Russia has evacuated the remainder of its garrison on Snake Island and has left this strategically important island in the Black Sea, as announced by Ukrainian Armed Forces Operational Command South on Facebook, 30 June.
Ukrainian forces report that on the night to 30 June it had conducted a missile and artillery attack on the island, «forcing the enemy to evacuate the remainder of its garrison using speedboats, abandoning the island».
Ukraine reports explosions are still heard on the island and a fire there continues. The situation remains unclear.
The head of the Ukrainian president’s office Andriy Yermak has confirmed information about the withdrawal of Russian forces from the island.
«There are no Russian [troops] left on Snake Island. Ukrainian armed forces have executed an excellent operation,» Yermak wrote on his Telegram page.
Meanwhile Russian Ministry of Defence representative Igor Konashenkov reported that Russia decided to pull its forces from Snake Island to demonstrate that Russia «does not interfere with UN efforts to organise a humanitarian corridor for the purpose of exporting agricultural products from Ukraine».