Russia's pulls its forces from Snake Island as a goodwill gesture
Russia decides to leave Snake Island to show the UN that it is not preventing the setting up of a humanitarian corridor to transfer agricultural goods.
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Russia said that the gesture intends to give Kiev the opportunity to export agricultural products
Russia pulled its forces from Snake Island, Ukraine, as a “goodwill gesture,” said the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In a statement released by the MoD, Russia said "On June 30, as a gesture of goodwill, the Russian armed forces completed their tasks on Snake Island and withdrew a garrison stationed there."
Russia said that the gesture intends to give Kiev the opportunity to export agricultural products. Moscow added that "Russia is not impeding UN efforts to organize a humanitarian corridor to ship agricultural products from Ukraine," adding that the "ball is now in Ukraine's court" while simultaneously accusing Ukraine of not having de-mined its Black Sea coast.
The Russian announcement came after Ukraine had launched numerous attacks on Russian forces on the Island. In a Twitter post, Ukrainian Presidential aide, Andryi Yermak, said "KABOOM! No Russian troops on Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job.”
KABOOM!
— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) June 30, 2022
No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job.
More kaboom news to follow. All will be 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/ItdP3oQvHK
The Presidential aide’s post was followed by another on Facebook from Ukraine’s Southern military command which claimed that during the night Russia "hurriedly evacuated the remains of its garrison" from the island following "strikes by our missile and artillery units". It said the island is "covered in fire, explosions are erupting."
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On the other hand, the Russian narrative stated that on June 21, Russia repelled attacks on Snake Island. Moscow announced Tuesday that it had repelled a "mad" attempt launched by Kiev's forces on Snake Island in the Black Sea, which had been under Russian control since the early days of the Ukraine war.
The island is a highly strategic location off the coast of Ukraine and Romania, and Moscow says Kiev has tried to recapture it several times.
"On June 20 at 5:00 am, the Kiev regime undertook another mad attempt to take possession of Snake Island," Russia's defense ministry said in a briefing.
The Ukrainian forces, Moscow said, had planned on launching large-scale bombing of the island via air raids and artillery fire before landing and capturing it.
15 Ukrainian attack and reconnaissance drones took part in the airstrike while missile launchers and howitzers fired at the island, the ministry revealed.
Russia's air defense systems intercepted all the Ukrainian projectiles and downed 13 drones, forcing Kiev's forces to refrain from landing on Snake Island.
Read more: UNSC discusses the Ukrainian crisis amidst calls for Russian isolation
