As Russia invaded Ukraine last month, countless stories of bravery and determination have gone viral, leaving people across the world in awe. And the most talked-about one was the soldier’s reply at the snake island, who told “Russian warship, go f*** yourself”. Now, the country is celebrating the gallant troops with a postal stamp.
Ukraine has chosen the image for a new postage stamp showing a lone soldier standing tall in front of a huge naval ship making an offensive gesture. With the blue sky in the background and the land painted in yellow hues, the stamp is a nod to the colours of Ukraine’s national flag as well.
The country’s first deputy foreign minister, Emine Dzheppar, announced the stamp commemorating the Zmiinyi (Snake) Island incident, in which 13 border guards stationed at a speck of land south of the port of Odessa, refused to give up and defended their country.
“The sketch by artist Boris Groh received the most votes and will soon be published by Ukraine’s state postal company,” Dzheppar wrote, sharing the image on her social media profiles.
Earlier this month, Ukraine’s national post, Ukrposhta, wrote online that they are holding a competition, where netizens can vote to choose one of the designs sent in by 20 finalists, which features the phrase that became a rallying cry among Ukrainian troops. The postal service said it “did not expect that there would be so many people willing to take part in the competition and that it would go beyond Ukraine.”
Groh told Ukrposhta he was impressed by the heroic defence of the troops in Snake island that he decided to “paint a picture to lift the mood and fighting spirit of Ukrainians, as well as to attract the attention of foreigners to Ukraine”, for his followers on his social media.
Groh said it took three days to finish the painting and if he hadn’t been distracted by the news, he could have created it in five hours. Unfortunately, the recent Russian attacks brought back sad memories for Groh, who lived in Crimea’s Evpatoria. In 2014 when Russia occupied Crimea, he was forced to leave his home — he first went to Kyiv, and later to Lviv, until war struck again.
This is not the first time the soldiers of the island incident have been recognised. Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he would posthumously award all the soldiers the “Hero of Ukraine” award after Kyiv lost all contact with the island. However, it was later reported that soldiers may in fact still be alive and have been captured by Russian forces.
