Battle of Debaltseve

Battle of Debaltseve
Part of the War in Donbas during the Russo–Ukrainian War
Map showing the encirclement and withdrawal of the Ukrainian forces from the city of Debaltseve and its surrounding areas
Date 14 January – 20 February 2015 (1 month and 4 days) Location Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine Result DPR and LPR victory Ukrainian forces retreats to the city of Artemivsk [1] Territorial changes DPR and LPR forces capture Debaltseve,[1] Vuhlehirsk, Lohvynove[2] and four other villages[3]
Belligerents
Ukraine	Donetsk People’s Republic Luhansk People’s Republic Russia
Commanders and leaders
Serhiy Shaptala[4] Oleksandr Syrskyi[5] Semen Semenchenko (WIA) Isa Munayev †[6] Adam Osmayev[7] Yevhen Yukhanov †[8] Dmytro Zahariya (WIA)[9]	Aleksandr Zakharchenko (WIA)[10] Aleksey Mozgovoy[11] Nikolay Kozitsyn[12]
Units involved
Ukrainian Armed Forces 57th Motorized Brigade[13] 40th Motorized Battalion[14] 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade[15] 95th Separate Airmobile Brigade[15] 3rd Special Operations Regiment[15] 8th Special Operations Regiment[15] 73rd Naval Special Operations Regiment[15] Ministry of the Internal Affairs National Guard[16] 2nd Galician Brigade[17] 3rd Operational Brigade[18] 27th Pechersk Brigade[19] 45th Operational Regiment Donbas Battalion Ministry of the Defense Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion[6]	Novorossiya Armed Forces Prizrak Brigade[11] Cossack National Guard[12] Oplot Brigade[20] Russian Armed Forces (denied by Russia):[21][22][23][24] 8th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade[25] 18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade[25] 25th Spetsnaz Regiment[25] 5th Separate Guards Tank Brigade[26] elements of the 232nd Multiple Rocket Launcher Brigade[25]
Strength
2,500–5,000[27]	12,000–17,000 (Ukrainian claim)[28]
Casualties and losses
267 killed[29] 112–121 captured[*][30][31] 508–668 wounded[4][27][32] (Ukrainian claim)	868 killed (Ukrainian claim)[28] 58 killed (Separatist claim)[11][33][34][35] 70 Russian soldiers killed (Russian opposition claim)[36]
500+ civilians killed (Separatist claim)[37]
* 104 prisoners were released[38]

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^[39] 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.^[40]

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.