Second Battle of Donetsk Airport

This article is about the battle fought from 28 September 2014 to 21 January 2015 during the Donbas war. For the battle fought in May 2014, see First Battle of Donetsk Airport.
Second Battle of Donetsk Airport
Part of the Russo-Ukrainian War and War in Donbas

A map of the Donetsk Airport area
Date28 September 2014[1] – 21 January 2015
(3 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Donetsk International Airport area
Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine
Result DPR-Russian victory[2]
  • Ukrainian forces withdraw to Pisky
Territorial
changes		 Successful DPR capture of the Donetsk airport
Belligerents
 Ukraine  Donetsk People's Republic
Per Ukraine:
 Russia (commanded by Brig. Gen B. Varner)
Commanders and leaders
Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko[3]
Ukraine Yevhen Moisiuk[3]
Ukraine Oleh Kuzminykh [uk]  (POW)[4][5]
Ukraine Valerii Rud[6]
Ukraine Ruslan Prusov [uk][3]
Ukraine Dmytro Yarosh (WIA)		 Donetsk People's Republic Mikhail Tolstykh (Givi)[7]
Donetsk People's Republic Arsen Pavlov (Motorola)[8]
Donetsk People's Republic Vladimir Zhoga (Voha)
Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Khodakovsky
Units involved

Armed Forces of Ukraine

Internal Affairs Ministry

Right Sector

Novorossiya Armed Forces

Per Ukraine:[15][16][17]

Casualties and losses

Per Ukraine:[18]

Per DPR:[21]

  • 200 killed
  • 500 wounded
  • 27 tanks destroyed
  • 20 armoured vehicles destroyed

Per DPR:

Per Ukraine:[23]

  • 800 killed
  • 1,500–2,000 wounded
  • Heavy vehicles losses

The Second Battle of Donetsk Airport was an engagement between the Ukrainian military and Russian military and its proxy forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) during the War in Donbas.[24] An earlier battle in May 2014 had left Donetsk International Airport in Ukrainian control. Despite a ceasefire agreement, the Minsk Protocol, in place since 5 September 2014, fighting broke out between the warring parties on 28 September 2014.

At the start of the battle, the airport lay between the separatist and Ukrainian lines of control, and was the last part of Donetsk city held by Ukrainian government forces. Heavy fighting over the airport continued into the new year, with some of the worst fighting taking place in January 2015. On 21 January, DPR forces overran the Ukrainian positions at the airport.[2] The remaining Ukrainian forces were either killed, forced to retreat, or captured by DPR forces.[25] The battle has been called the "Little Stalingrad".[26]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference post was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b "Ukraine forces admit loss of Donetsk airport to rebels". The Guardian. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference dd2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "КАК ПОПАЛ В ПЛЕН В АЭРОПОРТУ КОМБАТ 90-ГО БАТАЛЬОНА 95-Й БРИГАДЫ ОЛЕГ КУЗЬМИНЫХ". Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  5. ^ В числе восьми освобожденных из плена "киборгов" нет комбата Олега Кузьминых: боевики отказались его отпустить [Battalion commander Oleg Kuzmin was not among the eight "cyborgs" released from captivity: the militants have refused to let him go]. fakty.ua (in Russian). 6 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Ukraine fighters, surrounded at wrecked airport, refuse to give up". Los Angeles Times. 28 October 2014.
  7. ^ "Rebel commander wages fight to the death for east Ukraine airport". Yahoo News. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Ukraine Live Day 335: The Battle for Donetsk". The Interpreter. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "'Cyborgs' pledge to defend ruined Donetsk airport". Kyiv Post. 10 October 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  10. ^ a b Carroll, Oliver (2 March 2015). "Inside the Bloody Battle for Ukraine's Donetsk Airport". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
  11. ^ "Военные отбили у боевиков стратегическую высоту вблизи Донецкого аэропорта". Newsru.
  12. ^ "«Нищив рашистів у складі „Дикої качки", тепер навчаю цього підлеглих» — воїн «Фантом»". armyinform.com.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  13. ^ "Dnipro Battalion Will Not Leave Donetsk Airport Without Order - Battalion Commander Bereza". Censor.NET. 14 September 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  14. ^ Tom Balmforth (16 October 2014). "Insult Evolves into Homage As Donetsk Airport Defenders Dubbed 'Cyborgs'". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  15. ^ "Ukraine crisis: New battle rages at Donetsk airport". BBC. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  16. ^ Shemetov, Maxim (1 December 2014). "Ukraine says Russian special forces involved in attacks on airport in east". Reuters. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
  17. ^ "Militants with "Russian Naval Infantry" marks in Donetsk airport, 15.01.15". Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  18. ^ "Memorial Service Held In Kyiv In Honor Of Donetsk Airport Defenders". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty.
  19. ^ 23 killed (28 September – 14 October),[1] 12 killed (15–28 October),[2] 125 killed (29 October – 21 January), 25 killed (22–29 January),[3] total of 185 reported killed
  20. ^ "At least 1,373 soldiers killed in Russia's war against Ukraine". KyivPost. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  21. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference conduct was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ "Clashes outside Ukraine parliament". The Belfast Telegraph. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  23. ^ Aleksandr Fedchenko (29 January 2015). "Украинский Сталинград: 242 дня обороны донецкого аэропорта" [Ukrainian Stalingrad: 242 days of defending Donetsk airport] (in Russian). KP (in Ukraine). Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  24. ^ "Cyborgs at Little Stalingrad: A Brief History of the Battles of the Donetsk Airport, 26 May 2014 to 21 January 2015". AUSA. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference KP22JAN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ Fox, Amos C. (2019). ""Cyborgs at Little Stalingrad": A Brief History of the Battles of the Donetsk Airport, 26 May 2014 to 21 January 2015". Land Warfare Paper. Institute of Land Warfare – via AUSA.