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Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island or Zmiinyi Island ( uk, острів Змії́ний, ostriv Zmiinyi; ro, Insula Șerpilor; russian: Змеиный, Zmeinyy), is an island belonging to
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
located in the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
, near the Danube Delta, with an important role in delimiting Ukrainian territorial waters. The island has been known since
classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
, and during that era hosted a
Greek temple Greek temples ( grc, ναός, naós, dwelling, semantically distinct from Latin , "temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, s ...
to
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...
. Today, it is administered as part of
Izmail Raion Izmail Raion ( uk, Ізмаїльський район ; ; bg, Измаилски район; ro, Raionul Ismail) is a raion (administrative division) in Odesa Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. Its administrative center is the town of Izmail. I ...
of Ukraine's
Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administ ...
. The island is populated, reported to have under 30 people in 2012. A village, Bile, was founded in February 2007 with the purpose of consolidating the status of the island as an inhabited place. This happened during the period in which the island was part of a border dispute between Romania and Ukraine from 2004 to 2009, during which Romania contested the technical definition of the island and borders around it. The territorial limits of the continental shelf around Snake Island were delineated by the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
in 2009, providing Romania with almost 80% of the disputed maritime territory. On 24 February 2022, two Russian navy warships attacked and captured Snake Island. It was subsequently bombarded heavily by Ukraine. On 30 June 2022, Ukraine announced that it had driven Russian forces off the island. Russia claimed that its withdrawal had been a "gesture of goodwill".


Geography

Snake Island is located 35 km from the coast, east of the mouth of the
Danube River The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
. The island's coordinates are . The island is X-shaped, 690 meters from S-W to N-E by 682 meters from N-W to S-E, covering an area of . The highest area is above sea level. The island does not have a prominently featured mountain, but rather a low-slope hill. The bedrock of the island consists of Silurian and Devonian sedimentary rocks, primarily
metamorphosed Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causi ...
, highly cemented
quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...
conglomerate-
breccia Breccia () is a rock composed of large angular broken fragments of minerals or rocks cemented together by a fine-grained matrix. The word has its origins in the Italian language, in which it means "rubble". A breccia may have a variety of ...
s, with subordinate conglomerate,
sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
and
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
, which form cliffs surrounding the island up to 25 metres high. The structural geology of the island is defined by a wavy monocline orientated to the northeast, with a small
anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...
in the eastern part of the island. The island is crisscrossed by faults with both N-S and NE-SW orientations. The nearest coastal location to the island is Kubanskyi Island on the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, located away between the
Bystroe Channel The Deepwater Navigation Course "Danube – Black Sea" is a deep-water canal in the Danube Delta that runs through the Danube Delta distributaries Chilia, Old Istambul and "Bystroe". Through most of its length it coincides with the ...
and Skhidnyi Channel. The closest Romanian coastal city,
Sulina Sulina () is a town and free port in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania, at the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube. It is the easternmost point of Romania. History During the mid-Byzantine period, Sulina was a small cove, and in th ...
, is away. The closest Ukrainian city is Vylkove, ; however, there also is a port Ust-Dunaisk, away from the island. For the end of 2011 in Zmiinyi Island coastal waters, 58 fish species (12 of which are included into the Red Book of Ukraine) and six crab species were recorded. A presidential decree of 9 December 1998, Number 1341/98, declared the island and coastal waters as a state-protected area. The total protected area covers . The island was one of the last hauling-out sites in the basin for critically endangered
Mediterranean monk seal The Mediterranean monk seal (''Monachus monachus'') is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. , it is estimated that fewer than 700 individuals survive in three or four isolated subpopulations in the Mediterranean, (especially) in the Ae ...
s until the 1950s.Sergei R. Grinevetsky, Igor S. Zonn, Sergei S. Zhiltsov, Aleksey N. Kosarev, Andrey G. Kostianoy, 2014
The Black Sea Encyclopedia
/ref>


Population and infrastructure

About 100 inhabitants live on the island's only settlement, Bile, mostly frontier guard servicemen with their families and technical personnel. In 2003, an initiative of the Odessa I. I. Mechnikov National University established the Ostriv Zmiinyi marine research station every year at which scientists and students from the university conduct research on local fauna, flora, geology, meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and hydrobiology. In accordance with a 1997 Treaty between Romania and Ukraine, the Ukrainian authorities withdrew an army radio division, demolished a military
radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, we ...
, and transferred all other infrastructure to civilians. Eventually, the Romania-Ukraine international relationships soured (see "Maritime delimitation" section) when Romania tried to assert that the island is no more than a rock in the sea. In February 2007, the
Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...
approved establishing a rural settlement as part of Vylkove city which is located some distance away at the mouth of the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
. In addition to a
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
platform, in 2002 a
pier Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century.">England.html" ;"title="Brighton, England">Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th ...
was built for ships with up to 8 meter draught, and construction of a harbour is underway. The island is supplied with navigation equipment, including a 150-year-old lighthouse. Electric power is provided by a dual solar/diesel power station. The island also has civil infrastructure such as the marine research station, a post office, a bank (branch of the Ukrainian bank "Aval"), the first-aid station, a satellite television provider, a phone network, a cell phone tower, and an Internet link. Most of building structures are located either in the middle of the island by a lighthouse or the northeastern peninsula of the island by its pier. The island lacks a fresh water source. Its border guard contingent is regularly resupplied by air. Since 2009 the development of the island was suspended due to financing which caused a great degree of concern of local authorities asking for more funding from the state.


Lighthouse

The Snake Island Lighthouse was built in the autumn of 1842 by the Black Sea Fleet of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
. The lighthouse is an octagonal-shaped building, 12 meters tall, located near the highest elevated area of the island, 40 meters above the sea level. The lighthouse built on site of the previously destroyed temple of
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...
is adjacent to a housing building. The remnants of the Greek temple were found in 1823. As lighthouse technology progressed, in 1860 new lighthouse lamps were bought from England, and one of them was installed in the Lighthouse in 1862. In the early 1890s a new
kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...
lamp was installed, with lamp rotating equipment and flat lenses. It improved the lighthouse visibility to . The lighthouse was either destroyed or damaged in the First World War (it is not clear which). It was subsequently rebuilt (see #World War I below). The lighthouse was heavily damaged during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
by
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
aviation and German retreating forces. It was restored at the end of 1944 by the
Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...
military radio detachment. In 1949 it was further reconstructed and equipped by the Black Sea Fleet. The lighthouse was further upgraded in 1975 and 1984. In 1988 a new radio beacon "KPM-300" was installed with radio signal range of . In August 2004, the lighthouse was equipped with a radio beacon "Yantar-2M-200", which provides differential correction signal for global navigation satellite systems
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
and
GLONASS GLONASS (russian: ГЛОНАСС, label=none, ; rus, links=no, Глобальная навигационная спутниковая система, r=Global'naya Navigatsionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, t=Global Navigation Satellite System) is ...
. The lighthouse is listed as UKR 050 by ARLHS, EU-182 by IOTA, and BS-07 by UIA.


History and mythology

In ancient times, the Greeks believed the island to be home to Achilles, and there were numerous shrines to him on the island. The Ottoman and Russian Empires battled for control of the island from 1787 to 1877. The Ottomans ceded it to Russia in 1829 but regained control in 1856. In 1877, the Ottomans turned the island over to Romania. Romania maintained control of Snake Island until 1948, when a treaty turned it over to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. However, Romania disputed the terms of the treaty, believing the island was rightly part of Romania. With the fall of the Soviet Union, Snake Island became part of Ukraine. Romania and Ukraine agreed that Ukraine would maintain control of Snake Island in 2009, as part of a larger treaty involving maritime territory. During the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
, the Russian army occupied the island beginning in February. Ukraine regained control of the island in June.


Ancient History

The island was named by the Greeks ( grc-gre, Λευκή, 'White Island') and was similarly known by Romans as , probably because of the white marble formations that can be found on the isle. According to Dionysius Periegetes, it was called Leuke, because the serpents there were white. According to Arrian, it was called Leuke due to its color.Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea, §32
/ref> He and Stephanus of Byzantium mentioned that the island was also referred to as the Island of Achilles ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλέως νῆσος and Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §A152.9
/ref>) and the Racecourse of Achilles ( and ). The island was sacred to the hero
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...
and had a temple of the hero with a statue inside. Solinus wrote that on the island there was a sacred shrine. According to Arrian in the temple there were many offerings to Achilles and Patroclus. Furthermore, people came to the island and sacrificed or set animals free in honour of Achilles.Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea, §33
/ref> He also added that people said that Achilles and Patroclus appeared in front of them as hallucinations or in their dreams while they were approaching the coast of the island or sailing a short distance from it.Arrian, Periplus of the Euxine Sea, §34
/ref>
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
wrote that the tomb of the hero was on the island. According to the legend, on the island no bird flew higher than the temple of Achilles. The uninhabited isle ("of
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...
") was the major sanctuary of the hero, where "seabirds dipped their wings in water to sweep the temples clean", according to Constantine D. Kyriazis. Several temples of Thracian
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...
can be found here, and there are submerged ruins. According to Greek myths the island was created by
Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...
for Achilles and Helen to inhabit, but also for sailors to have an island to anchor at the Euxine Sea, but the sailors should never sleep on the island. According to a surviving epitome of the lost
Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
epic of Arctinus of Miletus, the remains of
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pele ...
and Patroclus were brought to this island by
Thetis Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as ...
, to be put in a sanctuary, furnishing the , or founding myth of the Hellenic cult of Achilles centred here. According to another myth Thetis gave the island to Achilles and let him live there. The oracle of Delphi sent
Leonymus In Greek mythology, Autoleon ( grc, Αὐτολέων) was a hero of Crotone, Croton in southern Italy, of which the following story is told. Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias relates precisely the same story of one Leonymus ( grc, Λεώνυμος ...
(other writers called him Autoleon) to the Island, telling him that there Ajax the Great would appear to him and cure his wound. Leonymus said that on the island he saw Achilles, Ajax the Great,
Ajax the Lesser Ajax ( grc, Αἴας ''Aias'' means "of the earth".) was a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris. He was called the "lesser" or "Locrian" Ajax, to distinguish him from Ajax the Great, son of Telamon. He was the leader ...
, Patroclus, Antilochus and Helen. In addition, Helen told him to go to
Stesichorus Stesichorus (; grc-gre, Στησίχορος, ''Stēsichoros''; c. 630 – 555 BC) was a Greek lyric poet native of today's Calabria (Southern Italy). He is best known for telling epic stories in lyric metres, and for some ancient traditions abo ...
at
Himera Himera (Greek: ), was a large and important ancient Greek city, situated on the north coast of Sicily at the mouth of the river of the same name (the modern Imera Settentrionale), between Panormus (modern Palermo) and Cephaloedium (modern Cef ...
and tell him that the loss of his sight was caused by her wrath.
Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died  AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...
wrote that Achilles was buried there. In ''
Andromache In Greek mythology, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler ...
'', work of
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...
, Thetis mention the island and said that Achilles was "dwelling on his island home". Ruins believed to be of a square temple dedicated to Achilles, 30 meters to a side, were discovered by the Russian naval Captain N. D. Kritzkii in 1823, but the subsequent construction of a lighthouse on the very site obliterated all trace of it.
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
, who was banished to Tomis, mentions the island, so do
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...
and Strabo. The island is described in
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
's '' Natural History'', IV.27.1. It is also described in Arrian's Letter to Emperor Hadrian, a historical document movingly drawn upon by
Marguerite Yourcenar Marguerite Yourcenar (, , ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 1903 – 17 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist, who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the ''Prix Fem ...
in her ''
Memoirs of Hadrian ''Memoirs of Hadrian'' (french: link=no, Mémoires d'Hadrien) is a novel by the Belgian-born French writer Marguerite Yourcenar about the life and death of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. First published in France in French in 1951 as ''Mémoires d ...
''. Several ancient inscriptions were found on the island, including a 4th-century BC Olbiopolitan decree which praises someone for defeating and driving out the pirates that lived on the "holy island". Another inscription which found on the island and dates back to the fifth century BC writes: "Glaukos, son of Posideios, dedicated me to Achilles, lord of Leuke" A fragment was found on the island which was signed by the famous ancient painter Epiktetos and the potter Nikosthenes. The island was one of the three sites in the Black Sea which stand out in the cult of Achilles, the other two were the Racecourse of Achilles and the
Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age ...
.


Ottoman Era

The Greeks during the Ottoman Empire renamed it Fidonisi ( el, Φιδονήσι, 'Snake Island') and the island gave its name to the naval Battle of Fidonisi, fought between the Ottoman and Russian fleets in 1788, during the course of the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792. In 1829, following the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, the island became part of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
until 1856. In 1877, following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the Ottoman Empire gave the island and Northern Dobruja region to
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
, as a reimbursement for the Russian annexation of Romania's
Southern Bessarabia Southern Bessarabia or South Bessarabia is a territory of Bessarabia which, as a result of the Crimean War, was returned to the Moldavian Principality in 1856. As a result of the unification of the latter with Wallachia, these lands became part ...
region.


World War I

As part of the Romanian alliance with Russia, the Russians operated a wireless station on the island, which was destroyed on 25 June 1917 when it was bombarded by the Ottoman cruiser '' Midilli'' (built as SMS of the German Navy). The lighthouse (built by Marius Michel Pasha in 1860) was also damaged and possibly destroyed.


Interwar period

The 1920
Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
reconfirmed the island as part of Romania. The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1922.


World War II

The island, under Romanian control during the Second World War, was the location of a radio station used by the Axis forces, which turned it into a target for the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. The island's defences mainly consisted of several 122 mm and 76 mm anti-aircraft guns, captured from the Russians. The Romanian marine platoon defending the island was also equipped with two 45 mm coastal guns, two 37 mm anti-aircraft guns, and two anti-aircraft machine guns. The first naval action took place on 23 June 1941, when the Soviet destroyer leader ''Kharkov'' together with the destroyers ''Bezposhchadny'' and ''Smyshlyonyi'' and several torpedo boats ran a patrol near the island, but found no Axis ships. On 9 July 1941, the Soviet destroyer leader ''
Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
'' together with four other destroyers (''Bodry'', ''Boiky'', ''Bezuprechny'', and ''Bezposhchadny'') conducted a shipping sweep operation near the island, but did not make any contacts. On 7 September 1941, two Soviet submarines of the ''Shchuka'' class (''Shch-208'' and ''Shch-213'') and three of the M class (''M-35'', ''M-56'', and ''M-62'') conducted a patrol near the island. On 29–30 October and 5 November 1942, the Romanian minelayers and ''Dacia'', together with the Romanian destroyers , , the Romanian
flotilla leader A flotilla leader was a warship of late 19th century and early 20th century navies suitable for commanding a flotilla of destroyers or other small warships, typically a small cruiser or a large destroyer (known as a destroyer leader). The flotil ...
, the Romanian gunboat ''Stihi'' and four German
R-boat The R boats (''Räumboote'' in German, meaning ''minesweeper'') were a group of small naval vessels built as minesweepers for the ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) before and during the Second World War. They were used for several purposes during t ...
s laid two mine barrages around the island. On 1 December 1942, while the Soviet cruiser ''
Voroshilov Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov (, uk, Климент Охрімович Ворошилов, ''Klyment Okhrimovyč Vorošylov''), popularly known as Klim Voroshilov (russian: link=no, Клим Вороши́лов, ''Klim Vorošilov''; 4 Februa ...
'' together with the destroyer '' Soobrazitelny'' were bombarding the island with forty-six 180 mm and fifty-seven 100 mm shells, the cruiser was damaged by Romanian mines, but it managed to return to
Poti Poti ( ka, ფოთი ; Mingrelian: ფუთი; Laz: ჶაში/Faşi or ფაში/Paşi) is a port city in Georgia, located on the eastern Black Sea coast in the region of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti in the west of the country. Built near t ...
for repairs under her own power. During the brief bombardment, she struck the radio station, barracks and lighthouse on the island, but failed to inflict significant losses. On 11 December 1942, the Soviet submarine ''Shch-212'' was sunk by a Romanian minefield near the island along with all of her crew of 44. The Soviet submarine ''M-31'' was either sunk as well by the Romanian mine barrages near the island on 17 December, or sunk with depth charges by the Romanian flotilla leader ''
Mărășești Mărășești () is a small town in Vrancea County, Western Moldavia, Romania. It administers six villages: Călimănești, Haret, Modruzeni, Pădureni, Siretu and Tișița. Geography The town is located in the eastern part of the county, on th ...
'' on 7 July 1943. On 25 August 1943, two Romanian motorboats spotted a Soviet submarine near the island and attacked her with depth charges, but it managed to escape. The Romanian marines were evacuated from the island and Soviet troops occupied it on 29–30 August 1944.


Post-WWII history

The Paris Peace Treaties of 1947 between the protagonists of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
stipulated that Romania cede
Northern Bukovina Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...
, the
Hertsa region The Hertsa region, also known as the Hertza region ( uk, Край Герца, Kraj Herca; ro, Ținutul Herța), is a region around the town of Hertsa within Chernivtsi Raion in the southern part of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine, ne ...
,
Budjak Budjak or Budzhak ( Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube ...
, and Bessarabia to the Soviet Union, but made no mention of the mouths of the Danube and Snake Island. Until 1948, Snake Island was a part of Romania. On 4 February 1948, during the delimitation of the frontier, Romania and the Soviet Union signed a protocol that left Snake Island and several islets on the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
south of the 1917 Romanian-Russian border under Soviet administration. Romania disputed the validity of this protocol, since it was never ratified by either of the two countries; nevertheless it did not make any official claim on the territories. The same year, in 1948, during the Cold War, a Soviet radar post was built on the isle (for both naval and anti-aircraft purposes). The Soviet Union's possession of Snake Island was confirmed in the Treaty between the Government of the People's Republic of Romania and the Government of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics on the Romanian-Soviet State Border Regime, Collaboration and Mutual Assistance on Border Matters, signed in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
on 27 February 1961. Between 1967 and 1987, the USSR and Romanian side negotiated the delimitation of the continental shelf. The Romanian side refused to accept a Russian offer of out of around the island in 1987. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine inherited control over the island. A number of Romanian parties and organizations consistently claimed it should be included in its territory. According to the Romanian side, in the peace treaties of 1918 and 1920 (after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
), the isle was considered part of Romania, and it was not mentioned in the 1947 border-changing treaty between Romania and the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
. In 1997, Romania and Ukraine signed a treaty in which both states "reaffirm that the existing border between them is inviolable and therefore, they shall refrain, now and in future, from any attempt against the border, as well as from any demand, or act of, seizure and usurpation of part or all the territory of the Contracting Party". However, both sides have agreed that if no resolution on maritime borders can be reached within two years, then either side can go to the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
to seek a final ruling. In 2007, the island's only settlement Bile was founded. In 2008, twelve Ukrainian border guards died when their helicopter flying from Odesa to Snake Island crashed, killing all but one on board.Ukrainian helicopter crash kills 12
Reuters, 27 March 2008
Until 18 July 2020, the island belonged to Kiliia Raion. The municipality was abolished as an administrative unit in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of
raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is co ...
s of Odesa Oblast to seven. The area of Kiliia Raion was merged into Izmail Raion.


2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Militarily, Snake Island, from the coast of Ukraine, is within the range of missile, artillery, and drone strikes from the shore, and exposed to attacks from all directions from air and sea, making any garrison "sitting ducks". On 24 February 2022, on the first day of the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
, two Russian naval warships '' Vasily Bykov'' and '' Moskva'', attacked Snake Island. Upon receiving a transmission from one of the Russian naval warships requesting surrender or else threatening bombardment, a Ukrainian border guard responded, "
Russian warship, go fuck yourself "Russian warship, go fuck yourself",, uk, Російський військовий корабель, іди нахуй, translit= Rosiiskii viiskovyi korabel, idy nakhui was the last communication made on 24 February 2022 during the Russian ...
." The response gained worldwide attention and became a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. Later on the same day, Russian forces landed and captured the island. On 26 February 2022, Ukrainian authorities announced that the civilian search-and-rescue ship ''Sapphire'' had been seized by the Russian Navy off Snake Island. The Ukrainian government says that the garrison consisted of 13 guardsmen from the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, while Russia reported that 82 Ukrainian soldiers surrendered. The Ukrainian government initially reported that they believed all 13 members of the garrison had died in the attack and President Volodymyr Zelensky
posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...
awarded the
Hero of Ukraine Hero of Ukraine (HOU; uk, Герой України, ''Heroi Ukrainy'') is the highest national title that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the President of Ukraine. The title was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma and as ...
, Ukraine's highest award, to the 13 defenders. On 27 February 2022, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said that they believed the 13 guardsmen may be still alive. On 24 March 2022, Ukraine and Russia conducted a prisoner exchange that freed 19 Ukrainian sailors, which included the crew of the ''Sapphire'', but it is unknown whether it also included any guardsmen. On 29 March 2022, the Defence Ministry of Ukraine posted on Twitter that the author of the infamous phrase had been freed from captivity and given a medal for bravery. The Ukrainian Postal Service in April 2022 issued a stamp showing a Ukrainian soldier showing
the finger In Western culture, "the finger", or the middle finger (as in giving someone the (middle) finger, the bird or flipping someone off) is an obscene hand gesture. The gesture communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent i ...
(an offensive gesture of defiance) to the Russian ship ''Moskva''. On 27 April, the Ukrainian army stated that it had struck Russian military positions on the island. On 7 May, the Ukrainian military released a video of a Baykar Bayraktar TB2-based missile attack against a Russian Serna-class landing craft near Snake Island. Ukraine claimed the craft, used for amphibious landings, was destroyed, meanwhile Russia claims it has been repaired and will soon return to service. Two Ukrainian Su-27s made a bombing raid on or before 7 May. The raid was filmed by a TB2 drone. On 31 May, Ukraine claimed that Russia had reinforced its forces on Snake Island, with extra
S-300 missile system The S-300 (NATO reporting name SA-10 Grumble) is a series of long range surface-to-air missile systems developed and operated by the former Soviet Union, now fielded by the militaries of Russia and Ukraine as well as several other former Easte ...
s and additional ships from the Black Sea Fleet. The report claimed some extra 15 units of equipment were added. On 1 June, Ukraine claimed that Russian forces had installed multiple rocket launchers on the island. On 30 June 2022, Russia announced that it had withdrawn troops from the island in a "gesture of goodwill" after military objectives were complete. According to Ukraine, a hasty withdrawal of Russian forces followed what Ukraine's armed forces claimed to be a series of devastating attacks on the strategically important island and any vessel bringing troops and weapons. On 30 June 2022 Reuters reported that "New weapons sent by the West made the Russian garrison even more vulnerable, especially HIMARS, a rocket system supplied by the United States which Ukraine began fielding last week. Russia's abandonment of the island was 'likely a tangible result of NATO arms deliveries to Ukraine', said Rob Lee of the U.S.-based
Foreign Policy Research Institute The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) is an American think tank based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that conducts research on geopolitics, international relations, and international security in the various regions of the world as well as ...
." On 1 July, in a statement, the Ukrainian army said: “Today at around 18:00 … Russian air force
Su-30 The Sukhoi Su-30 (russian: Сухой Су-30; NATO reporting name: Flanker-C/G/H) is a twin-engine, two-seat supermaneuverable fighter aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Russia's Sukhoi Aviation Corporation. It is a multirole fighter ...
planes twice conducted strikes with phosphorus bombs on Zmiinyi island,”


Maritime delimitation

The status of Snake Island was important for delimitation of continental shelf and exclusive economic zones between Romania and Ukraine. If Snake Island were recognized as an island, then continental shelf around it should be considered as Ukrainian water. If Snake Island were not an island, but a rock, then in accordance with
international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
the
maritime boundary A maritime boundary is a conceptual division of the Earth's water surface areas using physiographic or geopolitical criteria. As such, it usually bounds areas of exclusive national rights over mineral and biological resources,VLIZ Maritime Boun ...
between Romania and Ukraine should be drawn without taking into consideration the isle location. On 4 July 2003, the
President of Romania The president of Romania ( ro, Președintele României) is the head of state of Romania. Following a modification to the Romanian Constitution in 2003, the president is directly elected by a two-round system and serves for five years. An indi ...
Ion Iliescu Ion Iliescu (; born 3 March 1930) is a Romanian politician and engineer who served as President of Romania from 1989 until 1996 and from 2000 until 2004. Between 1996 and 2000 and also from 2004 to 2008, the year in which he retired, Iliescu ...
and the
President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
signed a treaty about friendship and cooperation. Romania promised not to contest territories of Ukraine or Moldova, which it lost to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, but requested that Russia as a successor of the Soviet Union recognized in some form its responsibility for what had happened. On 16 September 2004, the Romanian side brought a case against Ukraine to the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
(ICJ) in a dispute concerning the maritime boundary between the two States in the Black Sea. In 2007, Ukraine founded the small settlement of Bile on the island, which was criticized by Romania. On 3 February 2009, the ICJ delivered its judgment, which divided the sea area of the Black Sea along a line which was between the claims of each country. The Court invoked the disproportionality test in adjudicating the dispute, noting that the ICJ, "as its jurisprudence has indicated, it may on occasion decide not to take account of very small islands or decide not to give them their full potential entitlement to maritime zones, should such an approach have a disproportionate effect on the delimitation line under consideration" and owing to a previous agreement between Ukraine and Romania, the island "should have no effect on the delimitation in this case, other than that stemming from the role of the 12-nautical-mile arc of its territorial sea" previously agreed between the parties.


See also

* Bystroye Canal *
Filfla Filfla is a small, mostly barren, uninhabited islet south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. ''filflu'' (or ''filfluu''), a small rocky islet some southwest of Filfla,
* Maican Island * Romania–Ukraine relations * Soviet Navy surface raids on Western Black Sea


References and footnotes


Inline


General


Korrespondent.net: December 2003 report on Snake Island dispute
including aerial picture of the isle
Korrespondent.net: Maritime Delimitation as of August 2005

BBC Romanian report on the bank opening

Aurelian Teodorescu, "Snake Island: Between rule of law and rule of force"
The Ostriv Zmiinyi dispute from the Romanian perspective

Achilles' sanctuary * Nicolae Densușianu
''Dacia Preistorică''
1913, I.4; Literary references to the island in Antiquity
Cotidianul: "OMV cauta petrol linga Insula Serpilor"

Olexandr Fomin, ''The history of Snake Island Lighthouse''
''
Zerkalo Nedeli ''Dzerkalo Tyzhnia'' ( ua, Дзеркало тижня), usually referred to in English as the ''Mirror Weekly'', was one of Ukraine's most influential analytical weekly-publisher newspapers, founded in 1994.Civic Media, ''Ukraine and Romania in strategic war in the Black Sea''
'' Civic Media'', October 2007.
Civic Media, ''The natural right of Romania over the Serpent Island''
'' Civic Media'', October 2007.


Further reading

* Michael Shafir (24 August 2004
Analysis: Serpents Island, Bystraya Canal, And Ukrainian-Romanian Relations
RFE/RL Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

World Court Decides Ukraine-Romania Sea Border Dispute
RFE/RL Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
News, 3 February 2009 * {{Authority control Islands of the Black Sea Islands of Ukraine Foreign relations of Romania Foreign relations of Ukraine Romania–Soviet Union relations Romania–Ukraine relations Izmail Raion Landforms of Odesa Oblast Romania–Ukraine border Odesa University Naval battles of World War II involving the Soviet Union Naval battles of World War II involving Romania Naval battles of World War II involving Germany Military history of the Black Sea Achilles