Russian soldiers withdrew Thursday from Snake Island, a small but significant outpost in the Black Sea. The Ukrainian victory doesn’t signal a major change in the course of the war, but it does weaken the Kremlin’s Black Sea blockade.
Snake Island is located just off the coast near Ukraine’s border with Romania and close to the mouth of the Danube River. Seizing it was a top priority when Russia launched its invasion. It succeeded—but only after the soldiers defending it famously told the Russian warship to you-know-what.
