diff --git a/.github/scripts/create-release-tarballs.sh b/.github/scripts/create-release-tarballs.sh
index 4954c4dfe5..11dd8b6581 100755
--- a/.github/scripts/create-release-tarballs.sh
+++ b/.github/scripts/create-release-tarballs.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
 
-set -e
+set -ex
 
 directory=$1
 version=$2
diff --git a/.github/workflows/release.yml b/.github/workflows/release.yml
index f2a2e99601..7fd49936f9 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/release.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/release.yml
@@ -94,6 +94,8 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Create new release Tag
         run: |
+          git config --global user.email "kubernetes@nginx.com"
+          git config --global user.name "NGINX Kubernetes Team"
           branch="${{ inputs.release_branch }}"
           tag="v${{ inputs.nic_version }}"
           if ! git rev-parse --verify refs/tags/${tag}; then
@@ -299,6 +301,8 @@ jobs:
     steps:
       - name: Checkout Repository
         uses: actions/checkout@692973e3d937129bcbf40652eb9f2f61becf3332 # v4.1.7
+        with:
+          ref: ${{ inputs.release_branch }}
 
       - name: Fetch Binary Artifacts from Cache
         uses: actions/cache@0c45773b623bea8c8e75f6c82b208c3cf94ea4f9 # v4.0.2