How 'Russian warship, go f--k yourself' became Ukraine's 'Remember the Alamo!'

Texas has "Remember the Alamo!" Ukraine now has "Russian warship, go f--k yourself!" — or "Go f--k yourself!" for short.
Those were the final words a group of 13 Ukrainian border guards relayed to a Russian battleship that had ordered them to surrender. The guards were stationed on on Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island), a strategically important rock in the Black Sea.
"On our Zmiinyi Island, defending it to the last, all the border guards died heroically," Zelensky said early Friday. "But [they] did not give up. All of them will be posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. May the memory of those who gave their lives for Ukraine live forever."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ukrainians have evidently run with it.
This meme repurposes the snake-themed 1775 Gadsen Flag, not, say, the Alamo-adjacent Gonzales Flag. But both flags make sense as a Ukrainian rallying symbol: The U.S. eventually won its Revolutionary War against the more powerful British army, and the Texans rallied from their Alamo defeat to win independence from the larger Mexican army.
Snake Island, a "tiny, rocky landmass — of some 42 acres — lies some 185 miles west of Crimea, to the country's south," The Washington Post notes. "With fewer than 100 inhabitants, the island marks Ukraine's territorial waters — giving it a strategic role within the Black Sea by connecting the shipping corridor to the Ukrainian port cities of Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson."
Like the old Spanish mission in downtown San Antonio, the island is now also more than the sum of its stone.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Today's political cartoons - May 4, 2025
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - deportation, Canadian politeness, and more
-
5 low approval cartoons about poll numbers
Cartoons Artists take on fake pollsters, shared disapproval, and more
-
Deepfakes and impostors: the brave new world of AI jobseeking
In The Spotlight More than 80% of large companies use AI in their hiring process, but increasingly job candidates are getting in on the act
-
Is the 'coalition of the willing' going to work?
Today's Big Question PM's proposal for UK/French-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine provokes 'hostility' in Moscow and 'derision' in Washington
-
Ukraine: where do Trump's loyalties really lie?
Today's Big Question 'Extraordinary pivot' by US president – driven by personal, ideological and strategic factors – has 'upended decades of hawkish foreign policy toward Russia'
-
What will Trump-Putin Ukraine peace deal look like?
Today's Big Question US president 'blindsides' European and UK leaders, indicating Ukraine must concede seized territory and forget about Nato membership
-
Ukraine's disappearing army
Under the Radar Every day unwilling conscripts and disillusioned veterans are fleeing the front
-
Cuba's mercenaries fighting against Ukraine
The Explainer Young men lured by high salaries and Russian citizenship to enlist for a year are now trapped on front lines of war indefinitely
-
Ukraine-Russia: are both sides readying for nuclear war?
Today's Big Question Putin changes doctrine to lower threshold for atomic weapons after Ukraine strikes with Western missiles
-
What would happen if Russia declared war on Nato?
In depth Response to an attack on UK or other Western allies would be 'overwhelming'
-
Are Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets too little too late?
Today's Big Question US-made aircraft are 'significant improvement' on Soviet-era weaponry but long delay and lack of trained pilots could undo advantage against Russia