2,500 Russians Trapped On Kinburn Spit Panicking As Ukraine Tightens Control

The Russian occupying force of 2,500 men deployed on the strategically important Kinburn Spit at the mouth of the Dnipro River as it enters the Black Sea appear trapped as Ukrainian artillery and drone-dropped mines have cut their supply lines. Russian artillery can no longer support their troops effectively as they have been pushed too far away.

This is a significant development not just because isolating or capturing that many troops is notable, but because it may help ease pressure on Ukrainian grain exporting routes. It also demonstrates that the Ukrainian command is identifying and acting against any Russian troop concentration it thinks vulnerable. JL

Olena Mukhina reports in Euromaidan Press:

Ukrainian forces have trapped 2,500 Russian soldiers on the Kinburn Spit, a narrow sandy peninsula about 40 kilometers long, between the Dnipro-Buh Estuary and the Black Sea, which controls the sea exit from Russian and Ukrainian ports. Systematic drone strikes and remote mining have cut Russian supply lines and destroyed almost all of Russia's artillery on the spit. Russian artillery support can now reach the coast of Mykolaiv Oblast only with long-range guns from occupied Kherson Oblast. The Russian force has one way in — a single land route Ukrainian troops keep under fire, from Zaliznyi Port through Heroiske. Intercepts show panic among the Russian units, "they're screaming that they can't do logistics, that they don't want to go in, because it's death. The road is cut, and they have very little ammunition. The spit is a trap for them."

Ukrainian troops say they have trapped about 2,500 Russian soldiers on the Kinburn Spit. Systematic drone strikes and remote mining have let them cut the Russian supply lines and destroy almost all of Russia's artillery on the spit, scouts told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's "Crimea.Realities" project.

The Kinburn Spit is a narrow sandy peninsula about 40 kilometers long, between the Dnipro-Buh Estuary and the Black Sea, the last part of Mykolaiv Oblast that Russia has held since 2022. Whoever controls the spit controls the sea exit from the ports, which is why Moscow kept artillery there to shell the southern coast, said former Head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration Vitali Kim.

Now, the troops say, Russia can reach the coastal zone of Mykolaiv Oblast only with long-range guns from occupied Kherson Oblast.

Supply runs through a single corridor 

The Russian force has one way in — a single land route Ukrainian troops keep under fire, from Zaliznyi Port through Heroiske.

"Our task here is to neutralize everything that drives onto the Kinburn Spit. Since we started destroying Russian troops at a rapid pace, they cannot bring in anything effective," reconnaissance unit commander with the call sign "Yava" explained.

A scout calls the spit a trap 

Intercepts show panic among the Russian units, the troops say. 

"In the intercepts, they're screaming that they can't do logistics, that they don't want to go in, because it's death. The road is cut, and they have very little ammunition. The spit is a trap for them," the scout said.

Mining the supply routes is the main method

The problem, the troops say, is that the occupiers disguise themselves as civilians, changing into civilian clothes, which places limits on when Ukrainian soldiers can strike. The main method is catching the Russians on logistics by mining their routes.

"A vehicle hit a mine that was dropped maybe a week ago, maybe yesterday. The first thing is cutting Russia's logistics — the vehicles, the resupply by quad bikes and motorcycles," deputy reconnaissance company commander with the call sign "Holova" explained.