Ukrainian troops raised the national flag on the Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast on June 25, according to Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces. The military said Russian forces were retreating from positions on the spit and that evacuation of surviving personnel was continuing.

The Kinburn Spit is a narrow sandy peninsula between the Dnipro-Buh Estuary and the Black Sea. It is part of Mykolaiv Oblast and has been contested during Russia’s full-scale invasion. Russian forces entered the approximately 40-kilometer-long spit in March 2022 from the then-occupied part of Kherson Oblast.

The location is described as strategically important because controlling the spit can influence access to parts of the Black Sea. Shipping routes from the ports of Kherson and Mykolaiv converge nearby.