Article author:
Reuters
KYIV — Ukrainian troops said the Ukrainian flag was raised again on Snake Island in the Black Sea after Russian troops withdrew from strategic outposts last week.
"The military operation is over and ... the territory (Snake Island) has been returned to Ukrainian jurisdiction," Natalia Humenik, a spokesman for the Southern Ukrainian Military Command, said at a news conference.
Some analysts say Russia's withdrawal from Snake Island off the southwest coast of Ukraine could loosen the blockade at Ukrainian ports.
However, a Kyiv-based diplomat told Reuters that it was not yet sufficient to safely transport Ukrainian grain.
"There are demining requirements, and Russia still has the ability to block routes (warships, cost defense systems, air superiority fighters)," said a diplomat.
Ukraine needs the support of its allies to unblock the port to ship grain, and diplomats have added that Turkey will play an important role.
Russia withdrew from Snake Island as a "good faith gesture" on Thursday to show that it did not interfere with the UN's attempt to open a humanitarian corridor to allow grain transport from Ukraine. Stated.
Ukraine said it had expelled Russian troops after a cannon and missile attack.
(Report by Max Hunder and Tom Balmforth, Written by Alexander Winning, Edited by Gareth Jones and Jon Boyle)
