The Siversk War
The Siversk War
As a part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Battle of Donbas in Eastern Ukraine offensive
Date September 9 - July 3, 2022 (2 months and 6 days)
Location Siversk, Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast
Ukrainian win in status
After July 24, the Russian onslaught stopped.
[1]
[2]
On September 8, all Russian soldiers left the Siversk vicinity.
Entities at War Russia
Luhansk PR Donetsk PR
Russian commanders and officials Ukraine Sergei Lapin[3] Ukraine Miroshnichenko, Ruslan
Russian Armed Forces personnel involved
Ukrainian Army 55th Mountain Motor Rifle Brigade
Donbas Battalion of the 80th Air Assault Brigade
losses and casualties
Ukrainian claim: almost 30 slain soldiers
DPR claim: Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 will result in 29+ soldiers dead and 100+ wounded
The Battle of Siversk was a military clash that took place as part of the larger eastern Ukraine operation that began on July 3 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On July 28, Russian forces ceased attacking Siversk and the surrounding area, thus halting their advance there.
Contents
1 Background \s2 Battle \s3 Casualties
4 Analysis
5 References
Background Articles: Battle of Lysychansk, Battle of Donbas, and Battle of Sievierodonetsk (2022) (2022)
Attack on Bakhmut on July 16, 2022, during the Russian push on Siversk
Russian forces seized Sievierodonetsk and the neighbouring villages on June 25.
[5]
[6] By the end of June, Russian forces had taken control of the twin city of Lysychansk, completely securing Russian and LPR control over the region by July 2. [7] After achieving one of the main Russian objectives in the Battle of Donbas, Russian and proxy forces declared they would advance toward northern Donetsk Oblast, with the cities of Siversk and Bakhmut as their next targets. [8]
Battle
The LPR declared on July 3 that the battle for Siversk had begun, however Ukraine and Western observers later refuted this report. On July 4, the battle for the villages of Verkhnokamyanske, Hryhorivka, Spirne, and particularly Bilohorivka—the only settlement in the Luhansk Oblast still under Ukrainian control—began to pick up steam. [9] [10] The settlement of Hryhorivka was taken by Russian and LPR forces on July 9, as the British Ministry of Defense announced on July 12. [11] [12] Although the Ukrainian General Staff claimed that a Russian attack on Spirne and Ivano-Darivka suffered significant losses, Russian forces only managed to get a few kilometres away from Siversk on July 11. [13] [14]
On July 13 and 14, Russian and separatist media incorrectly reported that Russian forces had taken Siversk, even though Ukrainian forces still held the town under their control.
[15] Verkhnokamyanske and Spirne were the targets of a failed offensive by Russian forces on July 15. [16] Fighting broke out in Ivano-Darivka, Bilohorivka, and Berestove between July 16 and July 19. [17] On July 19, these conflicts reached Spirne, Serebrianka, and Verkhnokamyanske, with Ukrainian forces also moving back to Hryhorivka's centre.
Russian and Ukrainian forces repeatedly launched offensive attacks in the direction of Siversk during the months of July and August, alternating control of these towns between the two sides.
[18] After July 24, Russian forces were unable to acquire any new territory on the battlefield, which resulted in a standstill. [19] On July 28, Russian forces abstained from attacking Siversk for the first time since the conflict started. [20]
The Donbas Battalion and the 80th Air Assault Brigade were able to drive Russian forces outside of Verkhno'kamyanka in Luhansk Oblast on September 7.
[21] Russian forces withdrew from their positions encircling Siversk on September 9 and for the first time since July, they did not launch any attacks on the town.
Casualties
According to the commander of their territory defence troops, Ruslan Miroshnichenko, four international volunteers fighting for Ukraine on July 22—two Americans, one Canadian, and one Swede—were killed by tank fire while attempting to drive Russian soldiers out of a ravine close to Siversk.
[22]
[23]
In addition to stating that Russian losses are continually rising, the chief of the military administration of the Donetsk Oblast reported 30 Russian soldiers killed in a raid in a nearby location.
[24]
A top DPR official claims that more than 25 Ukrainian soldiers have died and at least 100 have been injured in the conflict so far. Later, the same officer blames the relatively significant casualties on the incredibly precise multiple rocket launchers that were given to Russia and its allies in the Donbas. [25]
Analysis
On July 20, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that the Russian grouping in the Siversk region was likely still severely depleted from recent operations to finish the capture of the Luhansk Oblast administrative borders and was lagging behind Siversk in a grind. They also continued to deplete their own offensive combat power in small-scale battles for nearby, relatively unimportant settlements. It was also claimed that Russian troops were having difficulty moving across relatively unpopulated and open terrain, and that they would run into terrain that would be much more favourable to the Ukrainian defenders as they approached the E40 around Slovyansk and Bakhmut because of the areas' increasing population density and built-up nature. The present Russian onslaught in Donbas, according to the ISW, will likely come to an end somewhere near the E40 in the coming weeks. [26]
The phrasing of the Ukrainian General Staff's report dated July 23 suggests, according to the ISW, that Russian forces may be moving from positions in the east closer to the boundaries of Siversk itself.
[27]
On July 28, the ISW stated that Russian forces may be de-emphasizing attempts to take Siversk in order to concentrate on Bakhmut, as they have been struggling to make concrete gains around Siversk and have not made any confirmed advances toward the city since the capture of the Luhansk Oblast Administrative border in early July. The ISW came to the conclusion that the Russian command is probably trying to keep things moving in the direction of Bakhmut, possibly at the expense of keeping the pressure on Siversk up. [2]
On July 30, President Zelenskyy issued an evacuation order for all Ukrainian civilians residing in the Donetsk region. According to Ukrainian estimates, there were still between 200,000 and 220,000 civilians residing in the uninhabited region of Donetsk Oblast. Zelensky claims that the evacuation was in response to the lack of energy and heat needed for the next winter season. [28]