Zelensky marks 500th day of war with defiant message from Snake Island

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has marked the 500th day of war by hailing the country’s soldiers in a video from a Black Sea island that became a symbol of Ukraine’s resilience in the face of the Russian invasion.

Speaking from Snake Island, Mr Zelensky honoured the Ukrainian soldiers who fought there and all other defenders of the country, saying that reclaiming control of the island “is a great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory”.

Russian forces took control of the tiny stony island on February 24 2022, the day Moscow launched its invasion, in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa, Ukraine’s biggest port and the headquarters of its navy.

“I want to thank – from here, from this place of victory – each of our soldiers for these 500 days,” Mr Zelensky said. “Thank you to everyone who fights for Ukraine!”

It was unclear when the video was filmed. Mr Zelensky was returning from Turkey on Saturday.

He announced that five commanders involved in the defence of the Azovstal steel plant, a gruelling months-long siege early in the war, were returning on the plane with him.

The sprawling steelworks was the last bastion of resistance as Russian forces took control of the port city of Mariupol. Its defenders became renowned among Ukrainians for holding out in wretched conditions in the plant’s tunnels and corridors.

Azovstal’s more than 2,000 defenders left the steelworks in mid-May 2022 and were taken into Russian captivity. The five leaders, some of whom were part of the Azov national guard regiment that Russia denounces as neo-Nazi, were freed in a September prisoner swap and taken to Turkey.

Under the exchange, the leaders were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war under the Turkish president’s protection. There was no immediate official explanation from Ankara or Kyiv about why they were allowed to return to Ukraine.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The return of the leaders of the Azovites from Turkey to Ukraine is nothing more than a direct violation of the terms of the existing agreements. Moreover, in this case, the terms were violated by both the Ukrainian side and the Turkish side.”

Snake Island took on legendary significance for Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a demand from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed. The answer supposedly came back: “Go (expletive) yourself.”

Ukraine has celebrated the story with patriotic fervour, issuing a postage stamp in commemoration.

The island’s Ukrainian defenders were captured by the Russians but later freed as part of a prisoner exchange.

After the island was taken, the Ukrainian military heavily bombarded the small Russian garrison there, forcing the Russians to pull back on June 30 2022.

The Russian retreat reduced the threat of a seaborne Russian attack on Odesa and helped pave the way for a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports.

“Let the freedom that all our heroes of different times wanted for Ukraine and that must be won right now be a tribute to all those who gave their lives for Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said. “We will definitely win!”

Intense battles continued to rage on Saturday in the country’s east and south as Ukrainian forces pressed their attacks against multi-layered Russian defences in the initial stages of their counter-offensive.

Ukraine’s interior ministry said that a Russian rocket strike on the town of Lyman killed eight civilians and wounded 13 others early on Saturday.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the eastern Donetsk region, posted images showing some of the dead, including a body lying under a bicycle and body parts on the pavement next to a damaged vehicle, saying that “the Russian terrorists are continuing to strike civilians in Donetsk”.

A private residence, a shop and a few cars were also damaged in the attack on the town, which sits just a few miles from the front line, where Russian troops have recently intensified fighting in the forests of Kreminna.

The UK Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update that the eastern town of Bakhmut that was captured by the Russians in May has seen some of the most intense fighting along the front during the last week.

It said that Ukrainian forces have made steady gains to both the north and south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, noting that “Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery”.

The Russian military insisted that it has successfully fended off Ukrainian attacks in various sections of the front and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.

The Russian Defence Ministry on Saturday released footage of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visiting firing ranges where volunteer soldiers are being trained.

Pitched battles along the front line are raging as Nato leaders are set to meet in Vilnius for a two-day summit next week to offer more help in modernising Ukraine’s armed forces, create a high-level forum for consultations and reaffirm that it will join their alliance one day.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed support early on Saturday for Ukraine joining Nato, saying it deserves to join the alliance. He made the comment at a joint news conference with Mr Zelensky, who visited Turkey as part of a European tour to rally support for Ukraine’s entry into the military alliance after the war with Russia comes to an end.

Ahead of the Nato summit, the US has announced that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a move that President Joe Biden described as a “difficult decision”.

Two-thirds of Nato members have banned the munitions which have a track record of causing many civilian casualties, but the US sees their delivery as a way to help bolster Ukraine’s offensive and push through Russian front lines.