Description

Snake Island, or Zmiinyi Island, sometimes known as Serpent Island, is a Ukrainian island in the Black Sea near the Danube Delta. It plays a significant role in defining Ukraine's territorial waters. Bile, a rural hamlet, was founded in 2007 with the goal of establishing the island's status as an inhabited area.

The island was at the heart of a territorial dispute between Romania and Ukraine from 2004 until 2009. The International Court of Justice demarcated the territorial limits of the continental shelf around Snake Island in 2009, awarding Romania more than 80% of the contested island. On this island, about 100 people lived; the majority of them were technical staff and border guards, together with their families.

The island had been demilitarised and was in the process of being developed

In line with a pact struck between Ukraine and Romania in 1997, the Ukrainian government withdrew an army radio division, dismantled military radar, and handed all military assets to Romania.

The Island's History

During the Ottoman Empire, the Greeks nicknamed this island Fidonisi, and the naval battle of Fidonisi was named after it. Following the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, the island became a part of the Russian Empire in 1829 and remained so until 1856. Following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the Ottoman Empire handed this island, along with the Northern Dobruja area, to Romania as compensation for Russia's occupation of Romania's Southern Bessarabia province.

First World War

As part of the Romanian-Russian alliance, the Russians established a radio station on this island, which was destroyed in 1917 when it was shelled by the Turkish cruiser Medilli.

Second World War

The island was under Romanian control during WWII, and an Axis radio station was stationed on it, making it a target for the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. The Romanian marines stationed on this island were evacuated in 1944, and the island was taken over by Soviet soldiers.

Russian Invasion in 2022

On the opening day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, two Russian navy vessels, the Moskva and the Vasily Bykov, assaulted this island. On the same day, a second invasion occurred, and Russian forces invaded and took control of the island. Thirteen Ukrainian border guards stationed on this island were slain during the conflict for refusing to surrender.

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