According to the Ukrainian navy, the rebel border guards on Snake Island, who were believed to be dead, are in fact “alive and healthy”.

A group of 13 Ukrainian border guards thought to be dead after defiantly telling a Russian warship to “fuck off” last week are actually “alive and alive”, according to the Ukrainian Navy.

The soldiers, who were stationed on the tiny Black Sea island of Zmiinyi, also known as Snake Island in English, were among the first Ukrainian forces expected to fall after Thursday morning’s Russian invasion. A apparent audio exchange Shared widely last week captured one of the Ukrainian soldiers responding to a warning from an approaching Russian ship by telling the ship “fuck you”.

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 eventually forced to surrender due to a lack of ammunition. The navy also said Russian forces had decimated infrastructure on the island, including lighthouses, antennas and towers.

As such, attempts to contact the team and learn what happened “have been futile,” the Navy said.

The National Border Guard Service of Ukraine previously said that Russian media reported that the Snake Island guards were captured by Russian forces and transported to Sevastopol, the largest city on the Crimean peninsula under control. Russian.

The Navy confirmed on Monday that the guards were being held in Sevastopol, about 180 miles from the island of Zmiinyi, located northwest of the southern tip of the Ukrainian mainland.

The Navy noted that the “unlawful capture” of a civilian ship violates the rules and customs of international humanitarian law and warfare.

“We demand from Russia the immediate release of the illegally occupied Ukrainian citizens,” the Navy said. “We address the world community, believers of all churches asking to take all possible measures to influence the Russian Federation for the return of our citizens.”