DTF Magazine is a media about brands, culture and heroes of today. In today’s reality, we cannot write about any other heroes except those without whom the brands, culture and everything else we have been telling you about all these years would not be able to continue to exist in Ukraine. True heroes of today are those who give their lives for our truth and freedom.
February 25 is the second day that Ukraine has resisted the Russian army, which has boldly and openly launched an attack across the country.
Now in the public space there is an opportunity to tell the stories only of those who died, given the safety of the military in the combat zone. But we will expand the list of surviving heroes when possible.
13 defenders of Snake Island (Black Sea)
Russian soldiers, who demanded that the soldiers of the Izmail border detachment surrendered, approached Snake Island on February 24 at approximately 11:30 a.m. The refusal of the Ukrainians became a symbol of resistance. This is how the dialogue between the military and the aggressor sounded (in the original language):
Enemy (twice): «I am a Russian warship. I suggest you lay down your arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary casualties. Otherwise you will be bombed».
The response of the Ukrainian military: «Russian warship, fuck you!».
After 4 p.m., the media published information about the beginning of the attack on Snake Island. According to the Navy, Russia shelled the territory with artillery from its ships. After that, it carried out an air raid with a Russian “Su-24” and demolished all the buildings.
After a prolonged hold on the island and loss of communication, all 13 border guards guarding the island died on the spot. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that they would receive the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously. The names of the military have not yet been revealed.
UPD [28.02.2022] The servicemen from Snake Island are alive and in captivity. This was reported to the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
«About the Marines and Border Guards who were taken prisoner by the Russian occupiers on Snake Island. We are very glad to know that our brethren are alive and well… The Marines bravely repelled the attacks of the Russian occupiers twice. For lack of combat kits, they were unable to continue defending the island. The invaders, in turn, “forgot” to report that they had completely destroyed the infrastructure of the island, namely the lighthouse, towers, antennas, etc. Accordingly, communication with Snake Island was cut off».
Sailor Skakun
Sailor Vitaliy Skakun, an engineer of a separate battalion, blew up the Henichesk road bridge to stop the advance of the Russian tank column on February 25, but he did not manage to get back from there.
As the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine notes on Facebook, «one of the most difficult places on the map of Ukraine was the Isthmus of Crimea, where a separate battalion of marines was one of the first to meet the enemy».
«Vitaliy Skakun’s heroic deed significantly slowed down the enemy’s advance, which allowed the unit to redeploy and organize the defense», the General Staff states.
The Marine Corps Command will petition the highest command to award Sailor Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Skakun a posthumous state award.
We will supplement this list with other feats that bring Ukraine closer to freedom from Russian aggression.
Volodymyr Putin announced a «special military operation» in Ukraine in a new address around 5 a.m. Kiev time on February 24. At the same time, Russian military forces began shelling Ukrainian cities. Military action and shelling affected 17 regions of Ukraine. The Ukrainian military managed to hold their positions in the Joint Forces Operation zone and Kharkiv. However, control of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant was lost, Russian troops entered Sumy, and seized part of the Kherson region and the Snake Island. The main fighting has now shifted to the north near Kyiv.
«The Ghost of Kyiv»
The name of this military man remains a secret. However, according to the Center for Countering Disinformation, one Ukrainian pilot destroyed six Russian Federation aircraft, including a Su-35 fighter, during a 30-hour war. For this he was nicknamed «The Ghost of Kyiv»
Teenagers who stopped the tanks
According to the General Staff of the AFU, the Ukrainian military burned four tanks of the occupants during the battle in the suburbs of Kharkiv on February 24.
Later in the briefing, Oleksiy Arestovich, a former advisor to the head of the presidential office, noted that the Russian armored vehicles were stopped by 18-year-old conscripts of the National Guard of Ukraine, who had not yet studied the conduct of combined arms combat, which is a feat by military standards.
