Russian forces captured Ukrainian soldier Yuriy Kuzminskiy and his comrades on Snake Island on February 24, 2022.
During his nine months in Russian captivity, Kuzminskiy says he was tortured and beaten regularly. He claims Russian special forces were hunting for the Ukrainian soldier who spoke the defiant phrase that went viral and became a popular slogan across the country. RFE/RL’s Halyna Tereshchuk spoke with the 21-year-old Kuzminskiy about his time in Russian captivity.
Battle for Snake Island. ✌🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/z9iEVAqo0r
— WorldOnAlert (@worldonalert) March 16, 2023
A Russian warship ordered a group of Ukrainian border guards to surrender.
— Cloyd Rivers (@CloydRivers) February 25, 2022
Their response: “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”
They held their ground. All 13 were killed. Honorary Americans. 🇺🇸🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/89HSB51yFk
Dariusz Frach, thefad.pl / Radio Free Europe