# Battle of Berdiansk

vteRussian invasion of Ukraine :
Timeline
February – April 2022
April – August 2022
August – November 2022
November 2022 – June 2023
June – August 2023
September – November 2023
December 2023 – March 2024
April 2024 – July 2024
August 2024 – present
Prelude
Casualties
Territorial control
map
List of engagements
War crimes
Attacks on civilians
Economic impact
Peace negotiations
Collaboration with Russia
Russian emigration
Nuclear risk
Humanitarian impacts
Russian annexation
Treatment of prisoners of war
Weather impacts :
The battle of Berdiansk was a major battle which units of the Russian Armed Forces and Russia's Black Sea Fleet fought against the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Navy. It occurred in the early days of the invasion as part of Russia's Southern Ukraine campaign, beginning on 26 February and concluding a day later on 27 February.

## Background

During the opening days of Russia's southern campaign, they managed to capture Mellitopol, allowing them to move eastwards towards Mariupol. The extent of Russia's initial gains in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast allowed a rapid and relatively unchallenged advance, quickly reaching the city of Berdiansk soon after the capture of Melitopol.

## Battle

Russia's armed and naval forces entered Berdiansk and engaged the Ukrainian military on 26 February. The battle did not last long, with Russian forces managing to capture the city within a day, also taking control of the Berdiansk Port and Berdiansk Airport. Around 22:00, Oleksandr Svidlo, the mayor of Berdiansk, announced that Russian forces had taken control of all administrative buildings. During the takeover, local authorities reported that one person was killed and another was wounded. The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that Russian troops had taken the city.
At least eight Ukrainian warships were seized in Berdiansk; two Gyurza-M-class artillery boats, two Zhuk-class patrol boats, a Sorum-class tugboat (converted to a patrol vessel) and six small patrol boats. Russia Today did not mention the second Zhuk-class patrol boat or the six small patrol boats, but claimed that among these vessels captured were a Polnocny-class landing ship, a Ondatra-class landing craft, a Grisha-class corvette, a Matka-class missile boat, and a Yevgenya-class minesweeper (officially, the Ukrainian Navy had none of these assigned to bases west of the Kerch Strait prior to the war and no recent reporting of them crossing it was available). Two of the smaller boats were later revealed to be UMS-1000 patrol cutters, three were Kalkan-M boats and one was an Adamant-315 motor yacht.

## Aftermath under Russian occupation

On 28 February, mayor Oleksandr Svidlo said that Russian forces had left Berdiansk, leaving a Russian military police detachment in the city. The same day, the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration reported that the city's police department was disbanded, with city authorities allegedly refusing to collaborate with the Russians. Many local people protested the occupation in the streets, singing the Ukrainian national anthem. The Russian navy Alligator-class landing ship Saratov was sunk in the port of Berdiansk by a Ukrainian attack on 24 March 2022. On 6 September 2022 Artem Bardin, the city's Russian-imposed commandant, was attacked and seriously injured near the administration building, and died later that day. A series of explosions was reported at Russian-occupied Berdiansk air base on 8 December 2022.

## Significance of the city's capture

The city's captured allowed Russia to quickly advance on Mariupol, which allowed for the formation of a land corridor that linked Crimea with the Donetsk People's Republic, which thus opened another Russian supply route into Crimea and areas of military engagement within southern Ukraine. In addition, Russia used the port of Berdiansk as a key logistical hub for the military operations in Ukraine, especially in the siege of Mariupol. On 21 March, Russian media Zvezda reported on the arrival of amphibious transports in Berdiansk. A Russian navy officer described it as "a landmark event that will open logistical possibilities to the Black Sea Navy". The Russians also began building a new large network of railway systems through Mariupol and Berdiansk from Rostov-on-Don that further enhanced the movement of military supplies across the front.
Simultaneously, the city's capture also led to the formation of the Berdiansk Partisan Army, a pro-Ukrainian militia that was formed to oppose and disrupt Russian consolidation of power within the city. They were actively involved in the disruptive movements such as sabotages that attempted to diminish the efficiency of Russian logistics and supply flow through the city.