Kyiv fights to win back Snake Island

UKRAINIAN forces were set for a moraleboosting victory as they attacked Russian troops on Snake Island last night.

Vladimir Putin’s soldiers occupying the strategic Black Sea outpost face having to be withdrawn. It would represent a crushing defeat for the Kremlin as the island 30 miles offshore represents Russia’s only territory west of Crimea.

For Putin to extend Russian-occupied territory along the Ukrainian coastline, he needs to hold on to Snake Island.

The island became famous early in the war when a Ukrainian defender was invited to surrender by the captain of the flagship Moskva and replied ‘Russian warship go f*** yourself’.

Ukrainian forces also secured territorial gains in the north of the country yesterday, retaking a number of towns.