Battle of Debaltseve

Coordinates: 48°22′48″N 38°20′43″E / 48.3799°N 38.3454°E / 48.3799; 38.3454
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Battle of Debaltseve
Part of the
war in Donbas and the Russo-Ukrainian War

Map showing the encirclement and withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Debaltseve and its surrounding areas.
Date14 January – 20 February 2015
(1 month and 4 days)
Location
Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine
Result DPR and LPR victory
[1]
Territorial
changes
DPR and LPR forces capture Debaltseve,[1] Vuhlehirsk, Lohvynove[2] and four other villages.[3]
Belligerents
 Ukraine  Donetsk PR
 Luhansk PR
 Russia
Commanders and leaders
Serhiy Shaptala[4]
Oleksandr Syrskyi[5]
Semen Semenchenko (WIA)
Isa Munayev †[6]
Adam Osmayev[7]
Yevhen Yukhanov †[8]
Dmytro Zaharia (WIA)[9]		 Alexander Zakharchenko (WIA)[10]
Aleksey Mozgovoy[11]
Nikolai Kozitsyn[12]
Units involved

Ukrainian Armed Forces
:

Internal Affairs Ministry:

Novorossiya Armed Forces

Russian Armed Forces (denied by Russia):[16][17][18][19]

Strength
2,500-5,000[22] 12,000–17,000
(Ukrainian claim)[23]
Casualties and losses
267 killed[24]
112–121 captured[*][25][26]
508–668 wounded[4][22][27] (Ukrainian claim)		 868 killed (Ukrainian claim)[23]
58 killed (separatist claim)[11][28][29][30]
70 Russian soldiers killed (Russian opposition claim)[31]
500+ civilians killed (separatist claim)[32]
* 104 prisoners were released.[33]

The Battle of Debaltseve was a military confrontation in the city of

war in the Donbas region. The Russian forces composed mostly of "Wagner Group" soldiers[34] recaptured Debaltseve, which had been under Ukrainian control since a counter-offensive by government forces in July 2014. The city lay in a "wedge" of Ukrainian-held territory bordered by the DPR on one side, and the LPR on the other, and is a vital road and railway junction.[35]

Separatist and Russian forces began a concerted effort to force Ukrainian troops out of the city on 16–17 January, sparking the battle. Heavy fighting went on until 18 February 2015, when Ukrainian forces retreated from Debaltseve to Artemivsk (present-day Bakhmut).

It was the last major battle during the 2014–2015 phase of the war in Donbas, as the Minsk II ceasefire took effect on 15 February 2015, although fighting continued in Debaltseve for several days after.

Background

Damaged building July 25, 2014

Debaltseve came under Russian control in April 2014 in the course of

Minsk Protocol ceasefire agreement was signed on 5 September 2014, intermittent violations occurred around Debaltseve.[37][38]

As the "LPR" and "DPR" forces commanded by Igor Girkin (who had FSB background) were largely formed of ex-soldiers and people with little military experience, they were losing to Ukrainian army counter-offensive. In response, Russian command made decision to send GRU military intelligence units to change balance of forces. Russian leadership insisted the fighting was done by "LPR/DPR militias" in spite of overwhelming evidence that Russian soldiers and weapons were transferred through the border from Russia. Only after the start of the full-scale war in 2022 and especially after death of Dmitry Utkin ("Wagner") in 2023, Russian media and obituaries started openly mentioning their military engagement in Donbass.[34][39][40][41]

Events

Thousands of Ukrainian troops dug in at Debaltseve in January 2015.[42] The city is a vital railway and road junction, and was sandwiched between DPR and LPR territories as a "pocket" or "wedge" of Ukrainian territory - a 15-mile salient into separatist-controlled territory. Most residents had left by this time, with shops closed, schools abandoned, and houses damaged.[42] Intermittent shelling of the city was common in the months preceding the January 2015 escalation. Heavy shelling, however, began on 17 January, and continued through 20 January.[42]

Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions in the area around Debaltseve on 22 January.[43] Heavy shelling continued into the next day, while Ukrainian forces continued to hold their positions in the city.[44] An empty school building was hit by a shell during the fighting. In retaliation, Ukrainian forces began an artillery barrage on separatist positions outside the city.[45] On the following day, the DPR vowed to retake Debaltseve, which was surrounded by DPR and LPR-controlled territory on three sides. According to a report on 24 January, a Ukrainian checkpoint near the city came under direct attack by Russian forces.[46] Russian forces attacked another Ukrainian checkpoint near Debaltseve on 25 January, but the attack was repelled. On the next day, such attacks continued, with heavy fighting taking place all around Debaltseve. A resident of the city told Reuters that Debaltseve had been almost completely surrounded by Russian forces, but that Ukrainian forces had managed to hold on despite constant attacks.[47]

Separatist advance

The Debaltseve to Bakhmut highway, surrounded by open steppe.

Russian forces attempted to enter Debaltseve on 27 January, this time from the direction of Horlivka, but were repelled.[48] On the following day, a DPR commander said that his forces had captured the highway that leads into the city, and that the city had been nearly completely surrounded.[49] However, Ukrainian member of parliament Dmytro Tymchuk said on 29 January that separatist forces had been forced to "scale back" their offensive in the Debaltseve area. According to him, an artillery counterattack by government forces had caused heavy losses amongst separatists that had been trying to cut off Ukrainian troops from Ukrainian-controlled territory.[50] BBC News released a video that showed Russian forces caught in this shelling.[51] Despite this, separatists captured Vuhlehirsk, a town 13 kilometres (8 mi) west of Debaltseve on the highway to DPR-controlled Horlivka. The separatists broke through Ukrainian lines, overran a government checkpoint, entered the town, and then proceeded into its centre. Reinforcements were sent to aid government soldiers in Vuhlehirsk.[52] According to an Associated Press report, the loss of this town made it much more difficult for Ukrainian forces to hold onto Debaltseve.[53] Meanwhile, three civilians in Debaltseve proper were killed by what government forces described as "continuous" shelling by the Russian forces.[54]

During the day on 30 January, shells hit a bus, and also a cultural centre in Kyibishevskiy district that was being used to distribute humanitarian aid. According to the BBC, many civilians became trapped along with Ukrainian troops in the city. Some escaped to

National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Andriy Lysenko [uk] said that reinforcements had arrived to relieve Ukrainian troops at Vuhlehirsk, and that the front line was holding.[56] Over the course of the day, Ukrainian supply lines were nearly cut off, as Grad rocket fire made it difficult for armoured personnel carriers and lorries to travel on the 50-kilometre (31 mi) north–south highway between Bakhmut and Debaltseve.[57] At least seven civilians were killed when a Grad rocket struck a block of flats in the city. The remaining residents of Debaltseve began to attempt to evacuate from the city amidst increasing fighting. Three buses per day were arranged to take people out of conflict zone to Bakhmut.[57][58]

Closing the "kettle"

Ukrainian T-64BV tank in the Debaltseve area

Twelve more civilians were killed by DPR shelling in Debaltseve on 31 January. Government forces continued to use artillery fire to cut off DPR reinforcements from entering Vuhlehirsk.[59] A ground offensive to dislodge separatists from that town failed, resulting in the deaths of three members of the Donbas Battalion, and injuring battalion commander Semenchenko.[60] Evacuation of civilians from Debaltseve continued amid harsh winter conditions.[61] As of that day, the city had been without water, gas, or electricity for at least ten days. According to Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, at least 1,000 people had been evacuated from Debaltseve by 31 January.[62] Ukrainian defence minister Stepan Poltorak confirmed that part of Debaltseve was under DPR control.[63]

On the first day of February, the situation in Debaltseve rapidly deteriorated. According to the Kyiv Post, some units of the

aid workers in the combat zone said that 8,000 residents had escaped from the Debaltseve area by 2 February. One aid worker said that pro-Russian forces were deliberately targeting the buses being used to transport residents out of the city.[65] An observer with Amnesty International said that the humanitarian situation in Debaltseve had become "catastrophic".[66] In order to assist the remaining Ukrainian troops in Debaltseve, the Armed Forces sent a large column of reinforcements, including armoured vehicles and troop transports, from their base of operations at Kramatorsk to besieged Debaltseve.[67]

Map showing the Debaltseve operation

A ceasefire between Russian and Ukrainian forces was agreed to for the day of 3 February. The stated intent was to allow remaining civilians to escape from the Debaltseve area. Shelling lessened until 13:00 EET, when salvos of Grad rockets were fired towards Debaltseve.[68] Fighting continued into the next day. One resident of Debaltseve who had fled to Bakhmut said that there was "nothing left" in the city.[69] Russian forces gained control of Vuhlehirsk on 4 February, allowing the separatists to increase shelling of the Bakhmut highway and Debaltseve.[69][70] DPR and Ukrainian forces agreed to establish a humanitarian corridor on 6 February, in another attempt to allow the remaining civilians to escape from Debaltseve.[71] Hundreds of civilians were able to flee. Fighting resumed on 7 February.[72] Russian forces said that they had fully encircled the town by capturing the village of Lohvynove on 9 February, thus "closing the kettle". Only four Ukrainian soldiers had been stationed in the village at the time, allowing the separatists to capture it easily.[73] Government forces said that fighting was still ongoing on the Bakhmut highway, and that the kettle had not been completely closed.[74] By the morning of 10 February, it became clear that separatist forces had gained control of the Bakhmut highway, thereby cutting off government forces.[2] Videos showed DPR militants and tanks moving along the highway.[2][75] During the day, the Lviv police chief was wounded in an explosion on a road near the town.[9] Ukrainian forces took heavy casualties from artillery fire into 11 February. Nineteen soldiers were killed and seventy-eight injured in twenty-four hours.[76][77] Those that died had been fighting near Hostra Mohyla hill, close to Debaltseve.[78] In addition, Russian forces assaulted the Debaltseve police headquarters, killing the city's chief of police.[8]

After Minsk II

Despite the signing of a

land mines.[82] Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko ordered his forces to observe the ceasefire as it came into effect at 0:00 EET on 15 February, and insurgent commanders did the same. Though fighting ceased across most of the combat zone, it continued at Debaltseve.[83] DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said that Minsk II did not apply to Debaltseve, as it was not mentioned in the agreement.[84][85] One Ukrainian soldier who was stationed at a checkpoint in the village of Luhanske, to the north of Debaltseve, said that there was "no ceasefire".[86] During the course of 15 February, shelling struck Ukrainian positions, and separatist forces made multiple attacks upon the city from the west and east, storming government positions in the nearby village of Chornukhyne.[87][88] Nevertheless, shelling in the area was less severe than it had been in the days prior to the start of the ceasefire. OSCE monitors, meant to observe the implementation of Minsk II, were denied access to Debaltseve by the separatist authorities.[89]

Fighting further intensified into 16 February, with "non-stop explosions" striking the city.

stillborn" in Debaltseve.[97] One member of the Donbas Battalion said that the situation for Ukrainian soldiers in the city was dire, and resembled the "Ilovaisk kettle", but on a much larger scale.[73]

Separatist forces pushed into Debaltseve proper on 17 February. For the first time, fighting took place in the streets of the city.[98] Separatist authorities said that they had captured the city's railway station, and also its eastern outskirts. The NSDC spokesman denied this, and said that fighting was ongoing throughout Debaltseve.[99] Following this, the separatists said that they had captured most of the city, and were conducting a "mopping-up operation".[100] They said they had taken at least 300 Ukrainian soldiers prisoner.[101] A statement issued by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry confirmed that part of the city had fallen to "bandits", and that some soldiers had been taken prisoner.[102] Ukrainian soldiers in the village of Komuna, just west of Debaltseve, told reporters that they could maintain their positions only for twelve more hours or they would be overrun and killed by Russian forces.[103] Concurrently, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military operation in Donbas said that Lohvynove and the Bakhmut highway had been returned to Ukrainian control.[104]

Ukrainian retreat

Ukrainian forces began to withdraw from Debaltseve in the early morning on 18 February.

flag of Novorossiya was raised over a former Ukrainian base of operations. Separatist authorities said that they had taken hundreds of Ukrainian troops captive.[112] Ukrainian officials told AFP that during the evacuation "Full-scale street fighting continues and there was also a small tank battle."[113]

Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said that the withdrawal had been "planned and organised", and that this orderly withdrawal proved that Debaltseve had been under Ukrainian control, and that "there was no encirclement".[114] Soldiers on the ground, however, disputed President Poroshenko's account. Some soldiers said that "they had actually been told to stay put", and that they had been "left to die in a trap".[114] They said that the Ukrainian government and media repeated "lies" about the status of Debaltseve, and that Ukrainian forces had been surrounded for more than a week.[109][110][115] First Lt. Yuriy Prekharia, who had previously survived the encirclement of Ukrainian forces at Ilovaisk, said that Chief of the General Staff Viktor Muzhenko had repeated the same mistake, allowing Ukrainian forces to be trapped without support.[116] He said that "The commanders should have given the order to break through and retreat as soon as the threat of encirclement became obvious".[114] Commander Semenchenko likewise said: "The problem was with the leadership and coordination of actions … What’s going on now is the result of incompetent management of our troops, even though they’re trying to cover this up with a propaganda storm".[115] President Poroshenko said that about 2,500 men had withdrawn from Debaltseve by the end of the day on 18 February, and this number represented 80% of the Ukrainian troops that had been in the city.[117][118][119] Official reports said that thirteen soldiers had died during the retreat, and that 157 had been wounded. As above, soldiers on the ground disputed these numbers as grossly inaccurate, and said that the number of dead was "clearly in the hundreds".[117][120][121] Two weeks later, the official casualty toll during the retreat was put at 19 dead, 12 missing, 9 captured and 135 wounded.[122] Ukrainian government sources, on the other hand, reported that 185 soldiers had died during the battle,[123] 112 had been taken prisoner,[25] and 81 were missing.[124] The Ukrainian death toll was later updated to 267 dead, after the bodies of many of the missing were found.[24] Separatist leaders also said that their forces had captured a significant amount of Ukrainian heavy weaponry that had been left behind during the retreat.[125]

Some soldiers remained trapped in Debaltseve on 19 February, but soldiers that previously escaped said that they were forbidden from rescuing their trapped comrades.

Ridkodub, Nikishyne [uk] and Mius.[3] According to a 27 February report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), DPR authorities found 500 civilian corpses in houses and cellars in Debaltseve after the battle. Nearly all of the buildings in the city centre were either heavily damaged or destroyed by the fighting.[32]

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to War in Donbas (Debaltseve).
  • Ukrainian forces near Debaltseve
    Ukrainian forces near Debaltseve
  • Residents in Debaltseve in early January 2015, prior to the start of the battle
    Residents in Debaltseve in early January 2015, prior to the start of the battle
  • A sign that depicts the important road junction in Debaltseve. The M04 highway connects Izvaryne border crossing with Luhansk and Donetsk cities.
    A sign that depicts the important road junction in Debaltseve. The M04 highway connects Izvaryne border crossing with Luhansk and Donetsk cities.
  • Residents carrying water following the start of the battle in late January 2015
    Residents carrying water following the start of the battle in late January 2015
  • Debaltseve on 5 February
    Debaltseve on 5 February
  • A destroyed building in Debaltseve
    A destroyed building in Debaltseve
  • Civilian damage in Debaltseve
    Civilian damage in Debaltseve

See also

References

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  123. ^ 2 killed (14–16 January),[1] 179 killed (18 January – 18 February),[2] 1 killed (19 February),[3] 3 wounded (died of wounds after the battle),[4] total of 185 reported killed
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48°22′48″N 38°20′43″E / 48.3799°N 38.3454°E / 48.3799; 38.3454

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