# List of spits of Ukraine

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Spits (Ukrainian: Коси, romanized: Kosy), also called sandspits, are long, narrow coastal landforms that resemble sandbars or embankments and protrude into a body of water from a headland. Spits are formed by the process of longshore drift, in which waves impact the headland at a sharp angle, depositing sediment and causing the water's currents to transport the sediment down the beach, allowing it to accumulate in the area of the spit. Through the process of wave shoaling, this accumulated sediment becomes increasingly curved, resembling the appearance of a fish hook as the waves refract around the spit's end. Often lagoons and salt marshes will form behind spits.
Numerous spits are located across the territory of Ukraine, including on the Sea of Azov and Black Sea's coasts as well as on the shores of major rivers. Due to natural and artificial changes, a number of islands in the country have become geographic spits as the straits separating them from the mainland have been filled, such as following the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine when Russian troops connected the then-largest island in Ukraine, Dzharylhach, to the mainland. There are also some geographic features that alternate in their classification as an island or as a spit based on variable weather and sea conditions, most notably Byriuchyi Island, which typically becomes an island in the autumn months when its narrow isthmus connection to the mainland is flooded by higher tides. In addition, there are several landforms commonly referred to as spits which are geographically islands, such as Tendra Spit in western Kherson Oblast, which is separated from the mainland by a strait.
Historically, in classical antiquity, Tendra Spit and Dzharylhach both connected to the mainland coast to form a single, continuous spit called the Course of Achilles. Based on the combined current land areas of Tendra Spit and Dzharylhach as well as historical records, the Course of Achilles would have had a total area of between approximately 68.89 km$^2$ (26.60 sq mi) and 315.4 km$^2$ (121.8 sq mi), making it one of the largest spits in Ukraine at that time. Another former smaller spit was Seribna Spit [uk], which was historically located at the confluence of the Samara and Dnipro rivers; it became almost entirely submerged by the Dnipro Reservoir after the Dnipro dam's construction. The largest spit in Ukraine currently and the longest spit in the world is the Arabat Spit, which separates the western parts of the Sea of Azov from the Syvash, a large area of salty, shallow lagoons in Crimea. Since the Russian occupation of much of Ukraine's coastlines, many spits and other landforms under Russian control have experienced significant damage or artificial alterations.

## Political status

Following the Russian occupation and annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea-portion of the Arabat Spit, as well as additional smaller spits located on the Crimean peninsula, came under the control of Russian forces, who de facto administered the territory as part of the unrecognized Russian Republic of Crimea. Parts of the small, northern segment of the spit administratively located in Kherson Oblast, including the village of Strilkove, were also briefly occupied by unmarked Russian soldiers beginning from 15 March before their withdrawal on 9 December 2014. After the Donbas war, the Kryva Spit located in Donetsk Oblast was also occupied in 2014, with pro-Russian militants taking the spit's area and neighboring settlement of Siedove.
From the withdrawal of the Russian troops in December until the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the northern parts of the Arabat Spit were amongst the few areas geographically part of the Crimean peninsula that stayed under the control of Ukrainian authorities, while the Kryva Spit remained under the control of separatist forces as part of the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic. After the start of the full-scale invasion, the remaining northern segment of the Arabat Spit as well as the rest of Ukraine's Azov Sea coastline (including the five spits still under the control of Ukrainian authorities before 2022), were occupied by Russian forces. In addition, following their offensive into and occupation of Kherson Oblast, Russian troops also occupied the Kinburn and Bili Kuchuhury spits. The occupied spits were all integrated into Russia following its unilateral annexation of separatist-controlled and other Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine on 30 September 2022. Many of Ukraine's spits, including all of its Azov Sea spits, have remained under Russian de facto control since 2022 while the United Nations and most of the international community continue to recognize the territories as de jure part of Ukraine.

## List

* Spits of Ukraine
* Arabat Spit, the largest spit in Ukraine and one of the largest spits in the world
* Bakalska Spit [uk] on the western coast of Crimea
* Arrow Spit [uk] on the Tylihul Estuary's western shore
* Kyrylivka's beaches on Fedotova Spit [uk]
Spits of Ukraine :
| Spit | Ukrainian name | Administrative division | Geographic location | Water body | Area | Highest elevation | Coordinates |
| Arabat Spit | Арабатська Стрілка | Crimea/Kherson | Separates the Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov | Sea of Azov | 395 km$^2$ (153 sq mi) | — | 45°42′00″N 35°00′00″E﻿ / ﻿45.70000°N 35.00000°E﻿ / 45.70000; 35.00000﻿ (Arabat Spit) |
| Arrow Spit | Коса Стрілка | Odesa | Located southeast of the nearby village Kairy [uk] on the Tylihul Estuary's western shore | Tylihul Estuary | <3.94 km$^2$ (1.52 sq mi) | — | 46°55′51″N 31°00′04″E﻿ / ﻿46.93083°N 31.00111°E﻿ / 46.93083; 31.00111﻿ (Arrow Spit) |
| Bakalska Spit | Бакальська коса | Crimea | In the northwestern Crimean peninsula, extending from the village Sterehushche [uk] and north of Bakkal lake [uk] | Black Sea | <3 km$^2$ (1.2 sq mi) | 1.3 m (4.3 ft) | 45°46′00″N 33°11′00″E﻿ / ﻿45.76667°N 33.18333°E﻿ / 45.76667; 33.18333﻿ (Bakalska Spit) |
| Berdiansk Spit | Бердянська коса | Zaporizhzhia | South of the city of Berdiansk | Sea of Azov | 7 km$^2$ (2.7 sq mi) | — | 46°39′00″N 36°47′00″E﻿ / ﻿46.65000°N 36.78333°E﻿ / 46.65000; 36.78333﻿ (Berdiansk Spit) |
| Bili Kuchuhury | Білі Кучугури | Kherson | Extends from the far western half of the Tendra Spit towards the mainland Yahorlyk Kut peninsula through the Gulf of Tendra's waters | Black Sea | — | 0.6 m (2.0 ft) | 46°14′46″N 31°40′04″E﻿ / ﻿46.24611°N 31.66778°E﻿ / 46.24611; 31.66778﻿ (Bili Kuchuhury) |
| Bilosaraiska Spit | Білосарайська коса | Donetsk | In the northeast of the Azov Sea, extending from the spit's namesake village of Bilosaraiska Spit [uk] | Sea of Azov | 44.45 km$^2$ (17.16 sq mi) | — | 46°53′30″N 37°19′50″E﻿ / ﻿46.89167°N 37.33056°E﻿ / 46.89167; 37.33056﻿ (Bilosaraiska Spit) |
| Byriuchyi Island | Бирючий Острів | Kherson | In the northwest of the Azov Sea, extending from Fedotova Spit | Sea of Azov | 27.92 km$^2$ (10.78 sq mi) | — | 46°07′36″N 35°06′12″E﻿ / ﻿46.12667°N 35.10333°E﻿ / 46.12667; 35.10333﻿ (Byriuchyi Island) |
| Dzharylhach | Джарилгач | Kherson | Extends from the rural settlement of Lazurne towards the Isthmus of Perekop through Karkinit Bay | Black Sea | 56 km$^2$ (22 sq mi) | 10 m (33 ft) | 46°01′48″N 32°46′48″E﻿ / ﻿46.03000°N 32.78000°E﻿ / 46.03000; 32.78000﻿ (Dzharylhach) |
| Fedotova Spit | Федотова коса | Kherson/Zaporizhzhia | In the northwest of the Azov Sea, extending from Kyrylivka | Sea of Azov | — | 3.6 m (12 ft) | 46°17′52″N 35°18′13″E﻿ / ﻿46.29778°N 35.30361°E﻿ / 46.29778; 35.30361﻿ (Fedotova Spit) |
| Kinburn Spit | Кінбурнська коса | Mykolaiv | Westernmost end of the Kinburn Peninsula, close to the Dnipro–Buh estuary | Black Sea | 320–400 km$^2$ (120–150 sq mi) | — | 46°33′30″N 31°31′40″E﻿ / ﻿46.55833°N 31.52778°E﻿ / 46.55833; 31.52778﻿ (Kinburn Spit) |
| Komysh-Burunska Spit | Комиш-Бурунська коса | Crimea | In the southern part of the city of Kerch | Black Sea | — | 1 m (3.3 ft) | 45°16′05″N 36°26′06″E﻿ / ﻿45.26806°N 36.43500°E﻿ / 45.26806; 36.43500﻿ (Komysh-Burunska Spit) |
| Kryva Spit | Крива коса | Donetsk | In the northeast of the Azov Sea, extending from Siedove | Sea of Azov | 0.05 km$^2$ (0.019 sq mi) | 2 m (6.6 ft) | 47°03′00″N 38°07′58″E﻿ / ﻿47.05000°N 38.13278°E﻿ / 47.05000; 38.13278﻿ (Kryva Spit) |
| Obytichna Spit | Обитічна коса | Zaporizhzhia | In the northern Azov Sea, separating Obytichna Bay [uk] from Berdiansk Bay [uk] | Sea of Azov | — | 2.2 m (7.2 ft) | 46°31′56″N 36°12′18″E﻿ / ﻿46.53222°N 36.20500°E﻿ / 46.53222; 36.20500﻿ (Obytichna Spit) |
| Voloska Spit | Волоська коса | Mykolaiv | Located on the right bank of the Buh estuary near Prybuzke [uk] and across from Ruska Spit | Southern Buh river | — | — | 46°43′39″N 31°55′03″E﻿ / ﻿46.72750°N 31.91750°E﻿ / 46.72750; 31.91750﻿ (Voloska Spit) |