The island of Zmiinyi, or Fidonisi, has been in the media for the last few hours, as on it 13 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, who refused to surrender to Russian forces.
Listen to the audio document where 13 Ukrainian border guards on the island of Zmiinyi respond "Go f@@@te" to the Russians asking them to surrender
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Video minutes before the attack
But what is Snake Island?
Snake Island, also known as White, is a Black Point island belonging to Ukraine on the country's border with Romania near the Danube Delta.
The island was the focus of a border dispute between Romania and Ukraine, the territorial limits of the continental shelf around Fidonisi were delimited by the International Court of Justice in 2009.
Ancient "Lefki"
The island got its name from the ancient Greeks who called it "Lefki", probably because of the white marble formations present on the island.
Later it was called "Achilles Island". Ruins of a temple of the god Apollo have been found on the island and there are also sunken ruins of buildings.
According to Greek mythology, this is where the goddess Thetis transported the bodies of Achilles and Patroclus after the Trojan War to rest in eternity.
The island is mentioned by many ancient writers such as Ovid, Ptolemy and Strabo.
The island is mentioned by many ancient writers such as Ovid, Ptolemy and Strabo. In fact, many ancient inscriptions have been found on Fidonisi.
How it came into the hands of Ukraine
During the Ottoman Empire it was called by the Greeks Fidonisi where it prevailed until today.
In 1829, after the Russo-Turkish war of 1828-1829, the island became part of the Russian Empire until 1856.
In 1829, after the Russo-Turkish war of 1828-1829, the island became part of the Russian Empire until 1856. In 1877, after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 , the Ottoman Empire conquered the island and gave it along with Northern Dobruja to Romania as compensation for the Russian annexation of southern Bessarabia.
Until 1948, Fsonisi was considered part of the Romanian coastal town of Sulima. In 1948 the Soviets forced the Romanian side (occupied by Soviet troops) to accept the "transfer" of the snake island to the Soviet Union, as well as to agree to move the Romanian border in the Danube Delta to the west, to the benefit of the USSR. Romania strongly contested the validity of this "treaty", as it was never ratified by either country and considers the snake island to be Romanian territory.
In the same year, 1948, during the Cold War , the Soviet Union built radar on the island. A treaty between Romania and the USSR signed in Bucharest on 27 February 1961 recognized the occupation of Fidonisi by the USSR.
Between 1967 and 1987, the USSR and the Romanian side started negotiations on the delimitation of the continental shelf. The Romanian side refused to accept the Soviet offer to define a continental shelf of 4000 to 6000 square kilometres around the island. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Snake Island passed to the territory of Ukraine. The Romanian side re-claimed the island. According to the Romanian side, in the peace treaties of 1918 and 1920 (after World War I), the island was considered part of Romania, and was not mentioned in the 1947 treaty that redrew the border between Romania and the Soviet Union.
In 1997, Romania and Ukraine signed a treaty by which both states affirm that the existing border between them is inviolable and, therefore, they shall refrain, now and in the future, from any aggressive action against the border, as well as from any other claim, or act, the seizure and usurpation of part or all of the territory of the contracting party. However, the two sides agreed that either side may go to the International Court of Justice to claim a final judgment.
On 16 September 2004, the Romanian side brought the case against Ukraine to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the case concerned the maritime border between the two states in the Black Sea. On 3 February 2009, the ICJ issued its decision (Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea case) and definitively delimited the maritime border between the two countries.
Source.gr
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