The Pentagon has confirmed the retreat of the Russians from Snake Island in the Black Sea due to professional shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Defense Department does not believe there is any credence to Russia saying its retreat from Snake Island [in the Black Sea area of Ukraine] was a gesture of goodwill. We view this development as that the Ukrainians were very successful at applying significant pressure on the Russians, including by using Harpoon missiles that they recently acquired to attack a resupply ship. When you realize how barren and deserted Snake Island is, you understand the importance of resupply. So, the Ukrainians made it very hard for the Russians to sustain their operations there [and] made them very vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes. So, that of course, is why Russia left the island," said a senior DOD official, who took questions from the Pentagon press regarding Russia and Ukraine.

He emphasized that as a result, it does make it a lot easier for Ukraine to defend Odesa and in the future to be able to open those sea lanes without Russia controlling Snake Island.

Thanks to the recent shipments of highly mobile artillery missile systems from the United States, the Ukrainian forces have made good progress in using these longer-range artillery systems, including against Russian command posts, the official said.