According to Global Network citing the Russian Ministry of Defense , The Russian Federation Armed Forces completed the designated tasks in the Snake Island area and withdrew the garrison on Snake Island. In addition, the Russian military also emphasized that this was a goodwill move by Russia and was intended to show the international community that Russia did not deliberately obstruct the establishment of humanitarian corridors by the United Nations to transport agricultural products out of Ukraine. For this reason, the Russian Defense Ministry will not allow the Ukrainian authorities to hype up the so-called food crisis from now on. However, Ukraine stated that the departure of Russian troops from Snake Island was due to the actions of the Ukrainian armed forces.
(The location of Snake Island is 2140 kilometers away from Odessa and less than 40 kilometers from the west coast of Ukraine)
So the question is, why did the Russian army do this? Did they really withdraw from Snake Island out of good intentions? The answer is obviously no. If the Russian army was really withdrawing out of good intentions, they would have probably done so in May and June. From a military point of view, Russia's withdrawal from Snake Island this time is exactly the same as the reason why Russia withdrew its troops from the vicinity of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, in March. The Russian army cannot and has no need to continue to hold on to Snake Island. You must know that Snake Island is very important geographically. It can firmly control the key passage from Odessa, an important port city in southern Ukraine, to the Bosporus. The Russian army can also use this place to attack Odessa. springboard.
(Snake Island)
Since the war started, Russia and Ukraine have had three main fronts. The first and most important front is in the Donbass region. Russia and Ukraine are currently engaged in a fierce battle in Lisichansk, which is the last city in the Luhansk region still controlled by the Ukrainian army. The remaining two fronts are in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions. . Since the Donbass front has dispersed too many Russian troops, the Russian army is on the defensive on the other two fronts. Small groups of Ukrainian troops can also encroach on one or two villages in the Russian-controlled areas from time to time. However, the top Russian military leaders know very well what should be done now. Only by annihilating the tens of thousands of Ukrainian main forces in the Lischichansk pocket will the development of the war situation be more beneficial to the Russian army.
(Ukrainian Su-27 bombs Snake Island)
At present, the Ukrainian army is retreating steadily on land. After the Battle of Debaltsevo in 2015, the Ukrainian army began a long reconstruction process. It took Ukrainian leaders about eight years to finally build an elite force of about 80,000 people. Some of these troops have been NATO , but under the key attacks of the Russian army, their main force suffered Very heavy loss. However, compared to the war situation on land, Ukraine is almost able to fight back and forth with the Russian Black Sea Fleet in the western region of the Black Sea .
(Sunken Moskva )
In the past few months, Ukraine has repeatedly used its naval and air forces to attack the Russian troops deployed on Snake Island. The Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has lost the Moscow guided missile cruiser , cannot only rely on the 11356 frigate to provide sufficient anti-aircraft firepower for the Russian defenders of Snake Island. Moreover, Ukraine has also received a huge amount of Western weapons and equipment assistance during this period. After Ukraine received the Harpoon anti-ship missile, the Americans also provided assistance to Ukraine with the Haimas long-range rocket launcher. Therefore, in this case, they deployed it on the Snake There is absolutely no need for the Russian defenders on the island to be passively beaten. Evacuation at this time is the right choice. However, this also sent a signal that the Russian army will not attack Odessa in the short term.
(The Russian army has completely taken control of the Lisichansk Refinery)
For Russia and Ukraine, the most important thing at the moment is obviously not the gains and losses in the fight for a city or a place, but the annihilation or preservation of effective forces.However, the development of the war situation is obviously more favorable to Russia. After all, Zelensky has signed an order for the cannon fodder Homeland Defense Brigade to go to the front line to fill trenches. When Ukraine's effective forces are exhausted, Russia will most likely retake Snake Island and then use it as a springboard to attack Odessa.
