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their positions, but in the context of liberating the spit, it is still too early to say that the enemy has completely withdrawn from this territory," Pletenchuk told the Kyiv Independent.
0:00 / 1× A video shared by Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces on June 25, 2026, allegedly showing a Ukrainian flag installed on the Kinburn Spit, Mykolaiv Oblast. (Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces/Facebook)
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.
Breakdown_volt on June 25th, 2026 at 12:53 UTC »
Every Ukrainian victory is a great dose of happiness to me.
PatientInitial882 on June 25th, 2026 at 12:53 UTC »
This is on the other side of the Dnipro, opposite Kherson. Between Kherson and Crimea there's basically one Russian army holding the front line along the Dnipro. The Kinburn Spit is on the South of that line, a narrow peninsula into the Black Sea.
One or two weeks ago the Russians had to pull back from there because it became impossible to supply their troops there. Because that peninsula is so narrow, and the problems with resupplying over water, none of us here believed that the Ukrainians would actually take the step of stationing troops there. I guess they proved us wrong again.
/salute.
Luckierexpert on June 25th, 2026 at 12:06 UTC »
May the flag be raised on many other areas Russia has occupied since 2022, maybe even land they occupied since 2014.