The Wall Street Journal reports:

Ukraine’s military said it launched an operation to push Russian forces from a strategic peninsula on the country’s Black Sea coast, as Kyiv looks to open up its besieged ports and build on significant gains through the country’s south.

Ukrainian forces have begun an assault on the Kinburn Spit, a strip of land jutting into the sea south of Mykolaiv, that has been occupied for months by Russian forces cutting off access to the port city.

“For now, this military operation is in silent mode,” said Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command, on Ukrainian television late Monday. Ms. Humeniuk didn’t say when the operation had started but said stormy weather provided an advantage for Ukrainian forces in the area.

The larger Kinburn Peninsula is a key strategic prize for Ukraine. The sliver of land lies at a key maritime choke point leading to the port cities of Mykolaiv and Kherson, at the mouth of two large rivers, the Southern Buh and the Dnipro. [Continue reading…]