diff --git a/.github/workflows/release-notes.yml b/.github/workflows/release-notes.yml
index 051ede3..bccbdc9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release-notes.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release-notes.yml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v6
         with:
+          ref: ${{ github.event_name == 'release' && github.event.release.target_commitish || github.ref }}
           fetch-depth: 0  # full history for tag detection and diff stats
 
       - name: Resolve tag
@@ -25,8 +26,10 @@ jobs:
         run: |
           if [[ "${{ github.event_name }}" == "release" ]]; then
             echo "tag=${{ github.event.release.tag_name }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "target_ref=${{ github.event.release.target_commitish }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           else
             echo "tag=${{ inputs.tag }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
+            echo "target_ref=${{ github.ref_name }}" >> "$GITHUB_OUTPUT"
           fi
 
       # ── Surface 1: GitHub Release body + step summary ──────────
@@ -81,5 +84,5 @@ jobs:
             git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
             git add CHANGELOG.md
             git commit -m "docs: update CHANGELOG for ${{ steps.tag.outputs.tag }}"
-            git push
+            git push origin "HEAD:${{ steps.tag.outputs.target_ref }}"
           fi