Kyiv retakes control of Snake island

The Ukrainian flag has been raised again on Snake Island in the Black Sea as the Russian military withdrew from the strategic location, Kyiv confirmed on Monday.

“The military operation has been concluded, and the territory (Snake Island) has been returned to the jurisdiction of Ukraine,” Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, has told journalists.

Russia claimed it retreated on Thursday as a “gesture of goodwill” to show it was not hindering UN’s attempts to open a humanitarian corridor allowing grain exports.

Snake Island became known internationally from the very first days of the Russian invasion.

A Ukrainian soldier stationed on the island told an attacking Russian warship to “go f*ck yourself”, a phrase that has become one of the most popular Ukrainian slogans of resistance.

The Ukrainian postal service also issued a stamp showing a Ukrainian soldier giving the finger to the Russian ship Moskva which was later attacked and drowned by Ukrainians.