BREAKING: Russian Forces Flee Snake Island Following Ukrainian Artillery Strikes

Russian troops have retreated from the infamous Snake Island, also known as Zmiyny Island, after the strategically important territory came under “massive” missile and artillery strikes from Ukrainian Forces, LiveUAMap reports.

This morning, Thursday June 30, saw Ukrainian forces launch a new wave of long-range strikes against the Russian Federation (RF)-occupied Zmiyny Island, with a Joint Forces South (JFS) statement confirming that Ukraine Armed Forces (UAF) missile and artillery units executed at least 150 fire missions against the 1.5 kilometer-square island.

Russian forces occupied the strategic west Black Sea island on the first day of the war on Ukraine.

According to international and UAF estimates, the Kremlin has positioned powerful anti-aircraft and anti-ship missile systems on Zmiyny. The JFS statement said the Ukrainian strikes destroyed an S-300 Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft system, three howitzers, three vehicles, causing at least 40 casualties, and burned a fuel storage depot. RF-associated information platforms made no early comment on the UAF claims.

The island has been intensely fought over by both sides, with Ukraine carrying out large attacks on the Russian occupiers there over the past four months. The outpost became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance after a radio exchange went viral at the start of the war in which Ukrainian soldiers used an expletive in response to Russian demands from the Moskva missile carrier that they surrender.

Last week, Ukraine said it had sunk the Vasili Beh Russian support ship,  which was transporting crew and armaments to Snake Island.

According to the British Ministry of Defense, Ukraine successfully used Harpoon anti-naval missiles, received from the West, for the first time in the attack.

In May, Ukrainian drones sank two Russian patrol boats near the island, with Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces saying: “The Bayraktars [drones] are working.”

The arrival of American-made rocket launchers and Harpoon missiles have further aided Ukrainian forces in their attempts to retake the island, with this morning’s announcement reporting that Russian forces have completely abandoned the territory.