimatum to surrender after Russia’s invasion on February 24.