Volodymyr Zelensky visited a Black Sea island whose defenders defied a Russian warship at the beginning of the invasion as Moscow's invasion of Ukraine reached its 500th day.
"Today we are on Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupiers, like the whole of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave," he said.
"I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days," he added.
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Russia captured Snake Island shortly after launching its invasion on February 24, 2022. Later, a radio exchange went viral in which Ukrainian soldiers were heard telling the crew of Russia's attacking warship demanding their surrender to "go fuck yourself".
The Ukrainian soldiers were taken prisoner but later exchanged for Russian captives. Kyiv recaptured the island in June last year.
{{/usCountry}}The Ukrainian soldiers were taken prisoner but later exchanged for Russian captives. Kyiv recaptured the island in June last year.
{{/usCountry}}The recording of this verbal exchange was shared widely and the island served as a theme for the Ukrainian resistance- appearing on placards during support rallies throughout the world.
The Russian ship involved- Moskva- sank in the Black Sea in April following what Moscow said was an explosion on board. Ukraine said it had hit the warship with missiles.