The battle for Snake Island

For a rock just twice the size of Alcatraz, Snake Island has played a surprisingly big role in the war in Ukraine. The fortress was a target from day one, when Russia’s Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, arrived at its shores to request the surrender of its tiny guardpost. The garrison’s famously impolite refusal became a rallying cry for the country. The sinking of the Moskva in April, in turn, saw the rock take on a new defensive significance for Russian vessels in the Black Sea. In the days that followed the sinking Russia fortified the island with new anti-aircraft, missile and radar systems. Ukraine responded when it could, using what it could: fighter jets, Bayraktar drones and anti-ship missiles. But the Russians did not budge.