(CNN) — Ukraine’s border guards cannot trademark the anti-Russian wartime insult, “Russian warship, go f**k yourself,” because it is a political slogan, an EU court ruled Wednesday.
The cry was the defiant response of Ukrainian defenders to a Russian warship calling for surrender in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The General Court of the European Union said the phrase “quickly became a symbol of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression,” and was widely used in a political context to promote support for Ukraine, a press release from the Court of Justice of the European Union outlined.
The bold words were the last known radio communication from Ukrainian soldiers on Snake Island, a rocky island in the Black Sea. They soon became a widely memed symbol of Ukrainian resistance.
The phrase was repeated on everything from T-shirts to postage stamps and road signs.
The State Border Guard of Ukraine had …