Ukraine War: Snake Island, One Year Later - Part 1

Hi, I’m Rick Barron, your host, and welcome to That’s Life, I Swear

On February 24, 2022, two days from now, Russian forces approached a tiny Black Sea outpost, demanding its Ukrainian defenders surrender or die. The response caught the Russians off guard, and the message became a symbol of resistance around the world.

Let’s jump into this 

We’re now two days away from the day Russia began its invasion to attack Ukraine. What follows is a moment that took place at the early outbreak of the war. Life sometimes comes down to a few moments and this was one that would set the tone for the war and demonstrate a country’s resistance to tyranny.

Russia invades Ukraine, Feb 24, 2022. Courtesy of: Financial Times

As the Ukraine War began to unfold in late February of 2022, Ukraine found itself with low military supplies and a small army. It was up against Russia’s army of approximately 1.35 million active military personnel, dwarfing Ukraine’s army of only 500 hundred thousand. 

The Bear was waiting to bite. From what the world was viewing on tv, it appeared the Russian army would make quick work of conquering Ukraine. That wasn’t the thinking of a small group of Ukrainian soldiers that would soon give their country hope that they would not relent to Russia's oppressive power.

What Ukraine lacked in size and military armament, they made up with resilience that would stun the world but even more so, Mr. Putin. 

Before the war, Ukraine began preparing its defenses. Part of that preparation included a small group of 28 soldiers and their captain, Bohdan Hotsky, arriving on an island unknown to the world at the time. As the soldiers looked around, it became clear that it would be hard to defend against the might of the Russian army and its navy. 

To make matters worse, the island of occupied Crimea was 113 miles east of them. Since taking over the Crimean peninsula in 2014, Russia ensured the Black Sea was heavily occupied by its military. It regularly closed off large maritime zones because it was conducting naval exercises.

The small island that the Ukrainian soldiers were to defend, was a strategically important mini-territory 22 miles from Ukraine’s southern coast. It was a rocky outpost in the Black Sea, a place known in Ukraine as Snake Island.

Snake Island. Courtesy of: Asia Times

Snake Island has some history. Over many years, numerous countries battled for ownership of the island. These countries included the Ottomans, the Russian Empire, and the Germans; all tried at one time or another to conquer it for their own. There are shipwrecks from World War I and II. Some of these shipwrecks are a 1917 Russian destroyer sunk by a German mine, a Soviet submarine, and a grain ship. 

So great was the importance of this island that president Volodymyr Zelenskiy flew out twice by helicopter and instructed his military intelligence service to reinforce the island’s defense’s. As a result, its population increased from 28 to 80, comprised of two handymen, and 50 infantry soldiers. 

Captain Hodsky and his 80 soldiers had a good view of the Black Sea. However, weather conditions would be demanding as Ukraine’s winters are frigid. The soldiers lived in one barrack with showers, a radio station, and a pier.

The soldiers hoped there would not be a conflict but prepared for the worst. During their daily drills, they learned that at 4 am on February 24, Moscow launched what had become Europe’s most significant war since 1945. 

The Russian army stormed into Ukraine, smashing everything in its site. Missile attacks, paratroopers were landing in various areas of the countryside, and a powerful barrage of tanks were firing and blowing up villages at will.

Russian patrol boar, the Vasily Bykov. Courtesy of: VPK

As the first airstrikes hit Kyiv, a Russian patrol boat, the Vasily Bykov approached the island from the northwest. Hotsky wasted no time and ordered his team to grab their weapons and take up positions. Unfortunately, the team on the island only had sniper rifles and grenades to compete against the patrol boat, which was heavily armed.

As dawn broke, the Russian vessel, Vasily Bykov, got closer and was now only about a mile offshore. The ship had a sinister look about it, with its sleek, grey corvette design.

The Russian ship’s radio operator quickly came straight to the point: “Give up! Lay down your weapons!” No reply from the island, just silence. Around 10am the first missile came crashing into the island. Hotsky wasn’t sure what to do. Was it a warning or would it be the beginning of a barrage of a massive missile attack. He was too busy to be scared and his team was looking to him for orders. 

As the Ukraine team on Snake Island dug in for what may be coming next, another Russian ship appeared from the south. It was the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. It’s length was 200 meters, with a crew of 510 and equipped with guided cruise missiles and anti-aircraft systems. It was a lethal Soviet-built gun platform capable of crushing anything in its path.

Russian ship, the Moskva. Courtesy of: Wikipedia

What was feared began to happen. Shelling of the island started again. After the shelling stopped, a wave of Russian jets began bombing. Hotsky and his team found any place to hide from the incoming bombardment. Then, the shelling stopped, and all went quiet. It was silent for a moment and then the Moskva repeated the surrender message sent earlier. The Russian officers were under the impression that the Ukrainian soldiers would surrender and join the Russian forces, as many Crimea-based soldiers had done in 2014, when Putin sent special forces soldiers to seize the peninsula.

The immediate picture was getting worse as Russian boats had encircled the island. Clearly, with Ukraine under attack from several directions, no help was coming. One of the captain’s colleagues monitored transmissions in hope to make contact for help.

The radio set crackled into life. On the other end of the line was an urgent voice speaking in Russian. It was the Moskva.

The exchange went something like this:

Russian warship: “Snake Island. I, Russian warship, repeat the offer: lay down your arms and surrender, or you will be bombed. Have you understood me? Do you copy?”

Hodsky and his team looked at one another. Their eyes were telegraphing, ‘what do we do?’ A few contemplated that this was it and best to surrender rather than be bombed to death. Then someone said, “Well, that’s it then. Or do we need to tell them back to fuck off?”

Another guard said: “Might as well.”

And then the five words that would soon circle the globe quickly were relayed back to the Russian ship.

First border guard: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”

Soon after the conversation, the Ukrainian military command lost contact with the island. It was assumed all of its defenders had been killed.

All of Ukraine was in mourning. It wasn’t long that President Zelenskiy awarded a posthumous honor to Hotsky and his comrades – each receiving the title Hero of Ukraine. The last words exchanged with the Russian warship was shared via an audio clip  with the Ukrainian public. They listened with sadness, tears and pride. They were hearing the last words of 80 men who gave their lives to defend Ukraine.  

Or so everyone assumed.

Father Vasyl Vyrozub. Courtesy of: Spiritual Front of Ukraine

On Feb 25th, a priest named Father Vasyl Vyrozub received a call from a Ukraine naval officer. The officer came straight to the point. The priest was to take a boat journey to Snake Island, and bring back the bodies of the fallen. The priest had 30 years of experience in the church and chaplain to Ukraine’s military personnel.

He agreed and quickly got onto a boat with two clergymen and a doctor, heading for Snake Island. The Russian navy had approved the trip. The following day, they approached the island, its sheer rock face visible in the distance. They were told to lay anchor and wait for inspection from the Russians. 

When the Russians boated, the priest was asked why he was coming to the island. When he explained he was there to collect the bodies of the dead, he was told that there was nobody on the island. Everyone had left already.

The priest was told to take a photo of the island, and send it to his people and deliver the following message: that the Ukrainians defending the island had all surrendered and were prisoners of war. The territory was now Russia’s.

Before he knew what was happening, soldiers tied Vyrozub’s arms behind his back. 

He was loaded onto a ship and transported to another location. As they left, a Russian special forces officer told the priest he would be released when Putin’s “military operation” was finished. Vyrozub pointed out that this might take months or maybe a year. The officer was amused and told the priest, “It will take seven or eight days – no more” to conquer Ukraine.

When they pulled into port the priest still hoped he might be set free. He was, after all, a civilian engaged on a humanitarian mission. The Russians didn’t care. They shoved him and two dozen other non-combatants into a minivan and drove them to a naval watchtower at gunpoint. Over the next 11 days, he was interrogated up to three times a day. 

Unfortunately for the priest, his hell was about to begin. 

What can we learn from this story? What’s the takeaway

The immediate takeaway was that Ukraine was not going to roll over and surrender. If Russia wanted to fight and take over their country, then bring it on. 

The resolve of this country would soon unit the world, leading to numerous countries to come to their aid with military and food supplies.

What we can learn from this story is that it doesn’t end here. Join me next week for Part 2, the final episode of this story.

Well, there you go. That's life, I swear.

For further information regarding the material covered in this episode, I invite you to visit my website, that you can find on either Apple Podcasts/iTunes or Google Podcasts, for show notes calling out key pieces of content mentioned and the episode transcript.

As always, I thank you for listening. 

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