Russia is likely withdrawing forces from the Kinburn Spit as Ukraine strikes its supply lines, ISW says. Ukrainian drones strike a bridge linking Kherson region to Crimea for the second time in days. The EU unveils a 21st package of proposed sanctions against Russia.
Russia likely withdrawing forces from Kinburn Spit as Ukraine strikes its supply lines, ISW says
The Russian military command is reportedly withdrawing forces from the Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast as Ukraine’s intermediate-range strike campaign against Russian supply lines in occupied Ukraine is rendering defenses in the area increasingly untenable, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in an update on Monday. The paragraphs below are quoted from the report.
Crimea-based Ukrainian partisan group Atesh reported on June 8 that one of its agents in the headquarters of the Russian Dnepr Group of Forces reported that elements of the Russian 337th Airborne (VDV) Regiment (104th VDV Division) are abandoning their positions on the northern and western parts of the Kinburn Spit due to “completely disrupted” supplies.
The agent reported that ammunition, fuel, and food deliveries have stopped, that Russian forces on the spit have been unable to repel Ukrainian drone strikes, and that Russian losses have been growing.
Ukrainian Southern Defense Forces Spokesperson Colonel Vladyslav Voloshyn stated on June 8 that he could neither confirm nor deny the Atesh report but stated that Ukrainian forces are conducting operations to establish fire control over Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) in occupied Kherson Oblast so Russian withdrawals from the Kinburn Spit are possible.
Ukraine’s expanding intermediate-range strike campaign against Russian GLOCs in occupied southern and eastern Ukraine appears to be generating battlefield effects, which will likely continue to mature in the near future.
Russian forces have previously used their limited positions on the Kinburn Spit to conduct artillery strikes against Ochakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast (four kilometers from the tip of the spit across the Dniprovska Gulf).
In an article published on Sunday, The Telegraph compared the current battlefield situation with one in 2023 when Ukraine tried to launch a counteroffensive. The paragraphs below are quoted from the article. Back in 2023, Ukraine’s generals came up with a bold plan to end the war. They envisaged a blitzkrieg in the occupied south, cutting through to the Sea of Azov and severing the so-called “land bridge” Moscow had established between Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.
It was a set-piece operation as highly anticipated as D-Day, involving new brigades specially trained by Nato militaries and armed with modern weapons like American Bradley fighting vehicles and British Challenger 2 tanks. Yet in the event, the gambit failed – and what appeared to be Ukraine’s last realistic chance of winning a decisive battlefield victory disappeared.
This time, the threat comes not from Ukrainian infantry and tanks punching through on the ground, but from unmanned aerial drones that are terrorising Russia’s supply lines. They are having a particularly potent effect along a key road that was one of the major targets of the 2023 counteroffensive.
In the past month, an array of drone strikes have hit the R-280 motorway, which Russian troops in Crimea and southern Ukraine depend on for resupply.
Ukraine drones strike bridge linking Kherson region to Crimea for second time in days
A Ukrainian drone attack overnight on Tuesday damaged a bridge near the Chonhar village that links the occupied part of Kherson region to Crimea, Russian-installed governor of Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo said on Telegram. According to Ukrainian media, the bridge is one of the key routes that Russia uses to supply its southern grouping of forces. This is a second strike on the bridge in the past days.
Traffic on the bridge was halted, Saldo said. He advised the drivers to take alternative routes through Armyansk and Perekop.
Saldo said on Sunday, June 7, that the bridge sustained damage in an overnight drone attack. Traffic on the bridge was restored in reverse, Ukrainian media said.
The June 7 strike is a joint operation of the Falanga-1 unit of the Dmytro Kotsyubaylo 1st Assault Regiment and the 475th Assault Regiment Code 9.2. Drones manufactured by the Fire Point company and fresh Behemoth drones were used in the attack, the Dmytro Kotsyubaylo 1st Assault Regiment said.
EU unveils 21st package of proposed sanctions against Russia
The European Union unveiled a 21st package of proposed sanctions against Russia, targeting the country’s energy sector, financial and crypto services, trade and fisheries. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke on the measures on Tuesday.
“Today, we are putting forward the 21st sanctions package. We focus on the sectors with the highest impact: energy, financial services and crypto, trade – including fisheries, for the first time – and we are banning the entry of former Russian combatants into the European Union,” von der Leyen said.
The new measures now need to be approved unanimously by EU countries.
The EU aims to freeze the price of Russian oil to stop Moscow from benefiting from the rise in oil prices resulting from Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
“Our oil price cap has a built-in adjustment mechanism to follow the market. It was not made for market shocks like the one caused by the closure of the Strait in Hormuz. So we propose to simply pause the adjustment until January next year. This will give oil markets time to stabilise while preserving pressure on Russia’s revenues,” she continued.
At the same time, we will continue targeting the shadow fleet.
The EU is also adding more vessels from Russia’s so-called shadow fleet to the sanctions list, and is increasing sanctions for those assisting the fleet’s vessels.
“Today, we propose listing 30 more vessels on top of the 632 already sanctioned. For the first time, we are also targeting vessels that assist the shadow fleet – providing bunkering and other services for example. And we propose targeting critical infrastructure, such as ports, airports, refineries trading or processing Russian oil,” von der Leyen said.
The EU also proposes restricting the sale of LNG tankers to Russia, similarly to oil tankers restrictions.
The bloc will also prohibit crypto-asset service providers in third countries from helping to circumvent the sanctions.
“We are expanding our transaction bans to 31 more Russian banks. And to 20 banks, crypto firms or platforms and oil traders in third countries, ones that have been servicing sanctioned Russian entities and individuals or circumventing our measures. For the first time, we will introduce the possibility of a full third-country ban for crypto-asset services,” von der Leyen said.
The measures include new export restrictions on goods that could be used by Russia’s military industry, as well as import restrictions.
“We are putting forward new export restrictions on items and technologies used by Russia’s military industry. For example, we are targeting more metals and alloys used in the aerospace and defence sectors. For drones, we propose new export bans on ground support equipment, and jamming and launch systems, among others. We also propose new import bans on a number of goods worth EUR 60 million. For example, it covers certain metals, metal ores or car parts,” she said.
The package also includes import restrictions on fish for the first time. “We propose substantial restrictions on imports on some fish products, and a complete ban on others, including cod,” von der Leyen said.
The new sanctions package also targets Belarus. “We will be aligning trade restrictions for Belarus. So it cannot serve as a backdoor for Russian trade,” she added.
The EU is looking to adopt the 21st package of sanctions against Russia by July 15 to coincide with the deadline to update the oil price cap, European Pravda said last week.
