Battle of Debaltseve

Battle of Debaltseve
Part of the War in Donbass
Map of the territory held by the separatists (red) and Ukrainian forces (blue) as it was before the start of the battle.
Date 17 January 2015 – present (9 years, 4 months and 4 weeks) Location Debaltseve Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Ukraine	Donetsk People's Republic Lugansk People's Republic
Commanders and leaders
Genadiy Voroblyov Sergey Popko Semen Semenchenko (WIA) Isa Munayev †	Alexander Zakharchenko Vladimir Konomov Aleksey Mozgovoy Oleg Bugrov
Units involved
Armed Forces of Ukraine: Ground Forces Internal Affairs Ministry: National Guard Donbas Battalion Azov Battalion Ukrainian Volunteer Corps Volunteer Battalion "Dzokhar Dudayev"	Novorossiya Armed Forces: Prizrak Brigade
Strength
8,000 - 10,000+ soldiers, 12 tanks, 1 rocket system	unknown
Casualties and losses
unknown	unknown killed, 70+ wounded

From late January 2015 during the ongoing war in the Donbass region of Ukraine, the separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) vowed to recapture the city of Debaltseve in Donetsk Oblast, which has been under Ukrainian control since a counter-offensive by government forces in July 2014. The city lies in a "wedge" of Ukrainian-held territory bordered by the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) on one side, and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) on the other. It is a vital railway and road junction.

Background

Debaltseve came under pro-Russian separatist control in April 2014, amidst widespread unrest across eastern and southern Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. Fighting between these separatists and Ukrainian government forces resulted in the ongoing war in Donbass. Ukrainian forces managed to recapture the city on 28 July 2014, and continued to hold onto it firmly until January 2015. After the Minsk Protocol ceasefire agreement was signed on 5 September 2014, intermittent violations occurred around Debaltseve.

Events

Thousands of Ukrainian troops dug in at Debaltseve in January 2015. The city is a vital railway and road junction, and is sandwiched between DPR and LPR territories as a "pocket" or "wedge" of Ukrainian territory. Most residents had left by this time, with shops closed, schools abandoned, and houses damaged. 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.

DPR forces attacked Ukrainian positions in the area around Debaltseve on 22 January. Heavy shelling continued into the next day, whilst Ukrainian forces continued to hold their positions in the city. An empty school building was hit by a shell during the fighting. In retaliation, Ukrainian forces began an artillery barrage on separatists positions outside the city. On the following day, the DPR vowed to retake Debaltseve, which is 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 DPR rebels. DPR 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 separatist insurgents, and that Ukrainian forces had managed to hold on despite constant attacks.

Separatist advance

Separatists attempted to enter Debaltseve on 27 January, this time from the direction of Horlivka, but were repelled. 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. 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 loses amongst rebels that had been trying to cut off Ukrainian troops from Ukrainian-controlled territory. BBC News released a video that showed pro-Russian forces being caught in this shelling. Despite this, separatists captured Vuhlehirsk, a town 13 kilometres (8 mi) west of Debaltseve on the road to DPR-controlled Horlivka. The rebels 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. According to an Associated Press report, the loss of this town made it much more difficult for Ukrainian forces to hold onto Debaltseve. Meanwhile, three civilians in Debaltseve proper were killed by what government forces described as "continuous" shelling by the rebels.

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 Artemivsk, in Ukrainian-controlled territory at the entrance to Debaltseve pocket. A report by Russian television channel Vesti said that around 8,000 Ukrainian troops remained in Debaltseve, and that separatist forces were close to closing the pocket's entrance. Ukrainian territorial defence battalion commander Semen Semenchenko said that some Ukrainian soldiers continued to hold out in Vuhlehirsk, despite the fact that it was largely under DPR control. Spokesman for the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Andriy Lysenko said that reinforcements had arrived to relieve Ukrainian troops at Vuhlehirsk, and that the front line was holding. 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 road between Artemivsk and Debaltseve. 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 Artemivsk.

Closing the "kettle"

Twelve more civilians were killed by DPR shelling of Debaltseve on 31 January. Concurrently, government forces continued to use artillery fire to cut-off DPR reinforcements from entering Vuhlehirsk. 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. Evacuation of civilians from Debaltseve continued. 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. Ukrainian defence minister Stepan Poltorak confirmed that part of Debaltseve was under DPR control. On the first day of February, the situation in Debaltseve rapidly deteriorated. According to Kyiv Post, some units of the National Guard of Ukraine had been forced to flee as DPR forces pushed into the outskirts of the city. The situation in Debaltseve continued to worsen into 2 February. The New York Times reported that it appeared that the separatists could seize the Artemivsk road "at any moment". The road had become nearly impassable, with multiple refugee-laden buses having been hit by artillery fire. Referring to the pocket of Ukrainian-held territory around Debaltseve as a "kettle", as has become common, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said that anyone that attempted to leave "the kettle" would be in the "interlocking field of fire of our artillery". A report by aid workers in the combat zone said that 8,000 residents had escaped from Debaltseve 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. During the battle Chechen leader Isa Munaev was killed by pro-Russian forces.