RIGA, Latvia – Russian forces say they have withdrawn from Ukraine’s Snake Island, a highly disputed piece of land in the Black Sea they seized shortly after the start of the war – a small but strategic victory for Ukraine on Thursday. Their retreat provided a welcome boost to morale in Ukraine as it continued a bloody and hard-fought struggle in the east, where artillery exchanges and a change of vital ground control have led to a few recent victories. On Thursday, President Biden announced at a NATO meeting in Madrid that the United States would commit another $ 800 million in security assistance to Ukraine, adding to the billions provided by the United States and its European allies, and signaling what analysts believe it will be an ongoing conflict. Biden also announced an increase in the US military presence in Eastern Europe, although part of this movement was under consideration months and years before the invasion. The alliance will support Ukraine “as much as it needs to,” Biden said, pledging to “defend every inch of NATO territory.” Prior to the war, he had warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that an invasion of Ukraine would make NATO stronger. “This is exactly what we are seeing today,” he said. Russia’s Defense Ministry has described the withdrawal from Snake Island as a “gesture of goodwill” and an attempt to set up a humanitarian corridor to export agricultural products such as grain from Ukraine. However, officials in the nearby port of Odessa in southern Ukraine said Russian troops had only been evacuated after prolonged rocket and artillery strikes by Ukrainian forces. Snake Island, also known as Zmiinyi Island, is about 25 miles off the south coast and is a critical outpost for controlling shipping lanes for Ukrainian grain exports and access to the main port of Odessa. Attached by Russia inside 2014 Source: Maxar via Google Earth Attached by Russia inside 2014 Source: Maxar via Google Earth Attached by Russia in 2014 Source: Maxar via Google Earth “On June 30, as a gesture of goodwill, the Russian Armed Forces completed their duties on Snake Island and withdrew the guard stationed there,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. “[We] “It showed the world community that the Russian Federation is not interfering in the UN ‘s efforts to organize a humanitarian corridor for the export of agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine.” Africa’s desperate famine: War in Ukraine pushes Somalia to starvation The Russian army has previously described the withdrawals from Kyiv and other parts of central Ukraine as “gestures of goodwill” after fierce resistance from Ukrainian forces and heavy casualties. The Defense Ministry added in a statement on Thursday that “it is now up to Ukraine” to clear its ports of mines and resume grain shipments. The war cut off vital shipping lanes, leaving tons of Ukrainian agricultural products stranded in silos. Western leaders have accused Moscow of holding food insecure countries hostage, cutting off supplies and contributing to global hunger. Moscow responded by saying it would not block grain shipments or use the removal of mines from ports as an opportunity to resume an attack in Odessa, but Ukrainian officials were wary of such assurances. Western analysts have described Russia’s expulsion from Snake Island as a symbolic and strategic victory for Kyiv. For Russian forces, Mason Clark told the Institute for the Study of War, “it was” a major defeat. ” The Kremlin, he noted, needed the island “to threaten the sea route to Odessa along the Romanian coast, which is the safest way for ships to bypass the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain and other exports.” However, Jeffrey Edmonds, a senior analyst at the Center for Naval Analyzes, a Virginia-based think tank, said that while the loss of Snake Island has removed some Russian capabilities from the equation, its navy could threaten the warship trade. and submarines. “Militaryly, it has weakened the blockade,” he said, “but it is not necessary for the blockade.” Covering just 0.06 square miles, Snake Island made headlines in the early days of the war when the crew of a Russian warship ordered a small group of Ukrainian border guards there to surrender or face an attack. The Ukrainians responded with a vile insult, with the result that the Russians opened fire. The protesters were initially thought to have been killed, but were later said to have been taken prisoner. Their contempt has been celebrated all over Ukraine on stamps and posters and was hailed as a moment of rally to defend their country. The Ukrainian armed forces confirmed the Russian withdrawal on their Facebook page on Thursday and thanked the fighters in nearby Odessa for helping to recover the “strategically important” territory. «KABOOM! There are no more Russian troops on Snake Island. “Our Armed Forces have done an excellent job,” Andriy Yermak, head of the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote on Twitter. KABOOM! There are no more Russian troops on Snake Island. The Armed Forces did an excellent job for us. More kaboom news below. Everything will be 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/ItdP3oQvHK – Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak) 30 June 2022 The Ukrainian army was recently on a renewed mission to retake the island and launched multiple attacks against Russian forces there. Last week, Ukraine’s southern operational command said it had used “targeted strikes using various forces” on Snake Island, causing “significant losses” to Russian troops and the destruction of Russian air defense systems, radar and vehicles. The announcement of Russia’s withdrawal came just days after Moscow boasted that it had repulsed Ukrainian attacks by destroying more than a dozen drones and 21 incoming missiles. The Washington Post has not been able to independently verify these allegations. Ukraine’s success in pushing for Snake Island is partly attributed to new arms supplies from the West. The British intelligence services estimated that, using donated Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Ukraine “almost certainly” managed to sink the Russian tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh, which was delivering Russian weapons and personnel to Snake Island. Pro-Russian war correspondents and bloggers have also linked the strengthening of Ukraine’s military capabilities to the French CAESAR artillery stationed in Odessa as one of the reasons for the withdrawal, signaling a victory for Kyiv and its Western allies. CAESAR has a firing range of approximately 26 miles. “After the transport of the French self-propelled howitzers CAESAR and [tactical missiles] “Tochka-U in the Odessa region, the density of artillery fire from the Odessa region has multiplied,” a popular Telegram blogger known as Rybar wrote on Thursday. Pro-Kremlin news agencies described Russia’s withdrawal from the island as a setback for Moscow and a move to save the lives of Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, NATO leaders are meeting in Madrid on Thursday for a third and final day. President Biden announced at the rally on Wednesday that the United States would increase its military presence on NATO soil in Europe, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The new developments will include a permanent headquarters for the 5th US Army Corps in Poland. Suleiman reported from London. David Walker in Britain and Claire Parker and Alex Horton in Washington contributed to this report.
