The Ukrainian government will honour a group of soldiers who died defending one of the country’s islands from Russian forces.
According to the BBC, Kyiv said it lost contact with 13 border guards stationed on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island after they refused to follow orders from a Russian warship to surrender their weapons.
Ukraine said following the border guards’ refusal to surrender, they were subjected to aerial and naval bombardment.
The tiny island is 142km (88 miles) south of Odessa in the Black Sea.
In unverified audio recordings released by the Ukrainian government, the soldiers can be heard exchanging barbed comments with a Russian warship.
“This is a Russian warship,” a voice says in the clip. “I propose you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you will be bombed.”
In the audio, which has not been independently verified, the Ukrainian soldiers are heard speaking among themselves, agreeing “this is it”.
They then respond: “Russian warship, go to hell”.
According to Ukraine, they were the last statements heard from the island before Russia initiated attacks.
“On our Zmiinyi Island, defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically,” remarked President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“But they did not give up. All of them will be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. Eternal memory to those who gave their lives for Ukraine.”
The official Russian account of the exchange is significantly different. Moscow asserts that the island’s 82 Ukrainian forces surrendered peacefully and makes no mention of conducting strikes or inflicting losses.
