Brave Vitaliy Skakun Volodymyrovych was mining a bridge near Crimea when Russian tanks arrived leaving him no choice but to detonate the bombs sacrificing himself in the process

A Ukrainian soldier has been hailed a hero after sacrificing himself to blow up a bridge and stop the Russians from advancing,

According to the Ukraine armed forces, Vitaliy Skakun Volodymyrovych was mining a bridge near Crimea when Russian tanks arrived.

Knowing that he had to slow their advance, the brave soldier detonated the explosives, destroying the bridge and tragically killing himself in the process.

Following his sacrifice the defence was able to buy vital seconds to reorganise their efforts, however it is believed that the area has now been seized by the Russians after they broke through the stout resistance.

On Facebook, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said: “On this difficult day for our country, when the Ukrainian people are repelling the Russian occupiers in all directions, one of the most difficult places on the map of Ukraine was the Isthmus of Perekop, where a separate marines battalion was one of the first to meet the enemy.

“To stop the advance of the tank column, the decision was to blow up the Henichesk bridge.

“The engineer Skakun Vitaliy volunteered to perform this task. He mined the bridge but couldn’t leave and blew it up together with himself. Our comrade died.

“His heroic deed significantly slowed the enemy’s advance, which allowed the unit to redeploy and organise the defence.”

The precise death count of the conflict so far is not yet known however remarkable instances of Ukrainian bravery have been widespread.

It comes dramaticnear Snake Island was recorded on an audio message as the border guards told the intruders “go f*** yourselves”.

Russian Navy forces planned to capture the tiny island in the Black Sea, which was guarded by roughly 13 Ukrainian soldiers.

The Kremlin warship sent the troops a message through broadcast in audio and they said: “This is Russian military warship.

“I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and needless casualties. Otherwise, you will be bombed.”

But the brave soldiers stood on their ground and replied: “Russian warships, go f*** yourselves!”

The Russian soldiers on the radio are heard muttering the curse back at the Ukrainians before all the border guards were killed in an aerial bombardment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged their deaths and said he will issue posthumous honours to the soldiers who were killed after refusing to surrender.

Source: DailyStar