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Battle of Debaltseve
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Battle of Debaltseve
The Battle of Debaltseve was a military confrontation in the city of Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, between the pro-Russian separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, starting in mid-January 2015 during the war in the Donbas region. The Russian forces composed mostly of "Wagner Group" soldiers 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 was a vital road and railway junction.
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.
Debaltseve came under the control of pro-Russian forces in April 2014. Ukrainian forces managed to recapture the city on 28 July 2014, and continued to hold on to it firmly until January 2015. On 12 August troops of the 25th Airborne Brigade and the National Guard of Ukraine were able to establish control over the nearby city of Vuhlehirsk. After the Minsk Protocol ceasefire agreement was signed on 5 September 2014, intermittent violations occurred around Debaltseve.
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 Donbas.
Thousands of Ukrainian troops dug in at Debaltseve in January 2015. 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. 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.
Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions in the area around Debaltseve on 22 January. Heavy shelling continued into the next day, while 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 separatist positions outside the city. 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. 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.
Russian forces 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 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. BBC News released a video that showed Russian forces caught in this shelling. Despite this, on 29 January 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. 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 Russian forces.
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Battle of Debaltseve
The Battle of Debaltseve was a military confrontation in the city of Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, between the pro-Russian separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, starting in mid-January 2015 during the war in the Donbas region. The Russian forces composed mostly of "Wagner Group" soldiers 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 was a vital road and railway junction.
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.
Debaltseve came under the control of pro-Russian forces in April 2014. Ukrainian forces managed to recapture the city on 28 July 2014, and continued to hold on to it firmly until January 2015. On 12 August troops of the 25th Airborne Brigade and the National Guard of Ukraine were able to establish control over the nearby city of Vuhlehirsk. After the Minsk Protocol ceasefire agreement was signed on 5 September 2014, intermittent violations occurred around Debaltseve.
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 Donbas.
Thousands of Ukrainian troops dug in at Debaltseve in January 2015. 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. 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.
Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions in the area around Debaltseve on 22 January. Heavy shelling continued into the next day, while 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 separatist positions outside the city. 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. 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.
Russian forces 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 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. BBC News released a video that showed Russian forces caught in this shelling. Despite this, on 29 January 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. 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 Russian forces.
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