Sloviansk offensive

Sloviansk offensive
The Sloviansk offensive was a series of military engagements in villages south of the town of Izium, including the villages of Bohorodychne, Dovhenke, and between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the battle of Donbas that started following the Russian victory at the battle of Izium. This offensive was part of a longer-term Russian drive towards Sloviansk and of a larger attempted encirclement of Ukraine's Donbas.
Background
Dovhenke is a village on the border between Kharkiv and Donetsk Oblasts. On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, in a steep escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which had begun in 2014. The invasion caused Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II, with more than 6.5 million Ukrainians fleeing the country and a third of the population displaced. On 1 April, the Ukrainian military confirmed Izium was under Russian control. The following day, in an interview for Ukrinform, Izium's Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin claimed that 80% of the city's residential buildings had been destroyed and that there was no power, heating, or water in the city.
Russian forces captured Izium, a strategic city railway intersection in eastern Kharkiv Oblast. The following day in an interview for Ukrinform, Izium's Deputy Mayor Volodymyr Matsokin claimed that 80% of the city's residential buildings had been destroyed and that there was no power, heating, or water in the city due to the recent battle. Days later, during the Battle of Donbas which both Russia and Ukraine shifted their resources towards, Kreminna became the first city to fall to the Russians and separatists on 18 April. The Governor of Luhansk Oblast, Serhiy Haidai, reported that 200 civilians were killed, although casualty numbers could be much higher than reported. Ukrainian officials reported on 25 April that Russian forces were killed in a gas explosion in the Russian-occupied Kreminna City Hall. On 27 May and 8 June respectively, the last Ukrainian-controlled cities north of the Donets river, Lyman and Sviatohirsk, fell to Russian and separatist forces. After gaining control of these cities, the battlefield shifted to the forests and villages between Izium and Sloviansk, which includes the villages of Dovhenke, Bohorodychne, and .
Bohorodychne and Krasnopillia are strategic due to their location south of the Donets river. Since late May, Russian forces had been able to capture all Ukrainian-held towns north of the river, although their attempts to bridge across it were foiled by Ukrainian forces. By capturing Bohorodychne and Krasnopillia, Russian and separatist forces would be able to push southwards to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, two of the last major Ukrainian-held cities in Donetsk Oblast and a major focus in the battle of Donbas. Sloviansk Mayor Vadim Liak made calls on 6 July for residents to evacuate due to recent increases in shelling in civilian areas and the possibility of fighting occurring in the city.
Battles
Russian offensive
On 11 April, Russian forces launched an attack against Dovhenke and , which was repelled by Ukrainian forces.
On 15 May, the Ukrainian military announced that Russia had launched a new assault to take the village.
On 6 June, according to the Ukrainian News Agency, Ukrainian soldiers repulsed a new attack on Dovhenke, with Russian forces withdrawing part of their units to Izium due to losses sustained. Around this time, Russian State Duma Deputy Alexander Borodai reportedly traveled to Dovhenke to take part in the assault on the village with the Donbas Volunteer Union.
The first offensive towards Krasnopillia began on 7 June, when combined Russian and LPR forces launched an offensive through the forests south of Izyum, Sviatohirsk, Synychyne, and Studenok towards the city of Sloviansk, but were stopped at Bohorodychne and Krasnopillia.
By 12 June, Ukraine reported the Russian army was conducting an assault from Dovhenke towards Mazanivka and Dolina, indicating the village had been captured by Russian forces.
On 17 June, Russian and LPR forces relaunched the offensive, this time attempting a more serious breakthrough near the towns, although this was pushed back by a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
On 24 June, Russian artillery targeted civilian infrastructure near Bohorodychne, Krasnopillia, and surrounding villages. Russian and LPR forces attempted another breakthrough six days later on 30 June, but were unsuccessful.
As of 25 June, fighting continued near Dovhenke, but at the end of the month, Russian operations moved to the south of the village, with Russian troops attempting to advance from Dovhenke towards Mazanivka.
The next Russian offensive was on 7 July, when Russian forces launched an unsuccessful attack on Bohorodychne, Krasnopillia, and the nearby village of Dolyna. That same day, Russian forces also unsuccessfully tried to bypass Barvinkove from the east with the intention of cutting the E40 Izium-Sloviansk highway, a key supply route for Ukrainian troops. A major offensive took place in Krasnopillia on 11 and 12 July, with fierce shelling taking place in Dibrivne, Mazanivka, Adamivka, and Kurulka, all villages near Bohorodychne and Krasnopillia. The following day, on 13 July, further Russian attacks were repelled from the northern part of Krasnopillia and Dolyna, reportedly in an attempt to further cut off the Izium-Sloviansk highway.
Russian offensives against Bohorodychne and Krasnopillia renewed unsuccessfully on 17 and 18 July, with heavy shelling taking place against the towns and nearby settlements. Shelling resumed again at Bohorodychne, Krasnopillia, and surrounding villages on 21 July. On 26 July, Russian forces began another offensive against Krasnopillia and Bohorodychne, although were again unsuccessful. Attacks restarted again on 31 July, when Russian forces began shelled Bohorodychne, Krasnopillia, and surrounding villages from the Russian-held village of Dmytrivka.
Ukrainian counteroffensive
On 5 August, presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych announced that the Ukrainian army had started a new counteroffensive near Izium against Russian forces and that fighting had started again in Dovhenke. The next day, there was heavy Russian bombardment in the area, including in Dovhenke; this continued on 7 August. On 8 August, Arestovych said that, according to some sources, Dovhenke had been recaptured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and that Ukraine was successfully advancing towards Izium. A report published on that day by the Ministry of Defence of Russia said that Russian forces had destroyed seven drones in a group of various villages including Dovhenke. On 9 August, Arestovych said that "Dovhenke is already behind us, according to some data. We have moved them." That day, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that Dovhenke and several other villages were being attacked by Russian forces. On 9 August, Ukrainian forces recaptured Mazanivka,
Russian forces shelled Dovhenke and the villages around on 10 August. Fighting stagnated until 6 September, when a counteroffensive drove Russia from Dovhenke. It later pushed Russia from most of the Kharkiv oblast.
Russian ground offensives relaunched on 21 August south and southeast of Izium, aiming to recapture villages retaken by Ukraine in the previous weeks. Ukrainian sources reported on 22 August that Russian troops attempted to advance on Dmytrivka and Nova Dmytrivka, along with launching more attacks on Krasnopillia. Ukrainian forces also managed to capture the villages of Dibrivne and Dmytrivka in these counterattacks.
Second Ukrainian counterattack and the fall of Izyum
On 9 September, the Russian-backed administration ordered the "evacuation" of the population from Izium, Kupiansk and Velykyi Burluk. Later in the day Ukrainian forces reached Kupiansk, a vital transit hub at the junction of several of the main railway lines supplying Russian troops at the front. The Institute for the Study of War said it believed Kupyansk would likely fall in the next 72 hours. In response to the Ukrainian advance, Russian reserve units were sent as reinforcements to both Kupiansk and Izium.
On 10 September, Kupiansk and Izium were retaken by Ukrainian forces and Ukrainian forces were reportedly advancing towards Lyman. An advisor to the head of Kharkiv regional council, Natalia Popova, posted photos on Facebook of soldiers holding a Ukrainian flag outside Kupiansk city hall. Ukrainian security officials and police moved into the recaptured settlements to check the identities of those who stayed under Russian occupation. Later that day, Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai claimed that Ukrainian soldiers had advanced into the outskirts of Lysychansk, while Ukrainian partisans had reportedly managed to capture parts of Kreminna. The New York Times said "the fall of the strategically important city of Izium, in Ukraine's east, is the most devastating blow to Russia since its humiliating retreat from Kyiv.” The Russian Ministry of Defence spokesperson Igor Konashenkov responded to these developments by claiming that Russian forces in the Balakliya and Izyum area would "regroup" in the Donetsk area "in order to achieve the stated goals of the special military operation to liberate Donbas". Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said that "The Russian army in these days is demonstrating the best that it can do — showing its back. And, of course, it's a good decision for them to run." He claimed that Ukraine has recaptured since the start of the counteroffensive.
References
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April 2022 events in Ukraine
May 2022 events in Ukraine
June 2022 events in Ukraine
August 2022 events in Ukraine
History of Kharkiv Oblast
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