Sinking of Vasily Bykov: 'Go f**k yourself' Russian warship that attacked Snake Island destroyed
A Russian warship that attacked Ukraine's Snake Island on the first day of the war has reportedly been destroyed by Ukrainian forces in the early hours of March 7. Video footage has captured Ukrainian sailors cheering as they claim to have destroyed the warship that attacked the small island. It was later confirmed by the Ukrainian navy that forces defending a port city in southern Ukraine hit a Russian vessel in the Black Sea with gunfire.
It was not clear what type of vessel had been hit by the Ukrainian forces, but reports claim it was the 'Vasily Bykov', one of two ships involved in the notorious attack on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island of February 24, which saw Ukrainian border guards who refused to surrender telling the Russian navy “go f*** yourself” before being shelled in response. The Ukrainian soldiers were initially thought to have been killed in the attack, but days later it emerged they were still alive and had been taken prisoners. Russian state media showed the Ukrainian soldiers’ arrival in Sevastopol, Crimea, where they are reportedly being held.
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The attack was a huge blow to the Ukrainians and they sounded quite excited to destroy Vasily Bykov on March 7. The recording of the incident, shared by the Ukrainian navy, shows a barrage of rockets being fired into the night sky during the defense of the Black Sea port of Odessa in the early hours of Monday before an orange glow appears to show a destroyed vessel in the distance.
One man can be heard shouting excitedly “We f****** hit them”, while another repeats the words spoken by captured Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island, saying, “Russian warship, go f*** yourself.”
In an audio recording of the incident, a Russian warship told the guards via loudspeaker that they should surrender or “be hit with a bomb strike”. “Russian warship, go f*** yourself,” was their leader’s reply.
Many Ukrainians have confirmed the attack; a source told the Times UK that the large patrol corvette named Vasily Bykov was hit by Ukrainian rockets early Monday morning, local time. Military sources also said that Vasily Bykov was one of two ships that attacked Snake Island last month.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also confirmed the attack as they shared the footage on Facebook, with the caption: “Today, March 7, 2022, the Marine Corps units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, protecting Odessa region, struck an enemy ship.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned to his Kyiv office on Monday night. He declared that he was not hiding from anyone and would stay in Ukraine for as long as needed to win the war started by Russia.