The Ukrainian flag was not raised on the liberated Zmiinyi Island. It was dropped by a helicopter and will be picked up after landing on the island by the military.
Natalya Humenyuk, head of the press center of the Security and Defense Forces of the Operational Command "South" stated this in a comment to CNN.
According to her, the information about raising the flag on the island should be "understood metaphorically." No one has landed on the island since the retreat of the Russians.
She explained that the Ukrainian command would not risk people in order to raise the flag and take a photo for the media.
- Since the beginning of June, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been methodically attacking the positions of the Russians on Zmiinyi. Boats and ships supplying the Russian garrison on the island also came under fire.
- On June 30, Operational Command "South" reported that Russian troops left Zmiinyi Island after another shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The enemy hastily evacuated the remnants of the garrison with two speedboats. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation confirmed the retreat from the island, but called it a "step of goodwill."
- Later, "SKhemy" published a picture of the consequences of the shelling of Zmiinyi, which happened on June 29, and Maxar satellite pictures of the island after the Russians fled from it. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces published a video of the operation of the Bayraktar TB2 attack drone against Russian targets on the island.
- According to Forbes, during the occupation of Zmiinyi, the Russians lost almost $1 billion worth of equipment.