THE fearless Ukrainians who told Putin’s warship to “go f*** yourself” have been given a hero’s welcome after being released in a PoW exchange with Russia.
The defiant border guards were protecting the strategic Snake Island in the Black Sea when they faced an ultimatum from the Russians to surrender.
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While they were initially thought to have been massacred in an aerial bombardment by Putin’s troops, it was later revealed the guards were not killed – and were instead captured by the Russians as PoW.
After spending nearly 800 days in captivity on the island, the 19 fearless guards were today returned to Ukraine in a prisoner swap with Russia.
They were seen singing a patriotic song led by former PoW Konstantin Mirgorodsky as they were driven to meet their families after the release.
Incredible pictures from the reunion scene show them covered in Ukrainian flags as they held their heads high while receiving a hero’s welcome.
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One of the prisoners returned was Maryana Chechelyuk, 24, who had been feared dead after being held in Olenivka detention centre where dozens of Ukrainian PoWs died in a massacre.
The young police officer had been in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol when defenders surrendered to Putin’s forces.
She was separated from her younger sister and taken to a brutal filtration camp.
Snake Island, which is a strategic location in the Black Sea, was approached by a Russian military vessel at the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.
In a radio message from the vessel, the Russian soldiers warned the guards defending the island to drop their weapons and surrender otherwise they would be bombed.
However, the Ukrainian troops defiantly refused to give up the territory, and replied: “Go f*** yourselves!”
The Russians grabbed the island but later gave it up in a humiliating setback for Vladimir Putin which was dubbed a “gesture of goodwill” by Moscow.
And flagship Russian vessel Moskva was later sunk in a Ukrainian missile strike in one of the biggest blows to Putin since the start of the war.
The military outpost in the black Sea was visited by President Volodymyr Zelensky to mark the 500th day of the war.
He said today: “Throughout all of this time, we have not stopped working for a single day to bring everyone home from Russian captivity.
“We remember every person. We are making every effort to find every one of our people. I am grateful to the team responsible for the exchanges.”
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