Ukrainian troops raise flag on Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast held by Russian forces since 2022, military says

Editor's note: This story is being updated.

Ukrainian troops have raised the national flag on the Kinburn Spit as Russian forces withdraw from their positions in the area, Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces said on June 25.

Russian forces retreated under "heavy fire," with the evacuation of surviving personnel continuing, the statement read.

Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that a Ukrainian flag had been installed on the Kinburn Spit. At the same time, Pletenchuk  said Russian forces remain in the area and that fighting for control of the spit is ongoing.

"Yes, (Russian troops) were forced to abandon some of their positions, but in the context of liberating the spit, it is still too early to say that the enemy has completely withdrawn from this territory," Pletenchuk told the Kyiv Independent.

Pletenchuk added that the flag serves primarily as a symbolic presence that "greatly irritates" Russian forces and keeps them "on their toes."

The spokesperson also underscored the strategic importance of the area, saying Russia is using its presence on the Kinburn Spit to maintain pressure on the southern coast of Mykolaiv Oblast and hinder shipping from the ports of Mykolaiv, particularly through the Bug-Dnipro Estuary Canal.

The Kinburn Spit is a narrow sandy peninsula in southern Ukraine, located between the Dnipro-Buh Estuary and the Black Sea. The area is part of Mykolaiv Oblast and has been contested during Russia's full-scale invasion.

Russian troops entered the 40-kilometer-long (about 25-mile) Kinburn Spit in March 2022 from the then-occupied part of Kherson Oblast.

The spit remains strategically important due to its location, as control of the area has enabled Russian forces to influence access to parts of the Black Sea. Shipping routes from the ports of Kherson and Mykolaiv converge nearby.

The pro-Ukrainian partisan group Atesh said in a Telegram post on June 8 that Russian troops had been forced to leave the Kinburn Spit.

According to an Atesh agent serving at the headquarters of Russia's "Dnepr" Group of Forces, Ukrainian efforts to cut off supply routes forced Russian soldiers to "evacuate hastily" from the Kinburn Spit.

Atesh said units of Russia's 337th Regiment had been abandoning their positions after supply lines were completely severed, halting deliveries of ammunition, fuel, and food.

"Due to significant personnel losses, units of the 337th Regiment are being withdrawn from the coastline and from the northern and western parts of the spit. Fire teams are unable to shoot down Ukrainian drones, and casualties continue to rise," Atesh said.

The group added that after part of the Russian force was redeployed to the Zaporizhzhia sector, the units remaining on the spit were severely understaffed and received no reinforcements. Atesh claimed that only remnants of the units remained on the spit and that they were no longer capable of holding the line.

"The occupiers' logistics system in this sector has completely collapsed," Atesh said.