The Ukrainian border guards who were initially thought to have died after famously standing up to Russian invaders on Ukraine’s Snake Island — otherwise known as Zmiinyi Island — are alive and in Russian captivity, according to Ukraine’s navy. A message relayed by one of the guards to approaching Russians quickly garnered substantial attention both inside and outside of Ukraine; according to one translation, after receiving a message demanding that they “lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties,” the guard team sent back a message of: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”
Zelensky just said he’s going to pay Ukranian soldiers 100,000 hryvnia per month. That’s about $3,300, more than 6x avg income: “Not just in order to say “Thank you”, but to show how truly indebted Ukraine is to them. And it will remain this way until the war ends.”
— Erin Burnett (@ErinBurnett) February 27, 2022
Ukraine’s navy said on Facebook, per a translation, that ‘Regarding the Marines and border guards, who were taken captive by Russian occupiers on the island of Snake. We are very happy to learn that our brothers are alive and well with them! But Russian propaganda tries to twist the “news” about the fact that the Ukrainian authorities “forgotten”, “buried” their fellows. At the same time, the sailors bravely rebuked twice the attacks of the Russian invaders.’ A civilian ship that went to the area in search of the guards following the Russian assault was seized by Russian personnel, the navy also said. After (false) initial reports of the guards’ demise, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that they would receive what were believed at the time to be posthumous honors for their service. Throughout the ongoing Russian invasion, hundreds of Ukrainians have died, although for obvious reasons, numbers at this point in time remain relatively uncertain. Over half a million Ukrainians have been displaced, fleeing into nearby countries.
Laura, you rooted for Russia and they’re losing. They’re losing the lives, financial security, and support of their own people. And they’re international pariahs. And you cheered them on and mocked Zelensky. There’s no erasing your role in rallying for them. You are bonded to it. https://t.co/bPRS6oEHtD
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) February 28, 2022
Interests from around the world have been providing military assistance to Ukraine. The U.S., for instance, recently outlined hundreds of millions of dollars worth of additional aid for the country, including anti-aircraft and anti-armor weapons. As of early Monday afternoon, Eastern Time, one of the most recent public comments from Zelenskyy was a message of thanks for an additional $100 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine that was pledged by Japan. As Zelenskyy commented, Japan’s government “allocates $100 million to the already approved aid of $100 million [and] fully supports tough sanctions against Russia.” Talks between Russian and Ukrainian teams about potentially ending the war began on Monday, but no consensus was reached, and negotiations between the two sides were slated to resume “in the coming days,” according to The Kyiv Independent. In the meantime, deadly fighting is continuing. As The Guardian reported on Monday, “At least seven people have been killed and 44 injured after Russian forces launched multiple rocket strikes on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in what appeared to mark a change in tactics by Moscow towards bombing civilian areas.”
I am grateful to Romania for its significant contribution to the defense capabilities of our country. I am grateful to @KlausIohannis for supporting Ukraine's membership in the European Union. We feel the political and defense support of our partners.🇷🇴🤝🇺🇦
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 28, 2022
Featured Image (edited): via Cabinet Ministers of Ukraine, available under a Creative Commons License
