There were 13 border guards stationed on Snake Island, a roughly 16-hectare (40-acre) rocky island owned by Ukriane that sits about 186 300 km west of Crimea, when Russian troops bombed the island on Thursday, the report said.

 

All 13 soldiers died after refusing to surrender, Ukrainian officials announced.

 

In his address after the first day of the invasion of his country, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced he would posthumously present all of the soldiers the 'Hero of Ukraine' award.

 

"All border guards died heroically but did not give up," Zelenskiy said.

 

Audio has emerged that is purported to have captured an exchange between Ukrainian border guards on Snake Island and an approaching Russian Navy vessel, in which a Russian officer told the Ukrainian forces on the island to "lay down your weapons", The Guardian reported.

 

"This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed," the Russian office was recorded as saying on a naval radio channel, the report said.

 

After a brief silence in the recording, a Ukrainian officer reportedly responded: "Russian warship, go f*** yourself", The Guaridan reported.

 

The audio has been published by multiple media outlets and was shared on social media by Anton Herashchenko, an advisor to the Ukraine's Interior Ministry, the report said.