The Ukrainian soldier who told a Russian warship to 'go f**k yourself' has been awarded a medal for his services.
Roman Hrybov, who was working as a border guard on Snake Island, bravely stood up to the Russian soldiers who approached the island and told the guards to surrender.
Recordings of the radio exchange went viral and were verified by Ukrainian officials shortly after.
The Russian soldiers who were approaching the island said: "This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship.
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"I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed."
After a short silence, one of the Ukrainian guards responded: "Russian warship, go f**k yourself."
The remaining boarder guards on the island were captured and were part of a prison exchange with Russia.
One soldier that survived was Hrybov, and he was presented with an award for the 'Merits To Cherkasy Region' by the region’s governor Igor Taburets.
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"I want to say a big thank you to the Ukrainian people for such support," Hrybov said.
"We strongly feel this support, it inspires us."
When presenting the medal, Taburets said: "I think that Ukraine should really know its heroes and Cherkasy should know its heroes.
"The most important thing is that he survived, in spite of moral pressure, in spite of everything, and he will be an example for our Ukrainians and the people of Cherkasy."
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Russia agreed to exchange 19 of the servicemen on the island for 11 Russian soldiers who had been rescued from a sunken ship near Odessa.
In a Twitter post, the Ukrainian Parliament wrote: "The first exchange of war hostages occurred on President Zelenskyy's order.
"Additionally, today, Ukraine exchanged 11 Russian sailors we rescued from a sunken ship near Odesa for 19 Ukrainian sailors (authors of the legendary phrase 'Russian warship go f*** yourself')."
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In an interview with Russian journalists, Zelenskyy also expressed his gratitude to those who died.
He said: "All those who were taken prisoner were exchanged.
"Russia came up with this proposal. We exchanged them without hesitation … Those who died, they are heroes."
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Anish Vij