Battle of Sievierodonetsk | |||||||
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Part of the battle of Donbas during the 2022 Eastern Ukraine offensive | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Ukraine | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Unknown |
Volodymyr Zelenskyy[2] | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Wagner Group[5] | |||||||
Strength | |||||||
12,500 (at Luhansk, per Ukraine)[12] 1 BMPT Terminator company[8] | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
ISW claim: Heavy[13] Ukrainian claim: 3+ Kadyrovites killed[14] |
ISW claim: Heavy[13] Ukrainian claim (as of 22 May): 105+ killed, wounded or captured[15] | ||||||
Ukrainian claim (13 April–26 May): 1,100 civilians killed[16] |
The Battle of Sievierodonetsk is an ongoing military engagement during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, as part of the Battle of Donbas of the Eastern Ukraine offensive. Sievierodonetsk is currently the acting administrative center of Luhansk Oblast. By May 2022, Sievierodonetsk and its direct neighbor, the city of Lysychansk, were the only remaining Ukrainian strongholds in the otherwise occupied Luhansk Oblast.[5]
Background
Sievierodonetsk and its twin city Lysychansk were the site of a series of battles in 2014 between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian military during the War in Donbas.[5] Soon after the start of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, on 28 February, Russian forces began to shell Sievierodonetsk.[17] According to Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk Oblast, one person was killed and several were injured. Gas pipelines were also hit by the shelling.[18] On 2 March, fighting was reported in almost all the villages near Sievierodonetsk.[19] Russian forces continued to shell the city, including a school gym that was acting as a bomb shelter. No deaths were reported.[20] At 15:20 that day, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces tried to break through Ukrainian lines towards the city, but were repelled.[21]
A month into its invasion, Russia claimed to control 93% of Luhansk Oblast,[22] leaving Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk as strategically important Ukrainian holdouts in the area.[5] Russian plans to capture Sievierodonetsk hinged upon its successes in the nearby cities of Rubizhne to the north and Popasna to the south.[23] By 6 April, Russian forces had reportedly captured 60% of Rubizhne,[24] shells and rockets were landing in Sievierodonetsk on "regular, sustained intervals".[25] The next day, forces of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade conducted an offensive which reportedly drove Russian forces 6–10 kilometers away from the other nearby town of Kreminna.[9]
By 9 April, elements of the Russian 4th Guards Tank Division were reportedly concentrating near Sievierodonetsk.[7] Between 11 and 12 April, continuing Russian attacks in the area gained no ground.[26][27] On 18 April, Russia renewed its offensive in eastern Ukraine, launching airstrikes on Sievierodonetsk.[28][29] By the end of April, most of Sievierodonetsk's civilian population had fled.[30] In late April, Russian forces launched an all-out offensive along a 500-mile (800 km) front to fully capture remaining unoccupied territory of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.[5]
Battle
Encirclement attempts
On 6 May, Russian and LPR forces made gains in the outskirts of Sievierodonetsk, attacking the village of Voevodivka just north of the city, while also capturing the village of Voronove to the southeast. Other villages were also attacked in an attempt to surround the city.[31] Subsequently, it was reported by the city's mayor, Alexander Stryuk, that Sievierodonetsk was "virtually surrounded".[32] Over the next days, Russian and separatist forces attacked Bilohorivka, Voevodivka, and Lysychansk, intending to cut off Sievierodonetsk from the south. They also captured Popasna.[33]
On 9 May, LPR troops reportedly took control of Nyzhnie and started to attack Toshkivka, two settlements southeast of Sievierodonetsk. Heavy combat continued in Rubizhne, Voevodivka, and Bilohorivka, as Russian forces attempted to further encircle Sievierodonetsk from the west.[34] On the next day, Russia's military continued its attacks on the city and its surroundings — Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian pontoon bridge across the Siverskyi Donets River in the vicinity of Bilohorivka, attempting to disrupt the Russian advance, and destroying almost an entire Russian battalion in the process.[35][36] According to Ukrainian regional police chief Oleh Hryhorov, Sievierodonetsk and its direct neighbor, Lysychansk, had become tactically encircled, as Russian artillery could freely hit the remaining open roads into the city. Power and water supply was disrupted in the cities, leaving tens of thousands of civilians without basic necessities.[5] By 12 May, Russian and LPR forces had defeated Ukrainian forces in the Battle of Rubizhne and established full control of the city, furthering their attempts at encircling Sievierodonetsk.[37][38]
For the most part, Russia subsequently ceased its ground attacks on the surroundings of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk and limited itself to artillery bombardments. Pro-Russian forces instead focused on completing the encirclement of the two cities. To this end, they attacked at the northern frontline around Izium and in the south toward Bakhmut. The northern attacks made little to no progress, but in the south Russia made limited advances over several days of heavy combat. Fighting was mainly concentrated on a number of villages, including Toshkiva, Pylpchatyne, Hirske, and Zolote.[39][40][41]
Attack on the city
On 27 May, Russia began its direct ground assault against Sievierodonetsk, despite having not yet encircled the city. Chechen Kadyrovites captured the Mir Hotel in the northern part of the city. Meanwhile, other Russian and separatist forces continued their attempts to form a pocket at the urban areas, attacking from the north near Rubizhne and southwest at Ustynivka and Borisvske. Further to the west, Russia continued to slowly advance in a number of areas such as Lyman and Siversk to disrupt the Ukrainian supply lines to Sievierodonetsk-Lysychansk.[4]
On the following day, Russia made limited gains in Sievierodonetsk. The Institute for the Study of War argued that the battle was already proving very costly for the Russian forces by this point, and could potentially exhaust their offensive capabilities. Both Russia and Ukraine were suffering heavy losses, but those of the pro-Russian contingents were more difficult to replace.[13]
Russian forces launched an attack on and briefly held the last route into the besieged cities, although Ukrainian forces claimed to have repelled the Russian forces shortly afterwards.[42] By 29 May, Russian forces were engaged in close quarters fighting with Ukrainian soldiers,[43] with combat reportedly taking place in the "middle of the city".[44]
By the morning of 31 May, Russian forces controlled between a third and a half of the city.[45][46] The Russians pushed and divided the city into two halves.[47] Later in the day, Ukraine confirmed between 70 and 80 percent of Sievierodonetsk was under Russian control,[48][49] as well as most of the surrounding villages.[50] Serhiy Haidai, Governor of Luhansk region, said that “some Ukrainian troops have retreated to more advantageous, pre-prepared positions”.[51]
On 1 June, according to Ukraine, the Azot chemical plant was hit by Russian bombardment, and a nitric acid tank blew up, forcing people to stay indoors.[52] On the following day, it was stated that around 800 civilians were hiding in bomb shelters beneath the Azot factory.[53][54] Serhiy Haidai said that Russian forces have reached the city’s core.[55] Ukraine claimed to have captured six Russian soldiers[56] and killed 200. According to the UK Ministry of Defence, as of 2 June 2022, Russia had taken control of most of Sievierodonetsk.[57] The following day a Ukrainian counter attack regained 20% of the territory it had lost within the city.[58][59] At least 12 members of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion are fighting in the city, including a Georgian and Portuguese man.[60] According to Reuters, 2 of its journalists were wounded and their driver killed near Sievierodonetsk.[61] Serhiy Haidai claimed that Ukrainian forces had repulsed a number of Russian attacks, destroying equipment. He also claims that Russia is "throwing all their reserves at Severodonetsk" and it is "impossible to deliver food and medicine to the city".[62] Serhiy Haidai also has gone on to claim that Russia is blowing up bridges over Seversky Donets to stop Ukrainian reinforcements arriving and the delivery of aid.[63]
Serhiy Haidai claims that Russian general Aleksandr Dvornikov “has received the task by June 10 of either completely capturing Severodonetsk, or completely cutting off the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway and taking it under control.”[64] The UK Ministry of Defence has said that Russia is using tactics similar to those used in Syria. By using forces other than its own soldiers in aim to reduce Russian casualties, including soldiers from the Luhansk People’s Republic. These soldiers are not as well trained or equipped as Russian soldiers.[65]
On 6 June Serhiy Haidai described the Ukrainian situation: “Our defenders managed to counterattack for a while – they liberated almost half of the city. However, now the situation has worsened for us again.” He said of the Lysychansk-Severodonetsk road: “The Russians do not control this road, but the entire route is being shelled. The Russians have amassed huge reserves. Time will tell whether they will have enough strength to take this route.” With Russian forces being “simply incredible” in terms of number and equipment. Russian forces, he claims, are implementing “standard scorched-earth tactics.”[66] Major General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukrainian military intelligence, claims that Ukrainian forces are slowly advancing despite "a tenfold advantage of the enemy in artillery".[67]
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the city and said “we’re holding out” and “there are more of them and they are stronger”. He also said: "Our heroes do not give up positions in Sievierodonetsk. In the city, fierce street fighting continues."[68]
Analysis
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) judged on 28 May that the Russian military was directing a large part of its combat-effective forces into the battle of Sievierodonetsk, weakening other front lines and risking exhausting its remaining troops. The ISW cautioned that the effort invested in the capture of Sievierodonetsk did not seem fitting for the location's limited strategic value.[13] The Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov believes this is the last offensive Russia can undertake before Western military aid reaches Ukrainian forces.[69] Ukrainian forces may be withdrawing to preserve their forces.[70]
On 4 June, the UK MoD said: “Ukrainian forces have counterattacked in the contested city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, likely blunting the operational momentum Russian forces previously gained through concentrating combat units and firepower”.[71]
On 6 June, the ISW reported that the Russian forces have pushed back the Ukrainian counterattacks to the Azot industrial sector, thereby recapturing most of the city.[72]. On 7 June, the Russian forces pushed into the industrial sector, with the Russian MLRS and towed artillery deployments oriented towards Sievierodonetsk, indicating heavy bombardment of the sector.[73]
Casualties
Numerous attacks against civilian facilities have occurred in Sievierodonetsk. On 17 March 2022, the Governor of Luhansk Oblast Serhiy Haidai reported that Russian forces had hit a shelter intended for mothers and children and declared that "there are no safe places in Luhansk Region anymore".[74] On 22 March, Haidai said that the Russians had shelled a children's hospital and set the roof on fire, although no one was wounded.[75] Damage to local churches was also reported.[76] On 7 April 2022, Russian forces reportedly struck a humanitarian aid center and set 10 high-rise buildings on fire in the city.[77]
In Lysychansk, 150 civilians killed in the city due to Russian strikes were reportedly buried in a mass grave on 25 May.[78] On 27 May, the mayor of Sievierodonetsk announced that more than 1,500 civilians had been killed since the start of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022.[79]
By 30 May, the shelling had become so intense that Ukrainian officials had stopped counting casualties.[80]
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