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Battle of Donbas
Part of the Eastern Ukraine offensive and the War in Donbas
Military situation as of 18 April 2022: Pink highlights areas held by the DNR, LNR, and Russia, yellow highlights areas held by the Ukrainian government. For a more up-to-date map, see the Russo-Ukrainian War map
Date 18 April 2022 – present (2 years, 8 months, 1 week and 3 days) Location Donbas, Ukraine Status Ongoing Russian forces capture Kreminna and other 42 villages"
Belligerents
Russia  Donetsk PR  Luhansk PR	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Aleksandr Dvornikov (Commander of Russian forces in Ukraine) Denis Pushilin (Head of the DPR) Alexander Khodakovsky (Commander, Vostok Battalion) Sergey Agranovich † (Commander, Sparta Battalion) Leonid Pasechnik (Head of the LPR) Mikhail Kishchik †	Valerii Zaluzhnyi (Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief)
Units involved
See order of battle	See order of battle
Strength
Russia: 50,000–62,000 soldiers  Donetsk PR: ~14,000  Luhansk PR: ~13,400 10,000–20,000 mercenaries (per European officials) 300–500 Libyan and Syrian fighters (per ISW)	40,000–50,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
Luhansk PR: Unknown number of killed and wounded Ukrainian claim: 200 soldiers killed 20–25 mercenaries killed	Unknown
264+ civilians killed, 166+ wounded

The Battle of Donbas is an ongoing military engagement which began on 18 April 2022 between the armed forces of Russia and Ukraine for control of the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv oblasts during the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. It is considered the second strategic phase of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is located geographically in a similar operational theater to that of the Eastern Ukraine offensive.

The offensive is currently taking place along the Rubizhne - Izium - Huliaipole - Mariupol line with the aim of encircling Ukrainian troops in the Donbas and annexing the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions to the Russian-backed quasi-states of Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). The initial development and strategic importance of the battle of Donbas have been compared to the Battle of Kursk (1943).

Initial operations likely consist of small skirmish operations intended to test Ukrainian defenses, while bombardment campaigns continue to chisel away at Ukrainian defenses along the line of contact.

Background

On 29 March 2022, the Russian government declared a scaling back of military operations in the region around the capital city of Kyiv, effectively ending operations in Northern Ukraine. On 25 March 2022, Russia declared the first phase of its "special military operation" in Ukraine to be complete and announced a shift in focus to the Donbas region. Russian military officials declared the neutralization of the Ukrainian Navy and Air Force and stated that the DPR and LPR controlled 54% and 93% of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, respectively. The Russian Armed Forces began a tactical withdrawal from the north, fully withdrawing by 6 April 2022. As the Ukrainian forces regained previously occupied territory, Russian war crimes were discovered by the Ukrainians, including the Bucha massacre.

The Donbas region in particular had been the site of protracted fighting between Russian-backed separatists from the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics and the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Between 2014 and late 2021, the War in Donbas had taken the lives of more than 10,000 separatist, Russian, and Ukrainian combatants as well as 3,095 civilians

Previous operations

On 11 March 2022, Russian tanks allegedly shelled a care home for the elderly in Kreminna, killing 56 civilians and wounding an unknown number. According to Ukrainian authorities, an additional 15 civilians were abducted by Russian soldiers and taken to separatist-occupied territory in Luhansk Oblast.

On 8 April 2022, Russian forces allegedly launched an attack on the Kramatorsk railway station. The attack killed 59 civilians, including 5 children, and wounded 114 more. Ukrainian and Western officials decried the attack as "purposeful," a "monstrous war crime," and a "deliberate slaughter," while the Russian Defense Ministry denied the accusations and instead claimed the attack to be a false-flag operation by Ukrainian forces, arguing that the Tochka-U missile used was not a part of the Russian arsenal but rather the Ukrainian one.

Prelude

In mid-April 2022, U.S. intelligence reported that Russia was "repositioning" its military units to the Donbas.

Opposing forces

Russia and allies

For the battle, the Russians used three armies along with a tank division and a rocket artillery brigade. By mid-April, Russia had concentrated upwards of 65 battalion tactical groups (BTGs) on the line of contact. Over the course of several days before 18 April, 11 Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) were added to the existing Russian strength in the Donbas, bringing the total number of BTGs in the Donbas to 76, amounting to a total of about 60,000 troops. Additionally, 22 BTGs (constituting about 15–20,000 soldiers) were said to be being resupplied and reinforced to the north of Ukraine. In total, various estimates of Russian forces for the offensive numbered about 50,000-62,000.

Western media citing officials of the European Union have reported that 10,000-20,000 Libyan, Syrian, Ethiopian, and Wagner Group mercenaries were mobilized by Russian forces in the Donbas.

Ukraine

For the battle, the Ukrainians had concentrated six regular brigades and the Georgian Legion. According to Forbes on 1 February, Ukraine's army consisted of 20 active brigades, meaning that 30% of the Ukrainian active forces, or ~51,000 soldiers, were organized in the Donbas. Additionally, units of the Territorial Defense force were active in the Donbas, along with an unknown number of civilian volunteers and partisans.

President Zelenskyy said on April 15 that Ukrainian forces numbered 44,000 in the Donbas region. On 19 April, 2022 the BBC reported that Ukrainian troops in the Donbas numbered 40,000-50,000 men.

Chronology

On the night of 18 April 2022, Russian forces launched an intensive bombardment campaign against positions in Luhansk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv Oblasts. Russian shelling overnight in Donetsk killed two civilians and wounded nine, according to online news sources. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy announced that the "Battle for Donbas" had begun.

18 April

In the Slobozhansky and Donetsk operational districts, Russian troops intensified offensive operations in some areas. Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said that on the morning of 18 April, the occupiers tried to break through the Ukrainian defenses along almost the entire front line in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Luhansk regions with the aim of occupying part of Donetsk and Luhansk by Orthodox Easter (24 April).

On the morning of 18 April, the head of the Luhansk military administration, Serhiy Haidai, announced that Russian troops had entered the town of Kreminna, near Rubizhne and Lysychansk, as Ukrainian forces lost control amid heavy fighting. Haidai said that more than 200 civilians were killed during the battle, with four additional civilians being killed and one more wounded as they attempted to escape the fighting. During the fighting, a LPR battalion commander was killed when he and his fighters were surrounded by Ukrainian forces close to Kreminna and "fought to the last", according to the LPR. The clashes left an unknown number of killed and wounded.

Along the front, shelling on 18 April killed a total of 17 civilians and wounded 67.

At night, Russian troops carried out a rocket attack on Kramatorsk, resulting in the destruction of infrastructure.

19 April

Russian forces secured full control over Kreminna, while more Russian shelling of Kramatorsk left at least one civilian killed and three others wounded. Russian shelling for the day in the Donetsk region killed five civilians and wounded six. The head of the Luhansk regional military administration, Serhiy Haidai, called on the region's residents to evacuate immediately so as to not become hostages or to be killed by the Russians.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukrainian forces repelled seven attacks by Russian forces, destroying 10 tanks and 26 armored vehicles, an artillery system, and a mortar. In an evening report, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated that Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack and recaptured the town of Marinka.

In an exclusive interview with India Today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov acknowledged the beginning of a new offensive in Donbas, claiming it to be a "very important moment in this entire special operation." To address the new stage of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron and US president Joe Biden held a meeting with representatives from France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, Poland, and Romania. They were joined by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel.

Ukrainian government sources stated that seven civilians were killed and 21 were wounded during the shelling of Kharkiv on 19 April.

Russian state media reported that Rozivka, a village in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast close to the border with the Donetsk Oblast, had unanimously voted in favour of "temporary unification" with the DPR.

20 April

Russian and LPR forces advanced in Rubizhne, capturing the central part of the city. Elsewhere, Russian troops had some success through localized advances south and southwest of Izium.

Russian activity in Donetsk Oblast wounded five civilians on 20 April.

Russian forces also occupied residential areas in the city of Popasna in Luhansk. According to Ukrainian sources cited by the Institute for Study of War (ISW), including Danilov, Libyan and Syrian mercenaries likely associated with the Wagner Group clashed with Ukrainian forces in the city, with Oleksiy Danilov claiming that 20–25 mercenaries had been killed and showing photos of the alleged bodies. The ISW did not observe any deployment of Syrian or Libyans units as part of Russian forces, and attributed the presence of the mentioned foreign nationals as individual.

Polish media quoted Russian sources as saying over 40 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed overnight from missile strikes on 20 April.

21 April

According to Ukrainian sources, Russia continued the assault on Popasna and tried to gain a foothold in the western and northwestern parts of Rubizhne, but the Ukrainian military allegedly repulsed the attack. By this point, around half of Popasna was under Russian control. Meanwhile, heightened and intense bombardment in Kharkiv killed three civilians and wounded five.

Shelling in the Donetsk region killed two and injured eight, while shelling in Luhansk wounded four, according to Ukrainian authorities.

According to a Ukrainian official, Russian forces captured 42 villages in the Donetsk Oblast, though she did not specify which villages had been captured.

The Ukrainian military claimed to have killed up to 200 Russian soldiers and destroyed numerous pieces of military hardware during skirmishes along the frontline on 21 April.

22 April

Russian forces captured a town east of Izium. In Kharkiv Oblast, two civilians were killed and 19 wounded by Russian shelling. Three civilians were killed and seven wounded during shelling of Donetsk Oblast, according to the regional governor.

On the same day, the Russian major general and commander of Russia's Central Military District Rustam Minnekayev declared that the aim of the "second phase" of the country's invasion of Ukraine was to fully seize Donbas and Southern Ukraine and to establish a land corridor with Transnistria, a Russian-occupied breakaway unrecognized republic internationally recognized as part of Moldova. He added that there was "evidence that the Russian-speaking population is being oppressed" in Transnistria without providing further detail into his accusations. The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine replied to this announcement by describing Russia's intentions as imperialism, by saying that it contradicted previous Russian claims that assured that Russia did not have territorial ambitions over Ukraine and that Russia had admitted that "the goal of the 'second phase' of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine".

According to the Ukrainian Eastern (Skhid) task force, 130 Russian soldiers were killed by the Ukrainian military.

23 April

In Kharkiv, three civilians were killed and seven wounded by Russian shelling, whereas two civilians were killed in Popasna. Additionally, eight civilians were killed in Luhansk while two civilians were wounded in Chuihiv.

24 April

On 24 April, 4 civilians were killed and 11 wounded as a result of Russian shelling along the front line.

On 24 April, according to the Institute for the Study of War, Russian advance limited to the capture of the towns of Popivka, Pischane and Zhytlivka, with preparations to capture and advance past Popasna, advance southeast from Izyum and westwards from Kreminna.

See also

• Siege of Mariupol
• Battle of Kharkiv (2022)
• Kyiv offensive (2022)
• Northeastern Ukraine offensive
• Southern Ukraine offensive
• Great Raid of 2014
• Donbas strategic offensive (July 1943)
• Donbas strategic offensive (August 1943)

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98. "УП. Стрічка". Telegram. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
99. CGTN America (23 April 2022). "Three people were killed and seven were wounded by Russian shelling in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv on Saturday, the region's governor said, according to Reuters. Russia denies its forces target civilians. #Ukraine #Russia" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022 – via Twitter.
100. "Kharkiv: 4 wounded in Russian shelling of the city". Ukrayinska Pravda. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
101. "Суспільне Донбас". Telegram. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
102. Reuters (24 April 2022). "Eight people die in Russian attacks in Ukraine's Luhansk region, governor says". Reuters. Retrieved 24 April 2022. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
103. "🇺🇦Павло Кириленко / Донецька ОДА (ОВА)". Telegram. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
104. "Хуевый Харьков 🇺🇦". Telegram. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
105. "RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, APRIL 24". Institute for the Study of War. 24 April 2022.

• April 2022 events in Ukraine
• Battles of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
• Battles of the war in Donbas
• Eastern Ukraine offensive
• History of Luhansk Oblast
• History of Donetsk Oblast
• History of Kharkiv Oblast