- 13 Ukrainian border guards protecting Zmiinyi Island last week were thought to have been killed.
- But Ukraine's Navy on Monday announced that the troops were actually "alive and well" after being captured.
- The navy on Monday confirmed the guards are being held in Sevastopol and called for their release.
A group of 13 Ukrainian border guards who were thought to be dead after defiantly telling a Russian warship to "go fuck yourselves" last week are actually "alive and well," according to the Ukrainian Navy.
The navy's Facebook update comes hours after the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine on Sunday posited that the defenders may still be alive.
The soldiers, who were stationed on the small Zmiinyi Island in the Black Sea, also known as Snake Island in English, were among the first Ukrainian forces believed to fall following Russia's Thursday morning invasion. An apparent audio exchange shared widely last week captured one of the Ukrainian troops responding to a warning from an approaching Russian ship by telling the vessel to "go fuck yourselves."
Later that day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the Snake Island soldiers' bravery, announcing that all had died in the Russian attack.
But recent updates suggest that's not the end of the story.
According to the navy, the 13 soldiers fought back against two Russian attacks on the island but were ultimately forced to surrender due to a lack of ammunition. The navy also said Russian forces decimated the island's infrastructure, including lighthouses, antennas, and towers.
As such, attempts to contact the team and learn what happened "were futile," the navy said.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine previously said that Russian media reported the Snake Island guards had been captured by Russian forces and were transported to Sevastopol, the largest city on the Russian-controlled Crimea Peninsula.
The navy on Monday confirmed the guards are being held in Sevastopol, approximately 180 miles from Zmiinyi Island, which is located off the southern tip of the Ukrainian mainland in the northwest.
The navy noted that the "illegal capture" of a civilian ship violates the rules and customs of international humanitarian law and war.
"We demand from Russia the immediate release of illegally occupied citizens of Ukraine," the navy said. "We address the world community, to the believers of all churches requesting to take all possible measures to influence the Russian Federation for the return of our citizens."