June 30, The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation completed their designated tasks on Snake Island and withdrew from Snake Island on the same day. This news was later confirmed by Yermak, the director of the Ukrainian Presidential Office. Ukraine stated that after the Ukrainian armed forces launched a military attack on Snake Island, Russian troops have evacuated from Snake Island, but Ukrainian troops have not yet landed on the island.
Smoke-filled Snake Island
Subsequently, foreign media immediately released the latest satellite photos of Snake Island. It can be seen from satellite photos that all the buildings on Snake Island have been destroyed and turned into ruins, and some buildings are still smoking. Some of these buildings were destroyed by early Ukrainian shelling, and some were destroyed by Russian troops before they withdrew.
Since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the Russian and Ukrainian armies have repeatedly fought for this small island with an area of only 20.5 hectares. The day after the war broke out on February 25, Snake Island was occupied by the Russian army. 82 Ukrainian troops stationed on the island surrendered and evacuated. However, the battle for this island has never stopped. Although the Russian army has occupied the island, the Ukrainian army has been using long-range artillery, fighter jets, and drones to continuously attack the island, and has sent special forces from time to time to try to land and recapture the island. At the same time, land-based anti-ship missiles were continuously used to attack nearby Russian warships.
html The attack reached its climax on May 17. Ukraine dispatched only a few dozen combat aircraft and helicopters to carry special forces to launch a night-time joint three-dimensional sneak attack on Snake Island in an attempt to recapture the island in one fell swoop. During this operation, the scene of the Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet flying over Snake Island at low altitude and dropping bombs was captured by a drone and became the most classic scene in the battle for Snake Island. Although this operation ended in a disastrous failure, with the Ukrainian army losing more than ten combat aircraft and dozens of commandos and failing to recapture Snake Island, it did shake the Russian army's determination to continue to hold on.
Under Ukraine's persistent attacks, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the Russian army to transport troops and supplies to Snake Island. In fact, the existing capabilities of the Russian Navy have been unable to fully control the air superiority over Snake Island and southern Ukraine. They are also beyond the control of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Therefore, they basically rely on the ships of the Black Sea Fleet for air defense operations.
After the sinking of the "Moscow" cruiser of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has powerful air defense capabilities, the Russian army has been unable to stop the Ukrainian army's drones from conducting reconnaissance and harassment of Snake Island. Although Russia has transported several "Tor" and "Pantsir" field air defense missile systems to the island, the role of these systems on Snake Island, which can be directly covered by long-range artillery, is quite limited.
The sinking of the Moskva
With the change of air supremacy near Snake Island, Russia's supply of Snake Island has become increasingly difficult. Russia even placed "Tor" air defense missile modules on tugboats and small missile boats in an attempt to strengthen Snake Island's air defense capabilities. However, it was still stretched thin under the attack of Ukrainian drones and anti-ship missile , and itself was also affected. A certain loss. The Russian military even had to rely on civilian crane ships to transport the "Pantsir" launch vehicle to the island. For this reason, senior Russian military officials even wrote a compensation guarantee in hand before the crew agreed to sail.
The Doyle module installed on the frigate
In fact, the original purpose of Russia's capture of Snake Island was to clear the way for the Russian Marine Corps to conduct amphibious landing operations in the Odessa area of southern Ukraine. However, as operations in the north Kiev direction were blocked, the Ukrainian army was engaged in Odessa, and the Ukrainian army did not collapse as quickly as expected, the role of Snake Island became less important after entering the stalemate stage.
The location of Snake Island, which is only 32 kilometers away from the Ukrainian coastline and only 140 kilometers away from Odessa Port , seems very important. Once the island is effectively controlled, it will solve the threat outside Odessa for Ukraine. , for Russia, it provides a security barrier for the Crimean Peninsula .However, effective control of the island and surrounding areas requires relying on very powerful naval and air forces, which the Russian army does not possess. Therefore, when the supply of supplies to the island becomes increasingly difficult, it is meaningless to continue to hold on, and the choice to evacuate is also a helpless move.
Snake Island geographical location
The Russian army also has a political explanation for the evacuation, which is the so-called "global food crisis." After the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, the main ports of Ukraine, an important grain exporter, were blocked. According to data disclosed by the Minister of Agricultural Policy and Food of Ukraine, Ukraine has exported only 4 million tons of grain since February 24, but before that, the average number of Ukrainian ports Exports 5 million tons to 6 million tons of grain every month. This current situation has been hyped up and formed a huge public opinion of "global food crisis".
Russian small frigates are equipped with Doyle modules to protect Snake Island
Now that the Russian army has evacuated from Snake Island, it has kicked the ball to Ukraine. Russia said, "We need to pay attention to Ukraine's actions now. Ukraine still has not cleaned up its Black Sea coast, including the waters near its port." It does not give Ukraine a chance to make a fuss about the food crisis. The Ukrainian side did not respond to this, but just hyped Snake Island's "major victory"!
From a military perspective, Russia tried to use air assault , amphibious assault and other new tactics in the early stages of the war. After it did not receive the expected results, it has switched to the traditional plane combat mode of firepower, steadily eroding the Ukrainian army. The remaining vitality. The military significance of Snake Island is no longer great. Freeing up its hands to attack southern Ukraine from land will be a more accustomed strategy for the Russian army. Once southern Ukraine is occupied by Russia, Snake Island will naturally be within easy reach, so there is no need to pay such a high price to continue to hold on.
Although Russia abandoned Snake Island, it is not easy for the Ukrainian army to control the island! In the Black Sea region, the Russian navy and air force are far stronger than Ukraine. Once the Ukrainian army lands on the island and the offensive and defensive transitions occur, the situation of the Ukrainian army on the island will be even more difficult than that of the Russian army! The Russian army destroyed all the facilities on the island when they evacuated, making it even more difficult for the Ukrainian army to gain a foothold! Therefore, the current situation will be that the Russian army withdraws and the Ukrainian army has not actually recovered. In the future, Snake Island is likely to become a demilitarized zone without any military presence.
