Dnieper-Bug Estuary

The Dnieper and Southern Bug meet in a broad estuary before entering the Black Sea. The Kinburn Spit and the shore at Ochakov narrow its western outlet, making the passage a strategic gateway to the rivers and their hinterlands. In 1788 Russian and Ottoman fleets fought in the estuary while Russian forces besieged the Ottoman fortress of Ochakov. Its capture later that year changed control of the river mouth.