The Ukrainian who addressed the call, a member of the nation’s border guard, can be heard informing a coworker: “Well, this is it… should I tell him to go f*** himself? Just in case.”
He then reacts: “Russian warship, go f*** yourself!”
The soldiers on the island were presumed dead after the warship opened fire and the airwaves fell quiet.
However, it later on emerged that 8 border guards, 50 soldiers and 2 handymen had actually endured and were being held as detainees of war.
Some were later on launched in a detainee swap in April and more in November.