Battle of Lysychansk
The battle of Lysychansk was a military engagement between Russia and Ukraine in the wider battle of Donbas of the eastern Ukraine campaign during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. By May 2022, Lysychansk and its twin city of Sievierodonetsk were the two largest cities of the Luhansk Oblast not under Russian control. Russian forces launched an assault on Sievierodonetsk in May where a fierce battle occurred until late June, when Ukrainian forces withdrew from the city. Fighting then continued as Russian forces started to attack Lysychansk across the Donets River.
| Battle of Lysychansk | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the battle of Donbas during the eastern Ukraine campaign | |||||||||
Pro-Russian separatist troops advance towards Lysychansk | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
|
Russia Luhansk PR |
| ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Aleksandr Lapin Sergey Surovikin Esedulla Abachev Zamid Chalaev Apti Alaudinov | Ivan "Brest" Marchuk † | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
Russian Armed Forces
Wagner Group |
National Guard of Ukraine
| ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown |
Russian claim: 4,500 troops | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown |
Ukrainian claim: 1,120+ killed, 600+ captured | ||||||||
| 8+ civilians killed, 42+ wounded | |||||||||
Russia and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) announced their forces had seized Lysychansk on 2–3 July, although Ukraine initially denied the city's capture. The Ukrainian general staff conceded on 3 July that their forces had withdrawn from the city "in order to save the lives of Ukrainian defenders."
Lysychansk was the last Ukrainian stronghold to be captured in Luhansk Oblast, which Russia then claimed to fully control.