Translated – “Russian warship, go f*@# yourself!”
Pronounced – “Rosiysʹkyy viysʹkovyy korabelʹ, idy na khuy!”
Ukrainian Defenders of snake island
The fighting spirit of the 101st Airborne Division is alive and well as Ukraine is resisting the Russian invasion of their country!
A Russian warship demanded that the thirteen souls defending Snake Island surrender their position and their response has since gone viral and served notice that whilst Putin’s Russia may well have overwhelming force on their side, the Ukrainians do not plan on going gentle into that good night and will fight for their country until their very last breath.
Those thirteen heroes refusing to surrender will be honoured by their fellow citizens, they will be remembered a thousand years from now in songs over a hopefully vibrant and free Ukraine.
When I saw that story, it immediately brought to mind General Anthony McAuliffe’s famous reply to the German commander’s demand that the US troops surrender their position in the besieged city of Bastogne:
How did he respond?
N U T S!
Unfortunately, the brave defenders of Snake Island didn’t have the same happy ending that the 101st Airborne got when Patton’s Third Army would arrive to break the siege.
All thirteen on Snake Island were killed but they will be remembered always.
UPDATE 01 Mar 2022: According to the Ukrainian Navy, the defenders of Snake Island are actually “alive and well” contradicting earlier reports of their demise at Russia’s hands. Apparently they’d repulsed two attacks but ran out of ammunition forcing their surrender.
But the idea of these heroes stubbornly telling a Russian warship what to go do with itself is one that transcends whether or not they survived. They will be seen as national heroes as much as those who have truly perished as a result of Putin’s invasion and so I’m inclined to leave the story up with this revision.