Almost completely burned out’: Over 500 fires have occurred on the Kinburn Spit since the beginning of the year

In the Mykolaiv region, more than 500 fires broke out in the occupied territory of the Kinburn Spit in the first eight months of 2025. The main reason is the hostilities, as well as heat and wind, which spread the fire over a larger area.

Yevhen Kasianov, a researcher at the research department of the «Biloberezhzhia Sviatoslava National Park», told NikVesti.

«We have a sad record. As of 7 September, 547 fires have occurred since the beginning of the year,» says Yevhen Kasianov.

Scale of fires on the territory of the Kinburn Spit in August 2025, screenshot from NASA «Modaps»

He also said that the forests and fields on the Kinburn Spit were almost completely burnt out.

«Today we can say that almost the entire territory of Kinburn has burned down, and most of the fires are of a repeated nature,» Yevhen Kasianov said.

The national park scientist believes that certain areas of Kinburn can be reforested after de-occupation, but this should be done «very carefully» and not earlier than in 5-10 years.

«Then we will already have an idea of which areas are of greater conservation value and where there is a chance to implement reforestation,» he explained.

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What is happening on 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 more than a year.

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

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• 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.