Ukrainian Soldiers Alive & Well After Capture

Ukraine's Navy has announced on Facebook that the soldiers held up on Zmiiny Island, also known as SnakeIsland, are "alive and well" and were taken prisoner by Russian forces, which contradicts earlier reports by the Ukrainian government and military officials that they had been killed after a naval bombardment on the Island. The incident drew international recognition and became somewhat of a battle cry after audio recordings surfaced of the soldiers telling a Russian guided-missile cruiser to "go fuck yourself" after it demanded they surrender.

After the incident came to light, Ukrainian President Zelensky announced that the 13 soldiers on the Island were killed, but soon after Russian state media outlets published videos saying that 83 soldiers were taken prisoner from the island and sent to Sevastopol.