Siege of Sloviansk

Siege of Sloviansk
Part of the War in Donbas
Map of DPR retreat from Sloviansk and other cities
Date12 April 2014 – 5 July 2014
(2 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)
Location
Sloviansk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine
Result Ukrainian victory
Territorial
changes		 Withdrawal of Russia's DPR People's Militia to the city of Donetsk[1]
Belligerents
 Ukraine  Donetsk People's Republic
 Russia[a]
Commanders and leaders
Oleksandr Turchynov
Petro Poroshenko
Arsen Avakov
Serhiy Kulchytskiy †[2]
Stepan Poltorak
Dmytro Yarosh
Maksym Shapoval
Valentyn Nalyvaichenko		 Vyacheslav Ponomarev
Vladimir Pavlenko[3]
Igor Strelkov[4]
Arsen Pavlov[5]
Vladimir Zhoga[6]
Alexander Khodakovsky
Sergei Zhurikov † ("Romashka")[7]
Alexander Mozhaev ("Babay" or "Bogeyman")[8]
Units involved

Armed Forces of Ukraine:

Internal Affairs Ministry:

Security Service (SBU)

Right Sector

Donbass People's Militia:

Russian Armed Forces:

Strength
15,000+
160 tanks
230 APCs
150+ artillery pieces[15]
20 helicopters[16]
2+ other aircraft		 800[17]–1,000[18] fighters
6 APCs[19]
Casualties and losses

51 soldiers killed
127 soldiers wounded
40 soldiers captured[20]
2 SBU agents killed[20]
3 SBU agents captured[21]
1 police chief captured[21]

4 Mi-24 helicopters shot down[22]
2 Mi-8 helicopters shot down[22][23]
1 An-30 shot down[22][24]
3 Mi-24 helicopters damaged[22]
2 Mi-8 helicopters damaged[22][25]
1 An-30 damaged[22]

54 militants killed
200+ militants wounded[26]
4 captured[27]

1+ tank
6 APCs[28]
~20 civilians killed from 13 April to 26 May.[29] Unknown number from 27 May to 5 July.
17 civilians and foreigners missing or kidnapped.[21] Four Pentecostal Church members executed.
1 Italian photojournalist and 1 Russian interpreter killed.[30]

The siege of Sloviansk was conducted by Ukraine between 12 April 2014 and 5 July 2014. It began immediately after Sloviansk was seized by the separatist group, the Donetsk People's Republic, which, having received support from Russia, declared itself independent from Ukraine on 7 April. Following three months of heavy fighting between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the DPR People's Militia, the Ukrainian government retook the city as the pro-Russia rebels retreated to Donetsk. The engagement in Sloviansk marked the first military engagement of the War in Donbas.

On 12 April 2014, as unrest grew in eastern Ukraine following the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, masked men in fatigues, armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, took over the town and began to fortify it.[31] They claimed to be local fighters of the Donetsk People's Republic, but were actually Russian Armed Forces 'volunteers' under the command of Russian GRU colonel Igor Girkin ('Strelkov').[32][33] In response, the Ukrainian Yatsenyuk Government created the first Anti-Terrorist Operations zone (ATO) and launched a series of counter-offensives against the insurgents, resulting in a standoff and violent skirmishes.[34] Girkin later acknowledged that his men's seizure of Sloviansk sparked what would become the Donbas War.[35]

As tensions in the city increased, the insurgents began to take journalists and others captive, instigating a hostage crisis.[36][37] The Security Service of Ukraine said on 18 April that "Sloviansk remains the hottest point in the region."[38] On 20 April, Right Sector was ordered by acting President Oleksandr Turchinov to sabotage an insurgent-controlled television tower, leading to the first combat fatalities.[39] By June, roughly 40% of the city's population had fled.[40] On 5 July, after the insurgents had retreated to Donetsk City, Ukrainian authorities retook control of the city.[41]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Ukraine crisis: Rebels 'abandon Sloviansk stronghold' Archived 5 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine BBC News, 5 July 2014
  2. ^ "Ukraine army helicopter shot down near Sloviansk". BBC News. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  3. ^ Экс-мэр Славянска Пономарев покинул город вместе с ополчением Archived 21 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine, RIA Novosty, 5 July 2014.
  4. ^ "Сепаратисты Славянска перешли под контроль российского спецназовца Стрелкова – СМИ: Новости УНИАН". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Semyonovka May-June 2014". YouTube. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
  6. ^ "Who was Vladimir Zhoga? Russian 'neo-Nazi' warlord known for his brutality killed in Ukraine". 7 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Один из лидеров ополчения Славянска "Ромашка" погиб". 3 May 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference timemozh was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ a b "Сепаратисты контратакуют. В Славянске погибли еще двое украинских военных". Korrespondent.net. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
  10. ^ Подробиці обстрілу українських військових під Ізюмом Archived 1 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "У суботу під Слов'янськом один військовий загинув, двоє поранені, — Нацгвардія // ZIK, 25 травня 2014". Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
  12. ^ Tom Balmforth (16 October 2014). "Insult Evolves into Homage As Donetsk Airport Defenders Dubbed 'Cyborgs'". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 4 November 2014.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference 20140424unian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Puch was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "РИА Новости публикует снимки, запечатлевшие войска Украины у Славянска". 26 April 2014. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  16. ^ Military.com (5 May 2014). "Ukrainian Helo Shot Down in Sloviansk". Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Ukraine soldiers killed in Slovyansk clashes". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  18. ^ "Kiev says 4 of its troops killed in eastern Ukraine". Archived from the original on 3 November 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  19. ^ "A day of humiliation as Ukrainian military offensive stalls, six armored vehicles seized". Kyiv Post. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 25 June 2014.
  20. ^ a b Книга пам'яті загиблих [Memorial Book to the Fallen]. Herman Shapovalenko, Yevhen Vorokh, Yuriy Hirchenko (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  21. ^ a b c "Thirty-one people remain abducted or missing in Donetsk Oblast". Kyiv Post. 2 May 2014. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  22. ^ a b c d e f "Aviation Safety Network". 29 June 2014. Archived from the original on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  23. ^ "Ukraine army helicopter shot down near Sloviansk, 12 dead - BBC News". BBC News. 29 May 2014. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference 20140608unian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ "Ukraine helicopters shot down in Slovyansk". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  26. ^ 1 killed (13 April),[1] Archived 3 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine 3 killed (19 April),[2] Archived 23 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine 5 killed (24 April),[3] 3 killed (2 May),[4] Archived 15 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine 10 [5] Archived 8 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine–30 [6] Archived 18 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine killed (5 May), 2 killed (27 May),[7] Archived 28 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine 10 killed (4 June).[8] Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine Total of 34–54 reported killed.
  27. ^ "'Four arrests' after Slaviansk helicopter attacks kill two". Itv.com. 28 April 2014. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  28. ^ "BBC News - Ukraine crisis: Donetsk rebels in mass withdrawal". BBC News. 5 July 2014. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
  29. ^ 2 killed (13 April),[9] Archived 15 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine 2 killed (14 April),[10] Archived 25 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine 2 killed (22 April),[11] Archived 8 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine 1 killed (28 April),[12] Archived 3 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine 2 killed (2 May),[13] Archived 15 February 2022 at the Wayback Machine 1 [14] Archived 8 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine–3 [15] Archived 6 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine killed (5 May), 4 killed (26 May).[16] Archived 30 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine Total of 14–16 reported killed.
  30. ^ "Italian journalist Andrea Ronchelli killed in Ukraine". The Guardian. 25 May 2014. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2014.
  31. ^ Cite error: The named reference kpslov was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  32. ^ Arel, Dominique; Driscoll, Jesse, eds. (2023). Ukraine's Unnamed War. Cambridge University Press. pp. 138–140.
  33. ^ Wynnyckyj, Mychailo (2019). Ukraine's Maidan, Russia's War: A Chronicle and Analysis of the Revolution of Dignity. Columbia University Press. pp. 151–153.
  34. ^ Cite error: The named reference ctop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ "Russia's Igor Strelkov: I Am Responsible for War in Eastern Ukraine". The Moscow Times. 21 November 2014.
  36. ^ Cite error: The named reference 20140422mashable was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  37. ^ Grytsenko, Oksana (25 April 2014). "International observation mission held hostage in Sloviansk". Kyiv Post. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  38. ^ "Anti-terrorist campaign takes a different tack". Kyiv Post. 18 April 2014. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  39. ^ ДМИТРО ЯРОШ: "ПЕРШИЙ НАСТУПАЛЬНИЙ БІЙ ВІЙНИ ВІДБУВСЯ 20 КВІТНЯ 2014-ГО - ДОБРОВОЛЬЦІ АТАКУВАЛИ БЛОКПОСТ ПІД СЛОВ'ЯНСЬКОМ" Archived 22 April 2016 at archive.today. Censor.net.ua. 2016-04-22.
  40. ^ "Ukraine News One: Slovyansk residents desert lawless separatist stronghold". Kyiv Post. 6 June 2014. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
  41. ^ Ukraine crisis: Bridges destroyed outside Donetsk Archived 5 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News (7 July 2014)