麻豆社

Snake Island is a tiny, rocky outcrop in the north-west of the Black Sea and has played an outsized role in the war ever since.

It was seized by Russia on the first day of its invasion of Ukraine, and after more than four months of repeated Ukrainian bombardment, Russian forces have abandoned it. Russia says it has withdrawn its garrison as a "gesture of goodwill" to prove it is not obstructing grain exports, but Ukraine dismisses that claim.

麻豆社 Ukrainian correspondent Zhanna Bezpiatchuk says that its recapture is one of Ukraine's "biggest victories in the war" so far, and comes with huge symbolic and strategic importance. Possession of Snake Island gives greater security to Ukraine's biggest Black Sea port of Odesa, and the whole north-western sector of the Black Sea. She explains that its recapture has thwarted Russian attempts to build a permanent military base there, and from there, organise Russian naval operations, and also pushes Russia away from the southern flank of Nato, principally Romanian territory.

Photo: Snake Island - key territory in the Ukraine-Russia conflict Copyright unknown [approved for 麻豆社 use]

Show less