Snake Island prisoner swap fades as world focuses on Mariupol, but Nataliia, 30, still believes
‘Nobody knows what happened to them. Relatives of Snake Island soldiers need this information’
Nataliia Zazian’s husband was a marine defending Ukraine’s Snake Island when it came under attack on 24 February. The attack marked the beginning of the war in Ukraine and made headlines due to a viral recording of a Ukrainian soldier telling a Russian warship to “go fuck yourself” when ordered to surrender “to avoid bloodshed”.
At the time, Ukraine reported 13 servicemen had been killed. But after a few days it emerged they were alive and had been captured.
It was then reported that at least some of the defenders of the Black Sea island had been freed in a prisoner exchange. But three months have gone by and Ms Zazian, 30, from Podolsk, Odesa, is yet to have any news of her husband, Arthur, also 30.
Recollecting the first day of Russia’s land, air and sea invasion of Ukraine, Ms Zazian said she woke up at 6am to a text by her husband telling her Russian forces had ordered them to surrender. But he was more worried about his wife and children than himself as Odesa had just been bombed and 22 people had been killed.
The next message came at 11am. “The war has started. Remember that I love you,” it read.
Ms Zazian pleaded with him to keep in touch and keep her informed. His next text came at 4.18pm and said: “I am writing to you, but I don’t know what.” Then silence. “I wrote to him every hour but I had no answer from him.”
Ms Zazian started to imagine the worst. She started going through Russian media to see if she could get any information about her husband, and saw that Russia’s defence ministry said 82 Ukrainian soldiers on the island had surrendered to them voluntarily.
She then found a video on Russian media of her husband being taken away by bus.
Ms Zazian claims she is not the only one whose loved one has not been seen since the attack on Snake Island. She has teamed up with relatives of other missing servicemen to gather as much information as they could, also creating a Facebook group to stay in touch. She then went to the Ukrainian police and security service of Ukraine. “We had no idea what to do, it was the first time we were in that situation,” she said.
Ms Zazian then managed to talk with some soldiers who had been freed and who told her her husband was alive but who refrained from saying anything more. “I started to believe again,” she said.
Ms Zazian said she has written to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the International Committee of the Red Cross asking for information but is yet to get any reply.
Her children know their dad is at war but do not know he has been taken captive.
“My son knows Putin is evil so he asked me if he can sell his soul to get his father back,” the 30-year-old said.
Ms Zazian fears the hundreds of Azovstal defenders who were forced to surrender the besieged Black Sea city of Mariupol on Monday will be given priority when it comes to prisoner exchanges.
She said she had hoped for a prisoner swap but said: “I don’t know if it’s possible anymore as Azovstal has become the priority. It’s really difficult for me and other relatives as we don’t know what happened to Ukrainian soldiers and when the next exchange will be possible.”
But the mum-of-two will not give up and is resolved to do anything she can to find her husband. “I believe I can get him back”.
She appealed to Mr Zelensky to help getting the missing Snake Island soldiers back.
“I know it’s a difficult situation [in Mariupol] but I would like Zelensky to say that ‘we remember the Snake Island soldiers and we are trying to help them’.
“Nobody knows what happened to them. Relatives of Snake Island soldiers need this information, it’s important that Zelensky remembers and tries to help,” Ms Zazian said.
Source: Inews, Snake Island prisoner swap fades as world focuses on Mariupol, but Nataliia, 30, still believes
