New details on the story about the defenders of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, who refused to surrender to the russians on the first day of the war. On February 24, a small garrison of 13 servicemen refused calls from a russian ship for it to surrender, telling the warship to "go **** yourself". The phrase said by a state border guardsman back then was published and became world-famous. Especially considering the further fate of that warship.
Today, on May 23, the Ministry of Internal Affairs claimed that the serviceman of the Zmiinyi Island garrison who said the words was released from russian captivity, Defense Express reports. The name of this person has not been disclosed yet.
Read more: Russia’s Black Sea Flagship 'Moskva' Was hit by Ukraine's Neptune Anti-Ship Cruise Missiles (Video)
His direct commander said the border guard serviceman was in captivity for a month and a half, and has been freed just recently. According to his words, on the day of the attack, the border guards stationed on the island were promised money and job, but the servicemen refused despite the danger of being attacked.
Earlier on March 29, a marine of the Ukrainian Navy Roman Hrybov returned from russian captivity and was awarded the "For Merit to the Cherkasy region" honorary award. Ukrainian media spread a rumor that Roman is the person behind the famous words since the voice on the recording was barely recognizable. Ukrainian State Border Guard Service did not refute the rumor, and now became known why.
Spokesman of the State border Guard Service Andriy Demchenko told Suspilne that the rumor was kept alive intentionally.
"We never officially mentioned his name, and the information spread on the Internet was not denied, I can say that to some extent it was an operation of information disguise that guaranteed the security of his fellow [servicemen], who were taken captive."
In an interview with BBC News Ukraine, Demchenko said many people remained kept prisoners, including the border guards, and any official statements regarding the authorship of the famous phrase could hurt them.
"We deliberately did not disclose the name of the author of the phrase, as it could have harmed him while he was in captivity. He has now been released. However, due to security concerns, we will tell his name him later," Andriy Demchenko assured and added that this time it is not a "disguise operation".
According to the official, the channel for communication between the island and sea vessels was available only to border guards, not the marines or any other services
Demchenko noted that many servicemen of the Snake Island garrison, including border guards, are still in captivity.
Read more: Day 89th of War Between Ukraine and Russian Federation (Live Updates)
