A satellite image shows an overview of Snake Island, Ukraine, June 21, 2022. Maxar Technologies / Handout via REUTERS
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Kyiv, June 30 (Reuters) – Russian forces have withdrawn from the island of Ukraine’s snakes, a strategic outpost in the Black Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry and the president’s office said on Thursday. Ukraine.
Snake Island, which Russia occupied on the first day of its invasion, rose to fame when Ukrainian border guards stationed there rejected a Russian warship’s demand for its surrender. Read more
“KABOOM! There are no more Russian troops on Snake Island. Our armed forces did a great job,” Andriy Yermak, head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wrote on Twitter. Read more
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Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed that Russian troops had withdrawn from Snake Island, calling it a “gesture of goodwill” and saying the troops had performed the tasks assigned to them.
The Russian ministry added that the measure showed that Russia did not impede UN efforts to organize a humanitarian corridor to export agricultural products outside Ukraine.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the accounts of Ukraine and Russia.
On Wednesday, Russia said it was ready to work with the United Nations to combat the risks of a global food crisis, following talks between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the UN secretary-general. Antonio Guterres, but no concrete measures were announced at that time.
Last month, the British Defense Ministry said that if Russia was able to consolidate its position on Snake Island with strategic air defense and coastal defense missile missiles, it could dominate the northwestern Black Sea. Read more
The military command of southern Ukraine wrote on Facebook that Russian forces had evacuated in two ships after an operation involving missile and artillery units.
Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Yermak, said Ukraine’s armed forces had expelled Russian troops from the island and said Russia’s claim that the withdrawal was of good will was not true.
He reiterated Ukraine’s accusations that Russia was causing a global food crisis by blocking Ukrainian ports and targeting storage facilities.
Since Russia invaded on February 24, Ukrainian grain shipments from its Black Sea ports have stopped and millions of tons of grain are trapped in silos.
Moscow says Kyiv’s responsibility is to remove the mines from the ports to clear the waterways and says Western sanctions against it are making the situation worse.
A first cargo ship left the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk, occupied by Russia, in the Sea of Azov, in eastern Ukraine, a local official said on Thursday, after Russia said the port had been demining and was ready to resume grain shipments.
Russia and Ukraine account for nearly a third of the world’s wheat supplies, while Russia is also a global exporter of key fertilizers and Ukraine is a major exporter of corn and sunflower oil.
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Report by Max Hunder Written by Alexander Winning Editing by Nick Macfie and Frank Jack Daniel
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