Snake Island, translated from English to Snack Island, Ukrainian is the island of Zmeneh, in the Danube Delta near the Black Sea, belongs to the Ukrainian Odessa Oblast, the island is X-shaped, 662 meters (2172 feet) long, 440 meters (1444 feet) wide, and has a land area of 0.17 square kilometers (0.066 square miles). The highest point is 41 meters (135 feet) above sea level. Such a small island that is negligible has caused Russia and Ukraine to compete repeatedly.
Snake Island belongs to the Ukrainian government. But in February 2022, the Russian Navy had taken full control of Snake Island and captured 82 Ukrainian soldiers stationed on the island.
Why did Russia spend so much effort to get this small island? In fact, this is related to the huge geographical value of Snake Island. Snake Island is small, but it is close to Romania and Moldova. Located between the Black Seas, its geographical advantages are extremely important for any country that wants to establish itself in the Black Sea. In addition, after controlling Snake Island, the Russian Navy can completely block Ukraine's sea route.
For the importance of Snake Island, the Ukrainian side is obviously also aware. After Snake Island was occupied by the Russian Navy, the Ukrainian military organized several attempts to retake it, but failed. In addition, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian army has thwarted several attempts by Ukrainian troops to capture the island. The fighting resulted in the killing of more than 50 Ukrainian soldiers and the shooting down of 4 Ukrainian Air Force aircraft (3 Su-24 attack aircraft and 1 Su-27 fighter), 3 helicopters and dozens of drones.
Now the Russian-Ukrainian conflict continues if Russia realizes its plan to occupy Snake Island. And deploy facilities such as anti-ship missiles and radars on Snake Island. Every move of Ukraine will be under Russia's nose. Every warship and merchant ship that Ukraine sailed out of was also under the cover of Russian missiles. It can be said that if Ukraine loses Snake Island, it will lose the freedom of sea shipping lanes.