Ukraine's Southern Operational Command reported on Nov. 21 that the operation to oust the Russian forces from the Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast had been launched, and a storm in the sea is helping Ukrainian troops.
Ukrainian troops' attempts to venture into the Kinburn Spit on the left bank of the Dnipro River follow the liberation of Kherson and other areas on the river's right bank on Nov. 11.
The Kinburn Spit is located at the mouth of the Dnipro River south of Kherson. It is one of the last parts of Ukraine's Mykolaiv Oblast that remain under Russian occupation.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Operational Command, said that the operation on the Kinburn Spit is in a "quiet mode" - an apparent reference to its secret nature.
"Russian forces are being brought there from the occupied territory. So they can afford to replenish reserves even after we inflict damage," Humeniuk said.
She said that very powerful winds and storms help the operation as "even nature washes away and drains the enemy from this land."
Earlier in November, there were unconfirmed media reports that Ukrainian troops had seized part of the Kinburn Spit.
The illegal Russian occupation government in Kherson Oblast claimed then that Ukrainian troops had tried to land near the village of Pokrovske on the Kinburn Spit and had allegedly been defeated.