(KINBURN SPIT, MYKOLAIV OBLAST) – Russian forces stationed on the Kinburn Spit in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region have begun withdrawing from occupied positions following successful Ukrainian strikes that severed critical supply routes, according to the Atesh partisan group and Ukrainian military sources.
The partisan movement reported that deliveries of ammunition, fuel and food to elements of Russia’s 337th Regiment had been cut off entirely, compelling units to abandon forward positions on the strategically located peninsula.
The retreat marks a significant operational setback for Russian forces, who seized the Kinburn Spit rapidly at the onset of the full scale invasion in 2022 and subsequently transformed the protected nature reserve into a military testing ground.
Ukrainian drone operators have established control over a vital highway connecting the temporarily occupied territories of the Kherson region with Crimea and onward to Rostov-on-Don. This road served as a primary logistics artery for Russian forces using Crimea as a staging platform for attacks and resupply operations across southern Ukraine.
“This highway was vital for the supply and logistics of the Russian invaders that I need to remind you were very actively using Crimea as a platform of attacks and supplies for the Russian army,” stated Anna from Ukraine, a vlogger documenting the conflict. “Since recently when we took control of the highway, they experienced very serious problems with logistics.”
The logistics crisis intensified when Ukrainian troops destroyed a railway bridge spanning the Chonhar Strait, a narrow waterway connecting mainland Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories to the Crimean peninsula. The bridge had been used daily for Russian military cargo shipments.
“You have to understand that Crimea is almost an island. It’s connected to the mainland Ukraine with very narrow isthmuses and straits, Perekop and Chonhar,” the vlogger explained. “Russians invaders were actively using this railway.”
The destruction of the Chonhar railway bridge, carried out using FPV drones and new beamed drone systems, has compounded what analysts describe as a logistics catastrophe for Russian forces operating in southern Ukraine. Estimates indicate Russian units have lost approximately 70 percent of their supply capacity.
“This is huge. This is very serious. It’s not seven, it’s 70 percent,” the vlogger emphasised. “Lots of their troops already lack basic things they need and they start leaving the Ukrainian territories and the Kinburn Spit is one of the first.”
The Kerch Bridge, personally inaugurated by the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin as a symbol of Crimea’s illegal annexation, has been repeatedly attacked by Ukrainian drones and is no longer operating at full capacity. Even when functional, the bridge never fulfilled the full logistical requirements of the occupying forces, making the land corridor through southern Ukraine essential.
“Many believe that perhaps the greatest achievement of the full scale invasion that in general turned into a failure for the Kremlin regime was this control over the land corridor to Crimea because as you might have guessed Kerch bridge is not working and definitely cannot cover all the needs of the Russian invaders,” the vlogger said.
The Kinburn Spit, designated a natural reserve hosting rare birds, animals and exotic species before the war, was occupied early in the invasion and converted into a launch point for attacks targeting the port of Ochakiv, Mykolaiv and Odesa. Its abandonment by Russian forces removes an immediate threat to civilian populations along Ukraine’s southern coast.
“It was awful to watch how they destroyed every scene, trees, plants, and now they are leaving the territory. They are escaping because of the control of the Ukrainian troops over this highway,” the vlogger added.
The degradation of Russian logistics in Crimea holds implications beyond the immediate theatre. The peninsula remains central to the Kremlin’s ability to project power across the Black Sea and the wider Mediterranean region.
“Crimea is extremely important for the defence of Ukraine, for the defence of the Black Sea region, and perhaps for the protection of the whole Mediterranean area,” the vlogger stated. “Russians have a lot of bad plans and even if they will not invade some countries directly, they can harm the economy, the ecology via different hybrid operations.”
Ukrainian defence strategy has increasingly prioritised the isolation of Crimea through precision strikes on supply infrastructure, a campaign made possible by advances in drone warfare and long range strike capabilities developed by the Ukrainian armed forces.
“Now this plan seems very realistic in contrast to many previous years of the full scale war because of the drone warfare because of the strategies developed in the Ukrainian armed forces,” the vlogger noted.
The loss of forward positions on the Kinburn Spit represents what military observers describe as the direct consequence of strangulating Russian logistics. Russian military channels have devoted considerable attention to the situation in Crimea, underscoring the strategic sensitivity of the setbacks.
“Actually, sometimes pay more attention to Crimea than even to Moscow and St. Petersburg,” the vlogger observed, referencing the symbolic weight of attacks on Russian capitals alongside the operational significance of the Crimean campaign.
The vlogger also noted that the land corridor to Crimea was the only functional route for Russian military logistics after repeated Ukrainian strikes degraded the Kerch Bridge. Ukraine’s inability to defend Crimea effectively in 2014, when its armed forces were still mobilising and international partners counselled against escalation, contrasts sharply with the current operational reality.
“You know, that is the worst advice that you can receive when fighting a bully. And I am actually happy that right now with our drones, with our missiles, we can be more independent in our decisions and the results are obvious,” she said.
The Ukrainian military has not issued an official statement on the Kinburn Spit withdrawal.