| Battle of Volnovakha | |||||||
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| Part of theeastern front of theRussian invasion of Ukraine | |||||||
 Evacuation of civilians from Volnovakha on 3 March 2022 | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Ukraine | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Alexei Berngard Vladimir Zhoga † | Pavlo Sbytov † | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Vostok Brigade |
109th Territorial Defense Brigade[3] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Ukrainian claim: 50+ soldiers killed 5 soldiers captured 2 tanks and 2 BMPs destroyed 1 tank captured[3] 1 Su-25 destroyed 1 Mi-8 destroyed | Russian claim: 9 tanks destroyed or abandoned Several BMP and BTR troop carriers destroyed or abandoned 1 Uragan rocket-artillery truck destroyed[3] 1 Su-25 destroyed[4] | ||||||
TheBattle of Volnovakha was amilitary engagement which lasted from 25 February 2022 until 12 March 2022, on theeastern front of theRussian invasion of Ukraine.Russian andDPR forces engagedUkrainian forces at the small city ofVolnovakha inDonetsk Oblast, which was located close to the pre-invasion front line.
The battle was spearheaded by DPR forces and led to the widespread destruction of the town and heavy casualties on both sides.[5]
The first shelling of Volnovakha began on 25 February, the second day of the invasion, and hit civilian areas.[6] Electricity also went out in Volnovakha on the second day.[7]The Guardian wrote that Russian bombing of Volnovakha resembled tactics thatRussia had previously used on civilian targets in Syria.[8] On that same day, DPR forces captured the nearby town of Mykolaivka.[9]
DPR troops entered Volnovakha on the morning of 26 February, sparking clashes with Ukraine'sAidar Battalion.[3] A tank battle ensued at the Volnovakha bus station, with a Ukrainian servicemen stating that Russian forces lost 50 men in the battle, although they overran Ukrainian positions later on.[3] The clashes and shelling on 26 February killed 20 civilians, with Ukrainian MPDmytro Lubinets describing how bodies remained uncollected in the streets.[3][8]
Between 26-28 February, Ukrainian forces retained full control of Volnovakha, although Ukrainian officials stated shelling put the town on the verge of a humanitarian crisis by 28 February.[5][10] 90% of buildings in the town were either damaged or destroyed by 1 March, with Volnovakha also being cut off from electricity.[11] During those two days, reinforcements on both sides arrived to Volnovakha, with impromptuterritorial defense forces andforeign volunteers aiding Ukraine, andBuryat regiments, more brigades, and the DPR'sVostok Battalion all preparing for a second battle.[3] Clashes resumed on 28 February.[citation needed]
On 1 March, 346 civilians were evacuated from Volnovakha, with 400 more on 6 March.[12] Ukrainian and Russian forces agreed to the establishment of a demilitarizedhumanitarian corridor on 7 March through Volnovakha and the nearby city ofMariupol, which had beenunder siege since 24 February, in order to evacuate civilians from the two cities; however, Russian forces allegedly violated the demilitarization zone.[13]
Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian plane on 3 March, along with the helicopter that came to aid it afterwards.[3][14][15] On 5 March, DPR colonel and commander of theSparta BattalionVladimir Zhoga was killed in Volnovakha, with his fatherArtem immediately succeeding him.[16] Vladimir Zhoga was posthumously awardedHero of the Donetsk People's Republic andHero of the Russian Federation byDenis Pushilin andVladimir Putin respectively.[17][18]
By 11 March, Russian forces effectively controlled Volnovakha, facing only meager Ukrainian resistance.[19][20] Donetsk Oblast governorPavlo Kyrylenko stated Volnovakha had "effectively ceased to exist," having been destroyed in the fighting.[21][22] TheAssociated Press reported that the city had been captured on 12 March.[23]
On 14 March, following the battle, a UkrainianSu-25 was shot down by Russian forces near Volnovakha. The pilot, Roman Vasyliuk, was captured by Russian forces then later released on 24 April during a Russo-Ukrainian prisoner swap.[24][25] Following Russia's capture of Volnovakha, the local newspaperNashe slovo ceased publication, as most of the staff had left the city. Lidia Tarash, one of the journalists at the newspaper, was forced to flee after Russian troops targeted her house.[26]
The capture of Volnovakha ensured the closure of Ukrainian supply lines and the beginning of thesiege of Mariupol, which lasted until 16 May.[27]
On 1 November, Ukraine claimed to have destroyed aKadyrovite base and 10 pieces of military equipment near Volnovakha.[28]
On 22 February 2023, chief of theMain Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of UkraineKyrylo Budanov described the defeat at Volnovakha as one of the three major Ukrainian defeats during the Russo-Ukrainian War, the other two being the defeat at thebattle of Sievierodonetsk and the occupation of Crimea and parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by Russia in 2014.[29]
Earlier today, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense published a photo of the wreckage of a Russian Aerospace Forces Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft, a type that has apparently already seen extensive use with both sides during the conflict. Unconfirmed reports suggest that a Russian Mi-8 helicopter that may have arrived on the scene of the crash to assist was in turn brought down by Ukrainian air defenses. At this stage, this is only speculation, however.
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