"Snake Island’s position in the Black Sea allows guns and missiles
stationed there to help control the waters through which much of
Ukraine’s imports and exports travel. Or used to, before the war.
Russia took the island early on, but defiant Ukrainian troops there immediately became a symbol of resistance.
“Russian ship, f*** you,” was reportedly the semiofficial Ukrainian reply to the Russian warship Moskva (since sunk) ordering them off the island.
Needless to say, after all that, there’s a lot of prestige that comes
with possession of Snake Island on top of its strategic significance.
That’s why both sides are claiming victory, even if only of a sort: “Unable to withstand the fire of Ukraine’s artillery, missile and air
strikes, Russian army left Snake Island,” the commander-in-chief of the
armed forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, said.
The last Russian troops left — some say “fled” due to heavy fire — by speedboat early on Thursday.
Moscow claims a sort of moral victory: Russia’s ministry of defence stated that it had completed its assigned
tasks and was tactically withdrawing to allow for grain exports from
Ukraine’s Black Sea ports.
Russia could easily allow grain shipments while still holding Snake Island. It’s real simple: Make it known that ships are free to pass and then refrain from sinking them.
On the other hand, if your goal is to maintain a stranglehold on your
enemy’s economy, you keep possession of the island vital to doing just
that.
So this claim that Russia has suddenly grown a conscience about grain supplies doesn’t wash.
Economics aside, retreating under heavy fire and then saying, “I meant to do that!” is a pretty sad justification." PJMedia
