Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had repelled Ukrainian efforts to reclaim Snake Island in the Black Sea and had inflicted heavy losses in terms of men, vessels and aircraft in doing so, South China Morning Post reports.
It was not possible to independently verify the claims. Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said earlier on Tuesday in a YouTube interview that Ukraine was not trying to recapture Snake (Zmiinyi) Island as it was far easier to continue hitting Russian targets there.
Russia said Ukrainian forces had attempted to retake the island on May 8, the eve of Russia’s Victory Day anniversary celebrations over Nazi Germany in World War II.
“This adventure ended in disaster for Ukraine,” said Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
Konashenkov said Ukraine lost four aircraft, 10 helicopters, 29 drones, three armoured assault craft and over 50 “Ukrainian saboteurs” in the fight for the island. He eight Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones were shot down over two days this week.
“As a result of a foolish provocation [by Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky only during the landing and an attempt to establish a foothold on the island more than 50 Ukrainian saboteurs were destroyed. Twenty-four bodies of the killed Ukrainian servicemen remain on the shore of Snake Island,” Konashenkov said, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday, the UK Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian drone attacks were preventing Russian troops from making further gains in the western region of the Black Sea.
“Fighting continues at Zmiinyi Island, also known as Snake Island, with Russia repeatedly trying to reinforce its exposed garrison located there,” the UK Ministry of Defense tweeted in a regular bulletin.