LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) – Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Thursday that a Russian warplane had struck and killed an unspecified number of Ukrainian troops on Snake Island in the Black Sea after land there to raise the flag of Ukraine.
“At around 5 in the morning, several Ukrainian soldiers landed on the island from a motor boat and took pictures with the flag. A Russian Aerospace Forces plane immediately launched a missile attack. “High precision on Snake Island, as a result of which part of the Ukrainian military personnel was destroyed,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
Andriy Yermak, Chief of Staff of the President of Ukraine, previously posted a video in Telegram of three soldiers raising a large Ukrainian flag on the island, from which Russian forces withdrew on June 30 after suffering a heavy bombardment of Ukrainian artillery.
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The small island, captured by Russia in Ukraine at the start of the war in February, is strategically important for its proximity to the sea lanes near the port of Odessa in Ukraine.
Russia said it had withdrawn from Snake Island last week as a “gesture of goodwill” to show it was not obstructing UN attempts to open a humanitarian corridor that would allow the sending of grain from Ukraine.
Ukraine said it had expelled Russian forces after an artillery and missile assault.
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Reuters report Edited by Raissa Kasolowsky
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