More than 6.7 thousand hectares of protected lands of the Kinburn spit were burned by shelling

Kinburn fire, 2022.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war on the Kinburn Spit, more than 6,700 hectares of protected land have been burned due to shelling.

This was reported in the National Park «Biloberezhzhia Sviatoslava».

It is noted that during the war, as of February 13, there were 209 fires on the territory of the park. Fire monitoring is carried out on the basis of data analysis of Sentinel-2 satellite images, which is carried out by scientists of the national park.

«Fires, forest fires, overturning of equipment, mining — all these actions of the occupiers have a negative impact on the nature reserve fund of the Kinburn Spit, because its unique flora and fauna are suffering,» the report says.

What's happening at Kinbourn?

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, the territory of the Kinburn Spit has been occupied by the Russian military. Actually, from there, the Russians have been shelling Ochakiv and Kutsurub communities of the Mykolaiv region for more than a year.

Until now, only three settlements located on the territory of the Kinburn spit remain occupied in the Mykolaiv region. These are the following settlements:

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

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

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

Currently, the Defense Forces of Ukraine continue combat operations against the occupiers there. In particular, the Ukrainian defenders struck the area of concentration of Russian manpower, weapons and equipment on the spit, and also destroyed the Russian invaders and enemy equipment there

Vitalii Kim, the head of Mykolayiv RMA, said that the release of the Kinburn spit is a matter of time, «and not a very long one». This was also confirmed by the speaker of the Defense Forces of the South, Nataliia Humeniuk.

At the same time, the Russian occupiers continue to shell and mine the protected territory of the Kinburn Spit. Almost daily, wild animals are blown up by landmines there, and there are cases of human casualties. This is stated in the article NikVesti «On the verge of destruction: How the protected Kinburn spit suffers from the actions of the occupiers».

During the entire period of occupation, forests on the Kinburn spit occasionally burned. The situation is usually complicated by the fact that the Russian occupiers did not allow rescuers to put out the fire, so fires can last for weeks. At the same time, as noted in RMA, Mykolaiv Oblast cannot help extinguish fires there, as all fire departments and equipment that can get there are located in the occupied territories of Kherson Oblast.

The red book orchids, other unique plants and animals were under threat because of the fires in Kinburn, reported the ombudsman Liudmila Denisova.

After the deoccupation, the Kinburn spit will need time to restore nature on its own, reported in «Biloberezhzhia Sviatoslava». This will take place during the period while demining of the protected area continues.

Currently, according to preliminary estimates of the Ukrainian authorities, about 200 people live on the occupied Kinburn spit, but contact with them has been completely lost.

Major General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Dmytro Marchenko stated that the temporarily occupied Kinburn spit in the Mykolayiv region is currently included in the complex of offensive actions.