The last words of a Ukrainian soldier before being bombed

This is how the Russian attack on Ukraine was experienced 3:55

Kyiv, Ukraine (CNN) --

A Ukrainian soldier on a small island in the Black Sea did not hold back when a Russian warship threatened to bombard him as Moscow continued its assault on Ukrainian territory.

According to an alleged audio exchange, as the Russians approached Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, a Russian military man says, "This is a military warship. This is a Russian military warship. I suggest you lay down your arms and surrender and avoid unnecessary bloodshed and casualties. Otherwise you will be bombed."

A Ukrainian soldier replies: "Russian warship, fuck off."

As far as is known, those were the last words that were heard from that island.

All 13 Ukrainian defenders were killed in a Russian shelling on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

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"All the border guards died heroically, but they did not give up. They will be awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine posthumously," Zelensky said.

Snake Island is located about 48 kilometers from the southern tip of the Ukrainian territory, in the northwest of the Black Sea.

It is 300 kilometers west of Crimea, the Ukrainian territory that Russia annexed in 2014.

Although it is only about 18 hectares, a report last year by the nonpartisan Atlantic Council think tank said it is "key to Ukraine's maritime territorial claims" in the Black Sea.

Highlighting its strategic importance, Zelensky chose it last year as the location for an interview with Ukrainian media ahead of a summit to try to reverse Russia's annexation of Crimea, according to the Atlantic Council report.

Zelensky's words to interviewers that day proved prophetic.

"This island, like the rest of our territory, is Ukrainian land, and we will defend it with all our might," he said.

Conflict Russia - Ukraine