Damage to Snake Island, where Ukrainian troops defiantly rejected surrender, seen in satellite photo
According to the Ukrainian Navy, the garrison on the island repelled two attacks by Russian forces but in the end was forced to surrender “due to the lack of ammunition.”
A Ukrainian statement said that Russian attackers destroyed the island’s infrastructure, including lighthouses, towers and antennas — some of the damage that can now be seen in the new satellite photo.
In the image, some of the red-roofed buildings in the island’s center are shown to have been significantly damaged by Russian shelling. Although parts of the island are snow-covered, impact craters can be seen dotting the island.
The ship seen offshore was identified by Maxar as a Ropucha-class landing ship.
Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, sits about 30 miles (48 kilometers) off the Ukrainian mainland’s southern tip in the northwestern Black Sea. It’s about 185 miles west of Crimea, the Ukrainian territory that Russia annexed in 2014.
