Russian warship, go fuck yourself

Украинский последний военный корабль, иди нахуй
Billboard in Dnipro, Ukraine, with the statement written in Russian

"Russian warship, go fuck yourself",[a] was the final communication made on 24 February, the first day of the 2022 Snake Island campaign, by Ukrainian border guard Roman Hrybov to the Russian missile cruiser Moskva. The phrase was widely adopted as a slogan during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as in pro-Ukrainian protests and demonstrations in the West.[3] Weeks later, the phrase was commemorated on a postage stamp by Ukrposhta, the Ukrainian postal service.[4]

The Ukrainian border guards were originally believed to have been all killed, but Hrybov was later confirmed by the Ukrainian Navy to be "alive and well" and had surrendered to the Russian Navy in the attack. During Hrybov's captivity, his family applied for a defensive trademark on the slogan.[5][6] On his release, Hrybov was awarded a medal for his actions at the end of March.[7]

On 13 April 2022, one day after the first issue of the commemorative stamp, the Russian Navy's guided missile cruiser, Moskva, was critically damaged by an explosion caused by Ukrainian anti-ship missiles, and sank the following day.[8][9] Ukrposhta responded to this event by releasing an altered version of the postage stamp soon after, with the warship removed from the scene.[10]

  1. ^ "Герои мема "Русский военный корабль, иди на..." с острова Змеиный живы, но взяты в плен". BBC News Russian (in Russian). BBC World Service. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  2. ^ Clapp, Alexander (11 March 2022). "Fighters with Ukraine's foreign legion are being asked to sign indefinite contracts. Some have refused". The Economist. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference LH was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Michael, Chris (12 March 2022). "Ukraine reveals 'Russian warship, go fuck yourself' postage stamp". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference WTR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Epstein, Jake. "Ukrainian Snake Island border-guard member who told off a Russian warship has been released from captivity, military says". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 14 March 2023. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference G1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Russia says its Moskva warship has sunk, hours after Ukraine said it hit the ship with a missile strike". CBS News. 14 April 2022. Archived from the original on 17 October 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  9. ^ Dan Lamothe, Claire Parker, Andrew Jeong, Reis Thebault, Maite Fernández Simon: Russia says flagship missile cruiser has sunk after explosion off coast of Ukraine Archived 14 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Post, April 14, 2022, retrieved 14 April 2022
  10. ^ Taras Mishchenko: Ukrposhta announces new “Russian Warship… DONE” military stamp Archived 23 February 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Mezha.Media, April 22, 2022, retrieved 23 February 2023


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