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Ukrainian border guards defending a Black Sea island defiantly told an invading Russian warship to “go f–k yourself” when asked to surrender and were killed when the warship opened fire.
The 13 guards were posted on the small but strategic Snake Island off Ukraine’s southeastern border when they were approached by two vessels on Thursday, according to Ukrainian media outlets.
The Russians contacted the guards and identified themselves as a “Russian Warship,” demanding that the Ukrainians surrender or else they would open fire according to audio of the exchange.
“This is a Russian warship, I repeat. I suggest you surrender your weapons and capitulate otherwise I will open fire. Do you copy?” The Russians said to the border guards.
“This is it,” one of the Ukrainian guards can be heard saying in the clip.
“Should I tell him to go f–k himself?” he appears to ask a comrade.
“Just in case,” another guard responds.
The guard then turns up the volume on his comms and bluntly responds, “Russian warship, go f–k yourself.”
Get the latest updates in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with the Post’s live coverage.
The Russians then reportedly bombarded the 42-acre island with barreled guns from the warship. They then bombed the island with aircraft.
Video apparently taken by one of the guards killed during the attack shows the guard outdoors, wearing a military helmet. He can be heard yelling out and hitting the ground as loud gunfire erupted.
All of the guards were killed, officials said.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that the 13 border guards will receive a posthumous Hero of Ukraine medal for “heroically” defending the island.
“On our Zmiinyi Island, defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically,” Zelensky said. “But [they] did not give up.”
“May the memory of those who gave their lives for Ukraine live forever,” he said.
By late Thursday night, Ukraine’s state border service lost all communication with the guards. The island is believed to now be occupied by Russian forces.
Ownership island has been hotly disputed in the past between Ukraine and Romania.
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