"Russian warship, go fuck yourself" (Russian: Русский военный корабль, иди на хуй),[a] was the last communication made on 24 February, the first day of the 2022 Snake Island campaign. Ukrainian border guard Roman Hrybov sent the message to the Russian missile cruiser Moskva. The phrase was widely used as a slogan during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It was also used in pro-Ukrainian protests and demonstrations in the West.[3] Weeks later, Ukrposhta, the Ukrainian postal service, put the phrase on a postage stamp.[4]
At first, people believed that all the Ukrainian border guards had been killed. Later, the Ukrainian Navy said that they were "alive and well", but that they has been captured by the Russian Navy. During Hrybov's captivity, his family applied for a defensive trademark on the slogan.[5][6] When he was released, Hrybov was awarded a medal for his actions at the end of March.[7]
On 13 April 2022, one day after the first issue of the commemorative stamp, the Russian Navy's guided missile cruiser, Moskva, was critically damaged by an explosion caused by Ukrainian anti-ship missiles; it sank the following day.[8][9] Ukrposhta responded to this event: They released a different version of the postage stamp, with the warship removed from the scene.[10]