Kyiv/Moscow: The Ukrainian officials on Thursday said that Russian forces have withdrawn from Snake Island.
The island gained focus when a small group of Ukrainian troops defending the island was heard in audio recordings telling a Russian warship to “go to hell”.
Taking to Twitter, Andriy Yermak, head of President Zelensky’s office, said, “KABOOM! No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our armed forces did a great job.”
Meanwhile, the Russian Defence Ministry said that it has withdrawn its forces from the Snake Island.
It said, “On June 30, as a step of goodwill, the armed forces of the Russian Federation completed their assigned tasks on Zmiinyi Island and withdrew the garrison stationed there.
“Thus, it has been demonstrated to the world community that the Russian Federation does not interfere with the efforts of the UN to organize a humanitarian corridor for the export of agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine.”
BBC quoted Moscow as saying that the move shows the global community that “the Russian Federation is not hampering the UN’s efforts to organize a humanitarian corridor to ship farming produce out of Ukraine”.
It further said that this move will stop Kyiv from claiming a food crisis and inability to export grain “due to Russia’s total control of the northwestern part of the Black Sea”.
“Now it is up to the Ukrainian side that is still not clearing the Black Sea coastline, including the harbor waters,” it added.
