Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv region virtually destroyed due to hostilities, — Navy spokesman

Kinburn Spit from above

As a result of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, most of the unique natural areas in the south of the country have been severely damaged. Among them are the Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv region and the Askania Nova Reserve in Kherson region.

This was reported by Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, on the air of the telethon «Yedyni Novyny».

«We can start with our Kinburn Spit, which has been virtually destroyed, and the same reserve «Askania-Nova»... But in fact, yes, this reserve has been destroyed. And yes, environmentalists are sounding the alarm,» he said.

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According to Pletenchuk, the Kinburn Spit, which has been under the occupation of Russian troops since the first days of the invasion, has suffered large-scale destruction due to constant fighting.

«I don't know if many of our viewers have been to Kinburn, but I'm from Mykolaiv region, and for us Kinburn was a place that meant a lot. And it was a really interesting place. This is just a part of what we know for sure and what we can see, the state of it now. Whether and when this reserve will be restored is not yet known,» said the Navy spokesman.

He also stressed that the flora and fauna of the Black Sea, particularly in the Crimea, had suffered significant losses. According to him, some environmentalists claim that thousands of dolphins have been killed.

Pletenchuk stressed that the Russian side does not allow environmentalists from international organisations to the Black Sea coast, despite having all the possibilities to do so.

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

Read more about the current state of the Kinburn Spit and whether it has a chance to recover in the article NikVesti: «We must leave nature alone». Does the protected Kinburn Spit have a chance to recover?

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 Oblast for more than 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.

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 Denysova 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.