Bile, a rural settlement, was founded in 2007 with the goal of establishing the island’s status as an inhabited place.
The island was at the centre of a boundary dispute between Romania and Ukraine from 2004 to 2009. The International Court of Justice delineated the territorial limits of the continental shelf around Snake Island in 2009, awarding Romania more than 80% of the disputed island.
On this island, about 100 people lived, the majority of whom were technical personnel and border guards, along with their families.
The island had been demilitarised and was in the process of being developed.

The Ukrainian government withdrew a radio division of the army, destroyed a military radar, and transferred all remaining infrastructure to civilians in accordance with a treaty signed between Ukraine and Romania in 1997.

During the Ottoman Empire, the Greeks renamed this island Fidonisi, and the naval battle of Fidonisi was named after it. Following the Russo-Turkish War of 1828–1829, the island became a part of the Russian Empire in 1829 and remained so until 1856. Following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, the Ottoman Empire transferred this island, along with the Northern Dobruja region, to Romania as compensation for Russia’s occupation of Romania’s Southern Bessarabia province.

First World War
As part of the Romanian-Russian alliance, the Russians operated a radio station on this island, which was destroyed in 1917 when it was bombarded by the Turkish ship Medilli.

Second World War
The island was under Romanian control during WWII, and an Axis radio station was located on it, making it a target for the Soviet Black Sea Fleet.

The Romanian marines stationed on this island were evacuated in 1944, and the island was taken over by Soviet troops.

Russian Invasion in 2022
On the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, two Russian naval warships, the Moskva and the Vasily Bykov, attacked this island. On the same day, a second attack occurred, and Russian forces invaded and took control of the island. Thirteen Ukrainian border guards stationed on this island were killed during the battle for refusing to surrender.