(The Hill) – The Ukrainian border guards who defended the country’s Snake Island against a Russian warship, telling the Russians on the craft to “go f— yourself,” are still alive, according to Ukrainian military officials.

The Ukrainian Navy on Monday confirmed that the border guards are “alive and well,” but were forced to surrender to Russian forces due to a lack of ammunition.

It was reported last week that the border guards defending Snake Island, or Zmiinyi Island, had been killed after a Russian warship bombed it. After telling the guards to surrender or risk being killed, the soldiers could be heard responding, “Russian warship, go f— yourself.”

“We are very happy to learn that our brothers are alive and well with them! But Russian propaganda tries to twist the ‘news’ about the fact that the Ukrainian authorities ‘forgotten’, ‘buried’ their fellows,” said Ukraine’s Navy.

According to the Navy, the island’s infrastructure was completely destroyed by Russian forces.

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine had said in a statement on social media over the weekend that it had a “strong” belief that the 13 border guards on the island may be still alive.

“Russian media reported that Ukrainian servicemen on the island, who were temporarily occupied by Russia in Sevastopol, had been sent to Sevastopol,” said the agency.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky promised to honor the guards.