Battle of Avdiivka (2022)

The battle of Avdiivka is an ongoing military engagement between the Russian Armed Forces and Donbas Separatist Forces on one side and the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the other. It is being fought over the town of Avdiivka, located in the Donbas Region.[13] Fighting started when violence erupted again in the Donbas on 21 February, when Russian president Vladimir Putin recognized the Donetsk People's Republic.[14] Avdiivka was where the former Battle of Avdiivka was fought in 2017, resulting in the destruction of the town, though Ukrainian forces still held it.[13] Later when Russia invaded Ukraine, Avdiivka was one of the first places to be attacked.[15]

Not to be confused with Battle of Avdiivka (2017).
Battle of Avdiivka
Part of the Eastern Ukraine offensive, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, War in the Donbas

A church destroyed in Avdiivka on 21 February
Date20 February 2022 – present
(2 months, 1 week and 6 days)
Location
Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
  Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Sergey Agranovich †
Denis Sinenkov[1]		 Dzhemil Izmailov[2]
Artyom Murakhovsky †[3][4]
Units involved
Casualties and losses
Unknown 5 killed[8]
9 civilians killed,[9][10][11][12] 5 injured[10][12][11]

Battle

Early fighting

Fighting erupted on 20 February, when pro-Russian forces started fighting again in Avdiivka.[16] Donetsk forces entered the city, but were repelled.[17] On 21 February, it was reported that Russian troops were aiding the separatists in Avdiivka,[15] but Russia has denied it. When Russia started its invasion of Ukraine, Avdiivka was one of its main targets. On 13 March, Russian forces bombed the Avdiivka Coke Plant[18] and it was reported on 25 March that Artyom Murakhovsky, a commander of the Azov Battalion, was killed in Avdiivka.[3] On 8 April, one person was killed and another injured by Russian shelling.[10]

Russian escalation

On 18 April, Russia renewed its invasion on Eastern Ukraine by heavily shelling and attacking Avdiivka.[19][20][21] Around 2,000 of Avdiivka's residents were forced to flee underground.[22][23][24] On 20 April, Sergey Agranovich, a member of Donetsk's Sparta Battalion, was killed in Avdiivka.[25]

References
  1. "Russian Hybrid Threats Report: Despite debunking of false flags, Putin recognizes breakaway republics". February 22, 2022.
  2. Adler, Nils. "'There's always danger': Preparing for war on Ukraine's front line". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 2022-03-12. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  3. "Leader of Neonazi Azov Battalion reportedly killed". The Morning Star. 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  4. Sweeney, Steve (March 28, 2022). "Leader of neo-nazi Azov Battalion reportedly killed in Ukraine". Archived from the original on March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  5. "NEXTA's tweet - "The separatists have lost again In the battles for #Avdeevka, the commander of the second company of the Sparta battalion, Sergey Agranovich, known under the call sign "Vodyanoy", died. " - Trendsmap". www.trendsmap.com.
  6. "Russia deploys up to 20,000 mercenaries in battle for Ukraine's Donbas region". the Guardian. April 19, 2022.
  7. Team, Editorial (April 15, 2022). "2,000 foreign mercenaries come to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia". PravdaReport.
  8. "5 killed in Russian strikes on eastern Ukraine's Avdiivka". www.timesofisrael.com.
  9. "2 civilians killed by shelling in Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast". March 18, 2022. Archived from the original on March 26, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  10. "One person killed, one wounded in Russian shelling of Avdiivka community". www.ukrinform.net. Archived from the original on 2022-04-09. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  11. "Russian aircraft hit Avdiivka and its outskirts, killing one, injuring two". www.ukrinform.net.
  12. "2 civilians killed, 3 wounded in Russian shelling of Avdiivka". www.ukrinform.net.
  13. Crosbie, Jack (February 20, 2022). "Their Town Has Been on Ukraine's Front Line for 8 Years. But They Won't Give Up on It Yet". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  14. Troianovski, Anton (February 21, 2022). "Putin Orders Troops to Separatist Regions and Recognizes Their Independence". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  15. Sahuquillo, María R. (February 24, 2022). "Ready for the worst: Life in the trenches of Ukraine's Donbas region". EL PAÍS English Edition. Archived from the original on 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  16. Carlsson, Mattias; Hammarstrom, Niclas (January 20, 2022). "On the Front Lines of Ukraine's War With Russia". Archived from the original on March 28, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  17. Losh, Jack. "This Ukrainian City Was Already Battered. Now It's Bracing for War". Archived from the original on 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  18. "Ukraine's largest steel firm says shells hit Avdiivka coke plant". Reuters. March 13, 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-03-28. Retrieved 2022-03-28 – via www.reuters.com.
  19. https://ukranews.com/en/news/850520-russian-military-fail-to-take-by-storming-popasna-novotoshkivske-avdiivka-and-mariinka-armed-forces
  20. "Ukrainian defenders refuse to surrender". Eagle-Tribune. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  21. Rousseau, Daphne. "Ukrainian president: Russia's large-scale offensive in eastern Ukraine has started". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2022-04-20.
  22. Landry, Carole (April 20, 2022). "On the Front Line in the East". The New York Times.
  23. Schwirtz, Michael (April 20, 2022). "A Ukrainian Town Goes Underground as Russia Assaults the East". The New York Times.
  24. "Ukrainian town Avdiivka goes underground as Russia assaults the East". The Indian Express. April 21, 2022.
  25. NEXTA [@nexta_tv] (April 20, 2022). "The separatists have lost again In the battles for #Avdeevka, the commander of the second company of the Sparta battalion, Sergey Agranovich, known under the call sign "Vodyanoy", died. t.co/mnB2XU2M0h" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 24, 2022 – via Twitter.
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