UKRAINE

The Russian army on Thursday announced its withdrawal from the Snake Island, a strategic point in the Black Sea, Moscow conquered as early as the onset of its invasion in Ukraine. The Russian Defence Ministry has announced the move is a gesture of goodwill to facilitate Ukraine’s cereal exports. Kyiv had earlier announced the Russian troops were forced to pull out following a successful operation mounted by the Ukrainian forces. According to Ukraine’s Interior Minister Vadim Denisenko, Russia was trying to turn the island into some sort of aircraft-carrier fitted with defence systems, which could enable it to control this part of the Black Sea. According to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Russia’s withdrawal from the Snake Island proves that „in the end it will prove impossible for Putin to hold down a country that will not accept his rule.”