SLOVIANSK, UKRAINE (AP) – Russian forces withdrew from a strategic Black Sea island on Thursday, possibly limiting the threat to the vital Ukrainian port of Odessa, but continued to push to encircle the last stronghold in the eastern part of the country. .
The Kremlin described the withdrawal from Snake Island as a “gesture of goodwill.”  But the Ukrainian army claimed to have forced the Russians to flee in two small speedboats after a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile raids.  The exact number of troops was not known.
“Unable to withstand the impact of our artillery, missiles and aircraft, the Russian occupiers left Snake Island.  “The Odessa region has been completely liberated,” the Ukrainian military said in a regular briefing on social media on Thursday night.
A senior Ukrainian military official, Oleksiy Gromov, said earlier that Kyiv planned to deploy troops to Snake Island, but did not specify a timetable.
“Right now, we are controlling (the island) with the help of our weapons: long-range artillery, missile units and air force,” Gromov said.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said the withdrawal was intended to show that Moscow is not obstructing UN efforts to build a humanitarian corridor for agricultural exports from Ukraine.
Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blocking Ukrainian ports to curb grain exports, contributing to a global food crisis.  Russia has denied the allegations, saying Ukraine must remove the mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation.
Turkey has sought to mediate an agreement to unblock grain exports.  However, talks have been delayed, with Kyiv expressing fears that Russia would use the mine clearance to attack Odessa.
Snake Island is located along a busy shipping lane.  Russia took over in the early days of the war with the apparent hope of using it as a landmark for an attack on Odessa.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that although the withdrawal did not guarantee the security of the Black Sea region, it would “significantly reduce” Russian activities there.
“Step by step, we will push (Russia) away from the sea, our land, our sky,” he said in his overnight speech.
It was unclear whether the evacuation of Snake Island meant a change in Moscow’s plans for Ukraine’s largest port, which is critical to transporting grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world.  It is also the headquarters of the country’s navy.
The island – shrouded in myth from antiquity – became legendary early on for Ukraine’s resistance to Russian invasion, when Ukrainian troops there reportedly received a request from a Russian warship to surrender or be bombed.  The answer is supposed to be, “Go (explosively) alone.”
Ukraine celebrated history with patriotic fervor, issuing a commemorative stamp.
The Ukrainian defenders of the island were captured by the Russians but later released in exchange for prisoners.  After occupying the island, the Ukrainian army heavily bombarded the small Russian guard there and its air defenses.
At a NATO summit in Madrid, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson described Russia’s withdrawal as a sign that Ukraine would prevail in the war waged by Russian President Vladimir Putin.  “In the end, it will be impossible for Putin to contain a country that will not accept the occupation,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Moscow has continued to push for control of the entire Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.  It is located in the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining stronghold of Ukraine in the province of Luhansk.
Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95% of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two main Russian-speaking provinces of Donbass.
Ukraine has said the Russians are bombing Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery at its ends.
The Ukrainian military said Thursday afternoon that Russia had “partial success” that day around the plant, about 17 kilometers southwest of the city.  They made no mention of claims that the attacking forces managed to cross the strategic Siverskiy Donets River and enter the city from the north.
Zelensky said in his overnight speech that the situation in Donbas remains “the harshest and most difficult”.
Luhansk Governor Sergie Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units trying to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday were repulsed.  He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies and completely encircle the city.
“The Russians did their best to occupy the city,” Haidai said, but denied that Lysychansk was under siege.
However, Haidai noted that as of Thursday afternoon, evacuations from the city had been impossible due to heavy bombardment and mine-laden access roads.  Earlier, the Ukrainian army said it had no plans to withdraw from Lysychansk.
A spokesman for the Russian-backed separatists in Luhansk claimed that pro-Russian forces had entered Lysychansk on Thursday after a dangerous crossing of the river – which, if true, would be a major development.
Military analysts had previously told the AP that Russian forces were unlikely to cross the river without heavy losses due to the high positions of the defenders.
It was impossible to immediately verify the accuracy of the statements of Andrey Marochko, who leads the armed forces of the self-proclaimed, unrecognized separatist region, in the Russian agency Interfax.  There was no official confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv.
In other developments:
The President of Ukraine welcomed the start of Ukraine’s electricity exports to Romania on Thursday, which Zelensky described as “only the first stage” of a process that could replace “a significant part” of Russian gas consumed by Europeans from Ukrainian energy.
– US President Joe Biden has said his government will send an additional $ 800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, including missiles and advanced air defense systems.  In his overnight speech, Zelensky thanked Biden for the move, saying the equipment would soon “go to the front line to work for Ukraine, to defend freedom.”
– Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who held talks with Putin on Thursday, a day after visiting Ukraine, said he had handed the Russian leader a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  He did not give further details.
– A senior Russian official has warned that Moscow could see Western sanctions as a cause for war.  “Under certain circumstances, such hostile measures could be perceived… even as a casus belli,” Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s deputy secretary general of the Security Council, said in a speech to a legal forum.
Speaking on a visit to Turkmenistan on Thursday, Putin said his goals in Ukraine had not changed since the start of the war.  He said it was “the liberation of Donbass, the protection of these people and the creation of conditions that will guarantee the security of Russia itself.”  He made no reference to his initial stated goals of “demilitarizing” and “de-Naziizing” Ukraine.  “As you can see, the troops are moving and reaching the signs that were given to them for a certain stage of this battle.  “Everything is going according to plan,” Putin said.
Funeral services were scheduled for Thursday for some of the 18 people confirmed to have been killed in a Russian airstrike Monday in a busy shopping mall in the central city of Kremenchuk.  Crews searched the ruins for 20 missing people.
Sweden has announced plans to send more military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons and mine clearance equipment.  Sweden was invited to join NATO this week, a process that could take months.
Iranian state media reported on Thursday that Iran had proposed expanding economic exchanges with Russia and cooperating in the energy sector.  Both countries are under heavy Western sanctions.  Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Putin met on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan.