Snake Island: Russia’s Withdrawal from the Island

News Highlights

Russian forces abandoned the strategic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island on , in a major victory for Ukraine that could loosen the grip of Russia’s blockade on Ukrainian ports

Focus Points

• Russia’s Claim
  • Russia said it had decided to withdraw from the outcrop off Ukraine’s southwestern coast  
  • To act as a “gesture of good will” to show Moscow was not obstructing UN attempts to open a humanitarian corridor allowing grains from Ukraine. 
• Ukraine’s Claim
  • Ukraine said it had driven the Russian forces out after an artillery and missile assault

Snake Island

• Snake Island also known as Serpent Island or Zmiinyi Island is an island belonging to Ukraine
• Location
  • It is located 35 km from the coast in the Black Sea, to the east of the mouth of the Danube and roughly southwest of the port city of Odessa.
    • The Danube is the second longest river in Europe after the Volga.
• Background
  • Snake Island has been known since ancient times and is marked on the map by the tiny village of Bile
  • On 24 February 2022, two Russian navy warships attacked and captured Snake Island. 
  • On 30 June 2022, Ukraine said that it had pushed Russian forces from the island.
• Strategic Importance of Snake Island

• It has strategic value for the control of the northwestern Black Sea, its coastal cities, and shipping routes that form part of the world’s grain supply chain.
• Russia already controls a large stretch of Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, plus the Crimean Peninsula and the entire Sea of Azov. 
  • Holding Snake Island completed an effective blockade of Odessa and meant exports of majority of Ukrainian grain were impossible.
• It also meant the Black Sea coast became vulnerable to attack , and fears that Russia could install long-range air defences, such as an S-400 air missile system.

• Russian control of the island represented a threat to Nato member Romania
  • Both its key port of Constanta and traffic in the mouth of the River Danube.
• It is not just strategically significant – this area is also rich in reserves of petroleum and gas.

Pic Courtesy: BBC

Content Source: The Hindu