Chernihiv Siege
Chernihiv Siege
The 2022 Russian invasion's northern Ukraine attack.
Ukrainian rescuers inspect Chernihiv school remains (1).jpg
A Russian-shelled structure.
February–April 2022 (1 month, 1 week and 4 days)
Chernihiv, Ukraine
Ukraine wins
Ukrainian forces breach Chernihiv's encirclement on 31 March[1].
Russia withdraws soldiers from Chernihiv Oblast on April 4[2][3].
Russia Ukraine Denis Kurilo
[4]
[5]
Buynichev Resigned
[6] Valerii Zaluzhnyi
Viktor Nikolyuk
Vladimir Atroshenko
Khoda
[7]
Russian military units
Russian Airborne Forces 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade[8] 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division 36th and 41st Combined Arms Armies[9].
74th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade[6].
35th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade[10].
90th Guards Tank Division[12]
UAF
1st Tank Brigade[13] 119th Territorial Defense Brigade[14]
Territorial and reserve units
Strength 30,000 [16] 2,000 originally (1st Tank Brigade]
Damages
Ukraine (2 March): 132 soldiers killed[17].
200–250 soldiers taken[6].
56 fuel trucks destroyed[19]
Ukraine: 300–350 soldiers killed[20].
700+ civilian deaths, 40 missing[21].
[22]
2022 Russia invades Ukraine
Chernihiv Oblast, in northern Ukraine, was the site of the siege. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the northeastern Ukraine offensive began on February 24. Russian forces evacuated Chernihiv Oblast on 4 April 2022, according to Ukrainian authorities. [2]
First battle
Siege: February–March–Russian withdrawal
3 Aftermath
5.
Initiation
A Russian 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade captain and corporal surrendered to ZSU forces in Chernihiv on February 24, 2022, at 03:27 EET (UTC+2).
[8] Ukraine said a Russian 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade reconnaissance platoon surrendered the same day. [6]
Five hours later, Ukrainian forces defeated a Russian attack in Chernihiv and took Russian equipment and documents.
[23] The British Ministry of Defence said that Russian forces failed to conquer the city and bypassed it to reach Kyiv. [24] [25] Ukrainian officials said that Russian forces were approaching Sedniv and Semenivka. [26]
Siege Chernihiv residential building after 3 March Russian bombardment
5 March Russian aircraft downed
Ukrainian firemen battle Russian-attacked diesel fuel tanks in Chernihiv February
Russian armies besieged Chernihiv on February 25, 2022, according to the Ministry of Defense.
[27] The next day, Ukrainian forces defeated a Russian military battalion trying to occupy the city. Ukraine captured several Russian tanks. [28] The Ukrainian government claimed that Russian BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers (MRL) targeted Chernihiv hospitals and kindergartens, however this was unconfirmed. [29] Russian military bombed an SBU archive. [30] [31]
On February 27, Ukrainian officials stated Russian missiles destroyed most of Chernihiv's city center and the iconic Shchors cinema.
[32]
[33] Russian military said they totally blockaded the city. [34] Ukrainian reports said they destroyed 56 Russian fuel trucks. [35]
Kyinka was burned on February 28. Most nations condemn cluster bombs. [36] Saboteurs with armored vehicles tried to break into Chernihiv but were slain on the outskirts. [37]
March
On March 1, Ukrainian officials said Belarus joined the Russian invasion and was sending a column of military vehicles from Hrodna to Chernihiv. "No sign" that Belarus invaded, US officials said. [38] Chernihiv Oblast governor Vyacheslav Chaus said all city entrances were mined. [39]
Chernihiv mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko predicted urban warfare on 2 March.
[40] Health administration chief Serhiy Pivovar said two rockets targeted a municipal hospital during the day. Russian airstrikes hit two schools and residential structures on 3 March. [42] 47 individuals died. [44]
The Ukrainian military shot down a Russian assault plane in Masany, Chernihiv, on March 5. Both pilots were detained.
[45] 141 villages were without power on 6 March morning. The Russian Air Force bombed residential areas with heavy fortification bombs. [46] Humanitarian help arrived (food, medicine, etc). Trucks were unloaded promptly due to bombardment. [47]
On 10 March, Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko announced that Russian forces had totally encircled Chernihiv and that essential infrastructure for its 300,000 population was collapsing due to constant bombing.
[48] Russian airstrikes devastated Chernihiv Arena. [49]
Russian airstrikes destroyed Chernihiv Stadium and a library on March 11.
The city's "Hotel Ukraine" was destroyed on March 12.
[51] Russian troops surrendered after Ukrainian forces destroyed a missile unit shelling the city. [52]
According to the State Emergency Services, a Russian attack at 05:46 on 13 March killed five civilians in a hostel [53].
[54] Ukrainian military shot down a Russian fighter jet shelling Chernihiv. [55] Chaus claimed on March 14 that Russian warplanes demolished Chernihiv Polytechnic National University. [56] The city bombardment killed ten civilians, according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General. [57]
After burning a road bridge across the Desna in the south, Russian soldiers cut off Chernihiv, a northern city, on March 25.
[59] The Korolenko Chernihiv Regional Universal Scientific Library and city center market were bombed on March 30, 2022. [60] [61] [62] The Russian army also struck a Khimik Sport Complex table tennis hall. The Russian rocket missed the sports complex, leaving a funnel on the sports ground. The funnel was ten meters deep. The Khimik Sport Complex suffered substantial damage, including broken windows, plaster crumbling, tables, floors, ceilings, and electrical equipment. Table tennis facilities become unsuitable. [63]
Russian exit
On 31 March, the Ukrainian Army retook the M01 highway between Kyiv and Chernihiv, ending the siege.
[64] The Mayor described the war's quietest night. [65]
Ukraine reported Russian withdrawal from Chernihiv on April 1.
[66] The Ukrainian Army seized Sloboda and Shestovytsia on April 2. [67]
Governor Chaus reported that the Russian forces evacuated Chernihiv Oblast but laid mines in numerous areas on 3 April, when the Ukrainian Army recovered Kolychivka, Yahidne, and Ivanivka.
[2] Russia withdrew from Chernihiv Oblast on April 5, ending warfare. [69]
Aftermath
3 March 2022 Chernihiv blast and 16 March 2022 breadline attack.
The Kyiv Independent reported on a WhatsApp audio message from an Aleysk, Russia woman on 2 March. The woman said that only 18 of 150 troops in a "tank brigade" of the 35th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in Aleysk survived a combat near Chernihiv. She called the slain soldiers "mainly very young males". The woman said 45 coffins would arrive on her message day. [17] [18]
Russian bombings in residential areas and schools killed 47 and injured 18 on 3 March.
[70]
As of 15 March, the Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor's Office reported 123 Ukrainian soldiers, 100 civilians, and five policemen killed.
[71]
Ukrainian and American officials said Russian forces killed 10 civilians in a breadline on March 16.
[72]
[73] On 17 March, Chernihiv Oblast governor Vyacheslav Chaus reported 53 deaths in the city the day before. [74]
After the siege, over half of the city's roughly 300,000 residents left. The city's mayor, Vladyslav Atroshenko, told reporters that 350–400 civilians were slain and up to 100 were buried daily. Humanitarian workers reported similar numbers, predominantly Ukrainian and Russian servicemen. Vyacheslav Chaus, Chernihiv's governor, said secure evacuation lanes were being quickly built before Russian soldiers returned. Before Ukrainian forces reclaimed Lukashivka on April 1, Russian forces beat and mock-executed civilians, confiscated phones, passports, household objects like carpets and pillows, and executed livestock. [75]
Russian shelling of Chernihiv continued in April and May after leaving in late March. A Russian missile strike in Desna, Chernihiv, killed 8 civilians and wounded 12 on 17 May. [76]