Russia pulls back from contested Snake Island south of Ukraine

Russian forces withdrew from a strategic island in the Black Sea Thursday, potentially easing the threat to the vital Ukrainian port city of Odesa, but kept up their push to encircle the last stronghold of resistance in the eastern province of Luhansk.

The Kremlin portrayed the pullout from Snake Island as a "goodwill gesture." But Ukraine's military claimed it had forced the Russians to flee in two small speedboats following a barrage of Ukrainian artillery and missile strikes. The exact number of troops was not disclosed.

"Unable to withstand the impact of our artillery, missile and aviation units, the Russian occupiers have left Snake Island. The Odesa region is completely liberated," the Ukrainian military said in its regular social media update Thursday evening.

A senior Ukrainian military official, Oleksiy Gromov, earlier said Kyiv was planning to deploy troops to Snake Island, but did not specify a timeline.

"At the moment, we control (the island) with the help of our weapons: long-range artillery, rocket units and aviation," Gromov said.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Lt.-Gen. Igor Konashenkov insisted that the withdrawal was intended to demonstrate that "the Russian Federation wasn't hampering the United Nations' efforts to establish a humanitarian corridor for taking agricultural products from the territory of Ukraine."

Ukraine and the West have accused Russia of blockading Ukrainian ports to prevent the exports of grain, contributing to the global food crisis. Russia has denied the accusations and charged that Ukraine needs to remove sea mines from the Black Sea to allow safe navigation.

Turkey has sought to broker a deal on unblocking grain exports from Ukraine, but the talks have dragged on without any sign of quick progress, with Kyiv voicing concern that Russia could use the deal to launch an attack on Odesa.

Snake Island sits along a busy shipping lane. Russia took control of it in the opening days of the war in the apparent hope of using it as a staging ground for an assault on Odesa.

It was unclear if the evacuation meant a change in Moscow's designs on Ukraine's biggest port, which is crucial for shipping grain to Africa, the Middle East and other parts of the world. It's also the headquarters of the country's navy.

Early on Friday, Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa regional administration, said on his Telegram channel a Russian missile struck an apartment building in Odesa, killing at least 10 people.

Battle for Lysychansk in East

Meanwhile, Moscow kept up its push to take control of the entire Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. It is focused on the city of Lysychansk, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province.

Russian troops and their separatist allies control 95 per cent of Luhansk and about half of Donetsk, the two provinces that make up the mostly Russian-speaking Donbas.

Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on its edges.

The Ukrainian military said Thursday evening that Russia had seen "partial success" that day around the plant, some 17 kilometres south-west of the city. They made no reference to claims that attacking forces had been able to cross the strategic Siverskiy Donets river and enter the city from the north.

Luhansk Gov. Serhiy Haidai said Russian reconnaissance units trying to enter Lysychansk on Wednesday were repelled. He said the Russians were trying to block a highway used to deliver supplies, and fully encircle the city.

"The Russians have thrown practically all their forces to seize the city," Haidai said, but denied that Lysychansk had been encircled.

Nevertheless, Haidai noted that as of Thursday evening, evacuations from the city were impossible due to heavy shelling and mined access roads. Earlier, the Ukrainian military said it was not planning a retreat from Lysychansk.

A representative of Russia-backed separatists in Luhansk claimed that pro-Russian forces entered Lysychansk Thursday, after a perilous river crossing — which, if true, would be a significant development.

Military analysts previously told the AP that Russian forces had little chance of crossing the river without major losses due to the defenders' elevated positions.

It was impossible to immediately verify the accuracy of the statements made to Russia's Interfax agency by Andrey Marochko, who heads the armed forces of the self-proclaimed, unrecognized separatist territory. There was no official confirmation from Moscow or Kyiv.