Ukraine drives Russian forces from Snake Island, a setback for Moscow.

Russian troops have withdrawn from Snake Island in the Black Sea after repeated assaults by Ukrainian forces, a move that is a setback for Moscow’s forces and possibly undermines their control over vital shipping lanes.

The retreat came after sustained Ukrainian attacks — including with powerful, newly arrived Western weapons — made it impossible for Russian forces to hold the island, a small speck of land 20 miles off the coast of Odesa that has played an outsized role throughout the war.

Coming only a week after the Kremlin bragged about repelling a Ukrainian attempt to retake the island, the Russian withdrawal appeared to be another instance of Moscow’s scaling down its military ambitions in the face of Ukrainian resistance. Read more

@nytimes