Zelenskyy believes Russians do not need Kinburn after the war

Russian military on the territory of the occupied Kinburn Spit, summer 2024. Photo: TASS

While discussing the possible exchange of territories with Russia, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that troops should withdraw from the occupied Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv region.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this at a private meeting with journalists.

The President spoke to the media about the maintenance of border areas in Sumy and Kharkiv regions. Later, he clarified the situation in Mykolaiv region, noting that the Russian army uses the Kinburn Spit as a bridgehead to block Ukraine's access to the sea.

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«If we are talking about Sumy or Kharkiv regions, Russians will not get them, and, frankly, they will not be able to hold the border areas where they are now. In today's realities, it is a matter of time — a few months — and they will not be in Sumy region. I also believe that in the long run — I don't want to make it a military perspective — they will not get Kharkiv region. And talking about Mykolaiv region, that they are ready to give us the Kinburn Spit... They only need it to block the sea for us,» Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

On 17 April in Paris, US Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff presented a US proposal to end the Russian-Ukrainian war to European officials. It contained, among other things, a clause on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the temporarily occupied Kinburn Spit, which is partially within the administrative boundaries of Mykolaiv region.

The Kinburn Spit is the only occupied part of the Mykolaiv region. The presence of Russian troops there, among other things, is the reason why navigation in the waters of the Mykolaiv port is impossible. It is also from Kinburn that Russians shell Ochakiv and the Kutsurub community in Mykolaiv region on a daily basis.

What is happening at Kinburn?

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the territory of the Kinburn Spit has been occupied by the Russian military. In fact, the Russians have been shelling the Ochakiv and Kutsurub communities of Mykolaiv region for over a year.

So far, only three settlements in Mykolaiv region, located on the territory of the Kinburn Spit, remain occupied. These are the following settlements:

• Vasylivka village. Before the full-scale war, the population was 382 people;

• Pokrovka village. Before the full-scale war, the population was 229 people;

• Pokrovske village. Before the full-scale war, the population was 177 people.

Vitalii Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, said that the liberation of the Kinburn Spit is a matter of time, «and not a very long one at that». This was also confirmed by the spokesperson for the Southern Defence Forces, Nataliia Humeniuk.

At the same time, the Russian occupiers continue to shell and mine the protected area of the Kinburn Peninsula. Wild animals are killed by mines there almost every day, and there are cases of human casualties. This is described in the article NikVesti «On the brink of destruction: How the protected Kinburn Spit is suffering from the actions of the occupiers»

Throughout the occupation, forests have been burning on the Kinburn Spit from time to time. The situation is usually complicated by the fact that the Russian occupiers did not allow rescuers to extinguish the fire, so fires can last for weeks. At the same time, as noted in the RMA, Mykolaiv region cannot help extinguish the fires there, as all fire stations and equipment that can reach there are located in the occupied territories of Kherson region.

Red Book orchids and other unique plants and animals are under threat because of the fires on Kinburn, Ombudsman Liudmyla Denisova said.

After the de-occupation, the Kinburn Spit will need time to restore nature on its own, according to «Biloberezhzhia Sviatoslava». This will happen while the demining of the protected area continues.

In October 2024, Serhii Beliakov, the mayor of the occupied villages of Pokrovka and Vasylivka on the Kinburn Peninsula, complained about the actions of the Russian military, which looted, threatened violence and reprisals against the local population.