According to her, the occupiers use small boats to maintain a presence on key islands, and Ukraine has successfully used long-range artillery several times to destroy outposts of the Russian army.
In British intelligence, both sides also placed small groups on the Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast, which is a strategic point of the Dnieper Estuary in the northern Black Sea.
“Both sides are likely seeking to maintain their presence in these areas in order to control maritime access to the strategically important river and warn of any enemy attempts to launch a major offensive across the river. It is extremely unlikely that Russia will try to force the Dnieper by storm: most likely, it will be extremely complicated and expensive,” according to the British Ministry of Defense.
The Russian army attacked the Nikolaev region from the first day of a full-scale attack – February 24, 2022.
At the end of August, the Armed Forces of Ukraine began offensive operations, including in the south. By the first half of November, the Armed Forces of Ukraine had liberated almost the entire Nikolaev region from Russian invaders, with the exception of the Kinburn Spit.
The invaders are shelling Ochakov in response to the successful attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on their positions on the Kinburn Spit, the head of the Joint Press Center of the Defense Forces “South” Natalya Humenyuk
It is possible to release the Kinburn Spit only during the complete de-occupation of territories in the south of Ukraine, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
