Thirteen Ukrainian soldiers were stationed on Snake Island, off the coast of Ukraine. A Russian warship approached and warned them to surrender. The response went viral.
As the Russian military pounded targets across Ukraine with an array of bombs and missiles, a small team of Ukrainian border guards on a rocky, desolate island received an ominous message: Give up or be attacked.
“I am a Russian warship,” a voice from the invaders said, according to a recording of the communications. “I ask you to lay down your arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary deaths. Otherwise, you will be bombed.”
The Ukrainians responded boldly.
“Russian warship,” came the reply, “go f— yourself.”
The Russians opened fire, eventually killing 13 border guards.
President Zelensky announced that the 13 would be named Heroes of Ukraine, the nation’s highest honor.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I can’t tell the difference between Trump and Putin.
Trump is the Mini-Me
I have nothing but praise and respect for the Ukrainian nation and people for standing up to the Russian aggressors and Czar Putin the Terrible. Volodymyr Zelenskyy
(Володимир Зеленський) and his family are staying in Ukraine even though he is a target of Russian hit squads. Putin is not only killing untold numbers of civilians and bombing apartment buildings but he is also destroying Ukraine’s infrastructure and its economy and the war has just begun. Will Putin employ the nuclear option? I would not put anything past this despot and maniac.
Correction: Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy – Володимир Олександрович Зеленський
There are varying spellings for his name, in some articles his last name is spelled Zelenskiy or Zelensky. No matter how you spell his name, the man has courage and fortitude in the face of overwhelming odds.
This story may not be accurate.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/02/26/ukraine-russia-snake-island/
Thank you. Always important to correct the record if one inadvertently posts something that is misleading or that turns out to be incorrect. I always appreciate that Diane Ravitch has the integrity to do that.
I join the rest of the world in hoping this is so. But if it is, that does not, of course, distract one iota from the heroism of their response. All honor to them and to all the valiant defenders of Ukraine, as well as to the Russian people in the streets standing up to war criminal and mass murderer Tsar Vladimir Vladimirovich.
To be specific, the WP story raised the possibility that these soldiers might still be alive despite the confrontation with Russia. It in no way impugned the actions of the soldiers. For what purpose did you post this?
Uh, to let people know that these men may not be dead?
I think you meant to say that they did not act heroically. They did. Whether they are alive or dead does not affect their heroism in responding to a warship. Their response has gone viral. Alive or dead, they are heroes to the Ukrainian people as they fight for their freedom.
I meant to say that the story appears to be inaccurate. Ukraine cannot say that these men were killed.
Sorry for being the bearer of—good news, I guess?
flerp,
It is always important to correct the record if one inadvertently posts something that is misleading, and that applies to you, too.
Being succinct isn’t a virtue when it is misleading.
“This story may not be accurate.” Makes is sound like the entire story is false.
Versus:
“Good news, it seems that the soldiers may have been captured and not killed” (with the link to the Washington Post article) would not only have been far more “accurate” than a vague “this story”, but would also not have misled readers into believing the entire story might have been invented.
I believe that if you had posted “Good news, it seems that the soldiers may not have died but only been captured”, no one would be critical of your post.
But I think maybe you already know that, flerp!
The story says that the Ukraine government is trying to determine whether the island’s guards were killed or been taken prisoners. In the midst of a war, it’s hard to verify. Staying alive as bombs are falling takes precedence over fact-checking. What is undisputed is the verbal exchange. It was recorded. Ukrainians are very proud that one of the guards told a Russian warship to perform an impossible feat, especially for a warship.
This is how the Washington Post story begins:
“Ukrainian border guards who insulted Russian forces this week in a recorded exchange that went viral may not have been killed, Ukrainian officials said Saturday, contradicting an earlier claim by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said in a statement posted to its Facebook page that the guards may be alive, after Russian media reported that they were taken as prisoners from their base on Snake Island in the Black Sea to Sevastopol, a port city that Russia controls on the Crimean Peninsula.
Zelensky cited the guards’ story Thursday while highlighting Ukrainian resistance to a Russian invasion, saying that 13 guards had “died heroically.” He said he would recognize each with the title Hero of Ukraine.”
The Kiev Independent, a local English news media, reports that all thirteen guards are alive while being held captive.
https://kyivindependent.com/national/russias-war-on-ukraine-where-fighting-is-on-now-feb-27-live-updates/
Here’s the timeline:
14:03, Feb 28, 2022
“Ukrainian defenders of Zmiinyi Island in Black Sea, presumed dead in a Russian bombardment, are alive and held captive, according to the Ukrainian navy. The 13 border guards became celebrated when they told a Russian warship to “go f*ck yourself” after being ordered to surrender.”
Corrections:
Timeline 14:53, Feb 28 (GMT+2)
There’s a link to a facebook post by Ukrainian Navy Force. It’s written in Ukrainian, so you probably may need a good translator for English.
Link here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=324446486389607&set=a.292820822885507
OMG perfect.
And why does our so-called liberal media let Republicans get away with their wishy washy “I can’t really take a stand that might make Trump look bad” response to Putin’s Ukraine invasion?
Ha,ha. Yes, that.
Actually, I just received an Axios article on my Google (which follows us everywhere & knows what we’re reading, what we’re eating, what we’re doing…ALWAYS) that CNN has just pledged to be less partisan, “Under new chief Chris Licht, CNN will dial down the prime-time partisanship & double down on the network’s news-gathering muscle…” This, under the article title, “Scoop:CNN to Dull its Liberal Edge.” Wait, what?!
Axios story buys into the right wing framing, of course. A more accurate story would be:
“Scoop: CNN to Dull its truthful edge”
“Under new chief Chris Licht, CNN will dial down the prime-time journalism & double down on the becoming a “both sides equal” presenter of talking points.”
But that would require Axios to practice journalism as well.
Unrelated story (Yay, Jon Tester, senator from Montana, farmer, and former public school teacher!):
https://www.falloncountytimes.com/articles/tester-collins-lead-effort-to-strengthen-public-education/
“Tester, Collins lead effort to strengthen public education: Senators introduce resolution designating February 21-25 as ‘Public Schools Week’ “
Senator Tester is terrific.
I like Jon Tester, but anything also “led” by Susan Collins needs Mitch McConnell’s stamp of approval, so I won’t hold my breath.
I am sure that Susan Collins’ definition of strengthening public schools means that when they are being underfunded and undermined and threatened, she will shake her head vigorously and wag her finger once — perhaps twice. (hat tip to Cecily Strong)
Sorry if I upset anyone by posting the WaPo story.
You simply posted the story. Nothing to be sorry about.
Bob,
“Sorry if I upset anyone” is not really an apology. “Sorry if I upset anyone by posting the WaPo story” is definitely not an apology since it wasn’t the posting of the WaPo story that upset anyone.
“Sorry that I made a comment implying that Diane Ravitch was inaccurate about the Ukraine soldiers’ being heroic” is an apology.
Diane wrote a post about the soldiers’ heroism, and flerp! specifically commented “the story may not be accurate” with a link to the Washington Post article. flerp! could have linked to the Washington Post article without comment, or flerp! could have made a comment that was both more informative — like “good news, the soldiers might still be alive” — and less misleading and didn’t leave readers believing that the entire incident was invented or that the “inaccuracy” was that the Ukraine soldiers were heroic at all.
“Sorry my comment gave readers the wrong impression that the Ukraine soldiers weren’t heroic”. “Sorry my comment implied that Diane Ravitch was “inaccurate” in calling those soldiers heroes”.
That’s what an apology sounds like. It doesn’t sound like this: “Sorry if I upset anyone for posting a Washington Post article” – as if Diane Ravitch and many of her readers are snowflakes who would object to posting a link to a news article. They objected to the flerp’s misleading comment. Not sure why flerp would apologize for posting the article given that flerp’s posting of the article didn’t “upset” anyone.
I myself had posted the story of the deaths of the men on the island, and I was relieved to find out that they might be prisoners of war and alive. As Diane said above, this is a matter of the fog of war.
Bob,
I’m sure you would be relieved as would most of us because the soldiers potentially being alive is big news. If you were going to make a comment, that’s what you’d say. “Soldiers may be alive, hooray” and then post the link to the news story. Not simply comment that Diane’s post about their heroism might be “inaccurate”.
What is this, a game where readers have to go to the actual article to see what the “inaccuracy” is? Anyone who bothers to make a comment when posting a link emphasizes what is most important about the link. Apparently leaving readers with the impression the story was inaccurate seemed more important than telling readers that the soldiers might still be alive. Because isn’t it a really nice surprise for the readers who bother to go to the link and read the entire article expecting to see that the entire event was made up to learn that the soldiers were heroic but might be alive?
And for the readers who don’t have the time to read the entire article and just learn that Diane Ravitch’s post about the soldiers’ heroism was “inaccurate”? I guess they are left doubting Diane Ravitch’s “accuracy”.
The original article in the Washington Post said that 13 soldiers were dead. President Velensky said they died. So did CNN, where I heard it on the radio. When a later article said the soldiers might be alive, that was good news. But I agree, NYCPSP, my post accurately reflected what was widely reported. Whether or not the soldiers are dead is not yet known.
^But Bob, I don’t want to argue with you. Propaganda is insidious and clearly it works, even on very smart and caring people.
NYCPP, I apologize for my apology.
lol
FLERP!,
You should stop now.
I suggested some options that would have turned your “apology for posting a link to the Washington Post article” into a real apology to Diane Ravitch that actually sounded like you meant it. You could apologize for writing that Diane’s post was “inaccurate” and (intentionally?) leaving out the reason why and making readers have to read through an entire WP article to learn that the “inaccuracy” had nothing to do with Diane’s point about their heroism. It had to do with them being alive — which could could have just said in the first place if you were a nice person.
And if your slur about Diane’s “inaccuracy” was not intended, you would have apologized for that, not posted a weasel word apology for posting the article at all.
Do you think you are fooling anyone? Why can’t you be a mensch? What is wrong with you?
NYCPP, I apologize for whatever you’d like me to apologize for, including any “slur” that I committed by posting the WaPo story.
FLERP!,
lol you sound like Congressman Ted Yoho “apologizing” to AOC. I loved when she called him out on his “non-apology”.
“I stand before you this morning to address the strife I injected into the already contentious blog…I rise to apologize for the abrupt manner of the conversation I had with my colleague from New York…I apologize for their misunderstanding” “Sorry if I upset anyone” “I apologize for any slur that I committed” (oh wait, no, those last two “apologies” weren’t Ted Yoho)
Try “I apologize for writing a comment calling Diane Ravitch’s post “inaccurate” that gave readers the impression that Diane’s post about their heroism was inaccurate instead of simply writing that the men may still be alive.”
Or don’t apologize at all. As AOC pointed out, naming what you did wrong is part of an apology. “..any slur I committed…”
Did you commit a slur? If you don’t believe what your comment inferred was a problem, then your apology just sounds as disingenuous as Ted Yoho’s. If you don’t think you did anything wrong – even inadvertently — then don’t apologize and keep doing it to your heart’s content and just take the heat.
Just tell what you want me to apologize for.
Are you 5?
Roy Turrentine’s early reply made it clear to you that just posting “The story may not be accurate” was easily misinterpreted. You took the time to write “the story may not be accurate” but couldn’t bother to add “the men may be alive”. Five additional words. And you seem to believe that you have nothing to apologize for because it’s everyone else’s fault that they didn’t read the entire Washington Post story you linked to to learn that your definition of “inaccurate” was just intended to tell them that the men may be alive and not dispute the fact that they were heroes.
If you can’t name what you did wrong, then you don’t think you did anything wrong. Just own it. I am not going to write an apology for someone who is certain that they did nothing that warrants them apologizing.
I’m done, Mr. Yoho.
Who’s Yoho!?
When someone threatens suicide, you should take him or her seriously.
Same when people threaten nuclear annihilation.
Putin must be stopped. His invasion of Ukraine is a war crime. His threatened use of nuclear weapons is madness.
The world needs a reset. The power to use such weapons should never rest with any individual, anywhere, and the U.N. should adopt a resolution making violation of the territorial integrity of any member state an automatic trigger for the creation of an international force consisting of defensive forces from all U.N. members to end the violation.
It’s time we put some freaking teeth into moving back the nuclear doomsday clock and creating a sane world in which the dream advanced by Kant in his “Perpetual Peace” is finally realized.
Amy Kellogg, reporting from Moscow, yesterday: “Well, the Kremlin’s favorite news anchor opened his show tonight with pictures of Russia’s nuclear arsenal,. . . . It was a formidable video montage, and he basically went on to say that Russia has the strongest nuclear arsenal in the world and could easily wipe out the United States and all NATO countries.”
Here’s the quotation from that official Russian national news broadcast: “Our subs can launch 500+ nuclear warheads that would guaranteed wipe out USA and all the Nato countries at the same time.”
Utter madness. Psychopathy. Let me win in Ukraine, or I’ll blow everything up. Everything.
And our counter strike would wipe out Moscow. Then what? Crazy. The ranting of a psychopath with an underveloped…..
Btw, here is what IQ45, the Idiot, the Loser Former Guy who didn’t know, when asked, what the nuclear triad was and thought that stealth airplanes were actually invisible, had to say a few days ago, in his typical toddler English, about Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine:
TRUMP: “I went in yesterday and there was a television screen, and I said, ‘This is genius.’ Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine — Putin declares it as independent. Oh, that’s wonderful. He used the word ‘independent’ and ‘we’re gonna go out and we’re gonna go in and we’re gonna help keep peace.’ You gotta say that’s pretty savvy.”
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko approved placement of nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil, announced that he is sending Belarusian troops into Ukraine to support the Russian invasion, and warned, today, of the start of World War III.
Another utter madman
Another Putin puppet
What kind of monster would threaten nuclear war because he hasn’t been able to crush the Ukrainians in four days?
Update: the 13 men were taken prisoner by Russian forces.
https://m.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-698897
That’s very good news, if true.