Battle of Debaltseve
The Battle of Debaltseve was a military confrontation in the city of Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, between the pro-Russian separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, starting in mid-January 2015 during the war in the Donbas region. The Russian forces composed mostly of "Wagner Group" soldiers recaptured Debaltseve, which had been under Ukrainian control since a counter-offensive by government forces in July 2014. The city lay in a "wedge" of Ukrainian-held territory bordered by the DPR on one side, and the LPR on the other, and is a vital road and railway junction.
| Battle of Debaltseve | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the war in Donbas and the Russo-Ukrainian War | |||||||||
Map showing the encirclement and withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Debaltseve and its surrounding areas. | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Ukraine |
Donetsk PR Luhansk PR Russia | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Serhiy Shaptala Oleksandr Syrskyi Semen Semenchenko (WIA) Isa Munayev † Adam Osmayev Yevhen Yukhanov † Dmytro Zaharia (WIA) |
Alexander Zakharchenko (WIA) Aleksey Mozgovoy Nikolai Kozitsyn | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
Internal Affairs Ministry:
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Novorossiya Armed Forces
Russian Armed Forces (denied by Russia):
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| Strength | |||||||||
| 2,500-5,000 |
12,000–17,000 (Ukrainian claim) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
267 killed 112–121 captured[*] 508–668 wounded (Ukrainian claim) |
868 killed (Ukrainian claim) 58 killed (separatist claim) 70 Russian soldiers killed (Russian opposition claim) | ||||||||
| 500+ civilians killed (separatist claim) | |||||||||
| * 104 prisoners were released. | |||||||||
Separatist and Russian forces began a concerted effort to force Ukrainian troops out of the city on 16–17 January, sparking the battle. Heavy fighting went on until 18 February 2015, when Ukrainian forces retreated from Debaltseve to Artemivsk (present-day Bakhmut).
It was the last major battle during the 2014–2015 phase of the war in Donbas, as the Minsk II ceasefire took effect on 15 February 2015, although fighting continued in Debaltseve for several days after.