New Delhi:
A Ukrainian soldier who told a Russian warship to “f*** yourself” before being captured by the invading force has returned home, Ukraine’s defense ministry tweeted.
The soldier and his small team had defended a small island called Snake Island in the Black Sea during the early days of the Russian invasion in late February.
When a Russian warship challenged them to surrender, in an audio clip of the incident that surfaced on social media, the soldier was heard bluntly replying: “Russian warship, go destroy yourself.”
Then it was reported that the small team of Ukrainian soldiers defending Snake Island had been killed. Later, Russian media reported that they had been taken into captivity.
In today’s tweet, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said: “Roman Hrybov, the author of the famous ‘Russian warship, go f*** yourself’ phrase, returned from Russian captivity to his native Cherkasy region. Glory to the Hero.”
Roman Hrybov, the author of the famous phrase “Russian Warship, Go F*** Yourself”, returned from Russian captivity to his native Cherkasy. Glory to the hero! #Glory to Ukrainepic.twitter.com/uruPgkBLGv
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 29, 2022
A photo accompanying the tweet shows Roman Hrybov receiving a medal.
More than a month after Russia launched its invasion, it said it will “radically reduce” its military activities around the Ukrainian capital Kiev and the northern city of Chernigiv after “meaningful” progress in peace talks in Istanbul.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the talks have marked the “most significant progress” since the start of the war.