Western news outlets and social media accounts spread the story of Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island defiantly telling off the Russian navy before being killed—the story is now confirmed “fake news.”
QUICK FACTS:
- “On Ukraine’s Snake Island, a defiant last stand against Russian forces” read the headline of a Washington Post (WaPo) article recounting how “As the Russian military pounded targets across Ukraine with an array of bombs and missiles, a small team of Ukrainian border guards on a rocky, desolate island received an ominous message: Give up or be attacked.”
- “‘I am a Russian warship,’ a voice from the invaders said, according to a recording of the communications. ‘I ask you to lay down your arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary deaths. Otherwise, you will be bombed,'” the story went on.
- “The Ukrainians responded boldly.”
- “‘Russian warship,’ came the reply, ‘go f— yourself.'”
- “The Russians opened fire, eventually killing 13 border guards.”
- WaPo noted how that story of the “defiant last stand on the Black Sea went viral Thursday.”
- WaPo used the story to highlight “the grim decisions that Ukrainians have faced during the largest attack on a European nation since World War II.”
- The news org also noted how Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hours later “announced the deaths and said that the island’s defenders will be bestowed with the title ‘Hero of Ukraine,’ the highest honorific the Ukrainian leader can award.”
- The WaPo article went on to provide a “copy of the recording” on the “website of the Ukrainian news outlet Ukrayinska Pravda” and report that “a Ukrainian official confirmed its authenticity to The Washington Post.”
- WaPo also reported “a senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the operations candidly, acknowledged hearing about the attack on Snake Island on Friday and described the exchange as ‘both gut-wrenching and inspiring.'”
- The next day, WaPo ran a piece titled “Ukrainian border guards may have survived reported last stand on Snake Island,” reporting that the “Ukrainian border guards who insulted Russian forces this week in a recorded exchange that went viral may not have been killed, Ukrainian officials said Saturday, contradicting an earlier claim by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.”
- The same author, Dan Lamothe, authored both pieces.
- Ukrinform, a Ukrainian news outlet, confirmed on Monday that those “Ukrainian marines and border guards, who offered resistance to Russian invaders during an attack on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island are alive” and that they are now “in Russian captivity.”
- The Ukrainian Navy also confirmed the Ukrainian soldiers are “alive and well.”
OTHER NEWS ORGS THAT RAN THE SAME FALSE NEWS STORY:
- Reuters ran the headline “‘Russian warship, go f*** yourself’: Kyiv to honour troops killed on island.”
- CNN: “Soldiers on Snake Island reacted with defiant words to threats from Russian warship.”
- NBC: “Ukrainian soldiers’ defiant last words as Russian warship targets Snake Island.”
- ABC: “Hear Ukrainian soldier’s last words before bombing.”
- The New York Times: “Ukrainian troops killed on Snake Island to be honored.”
- USA Today: “Ukrainian soldier on Snake Island tells Russian officer ‘go (expletive) yourself’ before being killed.”
- The Huffington Post: “Garrison Of Ukrainian Soldiers Killed After Refusing Russian Demands To Surrender.”
- NPR: “A Russian warship tells Ukrainian soldiers to surrender. They profanely refuse.”
- EveningStandard, via Yahoo! News: “Snake Island: Ukrainian soldier’s final words before being blown up by missile strike.”
- BuzzFeed: “‘Russian Warship, Go F*** Yourself’: These Guards On A Ukrainian Island Refused To Surrender To Putin’s Troops.”
- Politico: “‘Go f*** yourself,’ Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island tell Russian ship before being killed.”
- The Hill: “Ukrainian border guards to Russian warship: ‘Go f— yourself.’“
BACKGROUND:
- Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to meet the in Gomel region of Belarus on Monday for talks aimed at halting the fighting in Ukraine and resolving the crisis between Moscow and Kiev, Russian news agencies report.
- Both sides agreed on the need to continue talks. “The next meeting will take place in the coming days on the Polish-Belarusian border. There is a corresponding agreement on this,” Vladimir Medinsky, special assistant to President Putin and head of the Russian delegation said.
- “Until then, each delegation—the leadership of each delegations will consult on each of the negotiating positions with the leadership of their respective country,” he noted.
- Mikhail Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, confirmed that a second round of talks was discussed, according to the news source.
- “The two sides identified a number of priority topics on which certain decisions have been outlined. In order for them to have an opportunity to be implemented…the parties are leaving for consultations in their respective capitals. The possibility of a second round of negotiations in the near future during which these topics will receive concrete, practical development was discussed,” Podolyak said.
