Zelensky visits island symbol of defiance as Russia-Ukraine war marks 500 days

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky paid a visit to a Black Sea island whose defenders are famous for defying a Russian warship when the invasion started as the ongoing war reached its 500th day.

"Today we are on Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupiers, like the whole of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave," Zelensky said in a video clip, which was posted on social media on Saturday (July 8).

"I want to thank from here, from this place of victory, each of our soldiers for these 500 days," said Zelensky, in the undated clip in which he was seen reaching the island by boat and placing flowers at a memorial.

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Shortly after invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Moscow had captured Snake Island. A radio exchange had gone viral in which the crew of Russia's attacking warship were heard demanding Ukrainian soldiers to surrender, who in return had said to them "go f**k yourself".

The Russian army had taken Ukrainian soldiers as prisoners who were later exchanged for Russian captives. This verbal exchange had been recorded and went viral around the world, becoming a theme for the Ukrainian resistance, and even saw its appearance on placards during support rallies and on stamps.

In April, the Russian ship involved in the incident Moskva sank in the Black Sea following what Moscow said sounded like an explosion on board. Ukraine had claimed to hit the warship with missiles.

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UN criticises civilian toll in the war

The civilian cost inflicted by the Russia-Ukraine war was condemned by the United Nations. The UN's Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), in a statement, said that more than 9,000 civilians, which included 500 children, were killed since Russia's February 24, 2022 invasion.

"Today we mark another grim milestone in the war that continues to exact a horrific toll on Ukraine's civilians," said Noel Calhoun, the deputy head of HRMMU, in the statement marking 500 days of the war.

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This year, although the casualty numbers are slightly lower on average than in 2022, the figure began to increase again in May and June, noted the monitors. On June 27, 13 civilians, which included four children, lost their lives in a missile strike on Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine.

In the western city of Lviv, far from the front line, rescuers found a 10th body amid the rubble of buildings on Friday. On Thursday, around 37 people were wounded in an early strike that was called as the biggest attack on civilian infrastructure by Mayor Andriy Sadovyi in his city since the start of Russia's invasion of the country.

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