The Russian army announced on Thursday that it had withdrawn from Serpents’ Island, a strategic position in the Black Sea conquered by Moscow and which has been under Ukrainian bombardment in recent weeks. “On June 30, as a sign of goodwill, the Russian armed forces accomplished the objectives set on Serpents’ Island and withdrew their garrison there,” the Russian Defense Ministry said, saying the move should facilitate grain exports from Ukraine.
For its part, the Ukrainian army hailed “the liberation of a strategic territory.”
“I thank the defenders of the Odessa region who have done their utmost to liberate a strategically important territory,” the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valeriy Zalouzhniy, said on Telegram.