Kim: Kinburn Spit must be liberated, civilians remain there

Russian military on the territory of the occupied Kinburn Spit, photo: TASS

The head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, says that a small number of civilians still remain on the occupied Kinburn Spit.

He said this in an interview with «Ukrinform».

According to Vitalii Kim, the reinforcement of the Russian group on Kinburn does not threaten Mykolaiv at the moment.

«Not yet. The Kinburn Spit is large, you can see everything. It is difficult for them to do anything from there. Another thing is that it needs to be liberated, to save our nature reserves, which have already suffered billions of euros in damage,» he said.

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When the journalist asked if there were still civilians there, the head of the regional military administration replied: «There are some».

He also added that Mykolaiv «is not a priority target, at least as of now».

«For the Russians, we are. Russia has no opportunity for an offensive now. Of course, if they send five North Korean brigades to force the Dnipro, we will have problems. But as of now, this is not the case. I've already said that if I see any troop build-up or preparations that threaten Mykolaiv, I will inform you,» said Vitalii Kim.

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 Oblast 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:

• 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.

The head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, Vitalii Kim, 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.