Known in Antiquity as Leuke, Leucos or Achilles' Island, Snake Island has been intensely disputed in recent centuries, belonging in turn to the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, Romania and Ukraine.

The first lighthouse on Snake Island was built between 1837-1842 on the island's plateau, approximately 40 m above sea level. After 1877, the maintenance of the lighthouse was ensured by four guardians, a Romanian, a Greek, a Turk and a Bulgarian. The lighthouse was destroyed in 1917, during the First World War, by the German cruiser Breslau. In 1922, the lighthouse was rebuilt by the European Danube Commission.

In 1947, Snake Island was taken from Romania by the USSR, after its dissolution it returned to Ukraine. A year ago, the lighthouse was destroyed by Russian bombing of the island.