Posted on 03/24/2022 3:03:12 PM PDT by BenLurkin
Russia and Ukraine exchanged 10 prisoners of war each on Thursday in what Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk called the first full-fledged swap of the month-old conflict.
The exchange also freed 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors who were captured as their ship tried to take Ukrainian troops off of Snake Island in late February.
Ukraine released 11 Russian civilian sailors as part of the deal, Vereshchuk said as she announced the transfer. The civilians had been rescued from a ship that sank near Odesa, she said.
Russia's takeover of Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, was much-discussed in the first days of the war after Ukrainian soldiers at the small military outpost in the Black Sea defied threats from a looming Russian vessel by flatly telling it, "Russian warship. Go f*** yourself."
The soldiers were initially feared to have been killed, but Russian state media later reported that they had been taken prisoner.
It wasn't immediately clear whether any Ukrainian soldiers from the island outpost were among the captives who were exchanged on Thursday — but Ukraine's border guard agency said earlier in the day that Vereshchuk was working to free soldiers who had been on Snake Island.
The Ukrainian civilian sailors freed by Russia had been aboard the Sapphire, a ship that sailed to the island on a search and rescue mission but was itself captured. As part of the exchange, Russian forces will release their ship, sending it to a dock in Turkey, Vereshchuk said.
Ukraine and Russia have engaged in at least two smaller prisoner exchanges in the month-old war, including the swap of nine Russian servicemen for Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov.
And on March 1, Ukraine's military said it exchanged a captured Russian military police officer for five Ukrainian soldiers in Sumy, an oblast in northeastern Ukraine.
“Hey Russian Warship...you know”
Wait. Prisoner exchange? I thought Russians cooked and ate their prisoners.
The comments from posters who instantly bought the Daily Fail story hook, line, and sinker are pretty funny:
“Remember the Alamo....Remember Snake Island. I kneel before those heroes.”
“The names of these 13 will forever be thought of as national hero’s in Ukraine”
“Ukrainian Alamo. Imagine the commander of that Russian ship is now drunk.”
It’s hard to eat when your hands fell off from all the frostbite.
We have a person here that only posts Daily Mail bullchit. Russians aren’t killing everyone as we are told.
Hollywood movie.”The Magnificent 13” or “The Baker’s Dozen”.
“Go tell the Ukrainians, stranger passing by, That here obedient to their laws we lie.”
They can tie forks to their forearms, Comrade. Balshoye spasiba.
I distinctly remember the Russians running out of gas, ammo, food and generals three weeks ago. It’s kinda like the climate change liars. Their drop dead dates come and go and they just make up new dates.
They’re free to die another day! 🤪
Sounds like a James Bond movie
“I thought Russians cooked and ate their prisoners.”
If this war drags on much past April the Russians just might start cooking and eating their officers.
So, no soldiers exchanged, just civilians.
but,but,but how can the snake island martyrs be alive?
was the ghost of Kiev in there too?
or
“Let’s go, Russian warship!”
They say the Snake Island soldiers are alive. But they were not exchanged.
“I got better.”
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