Southern Ukraine campaign

Further information: Siege of Mariupol, Battle of Enerhodar, Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Russian occupation of Kherson Oblast

Southern Ukraine campaign
Part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.svg
Date24 February 2022 – present
(2 years, 8 months and 4 weeks)
Location
Southern Ukraine (Kherson Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southern Donetsk Oblast)
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
 Russia  Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Russia Vladimir Putin
Russia Valery Gerasimov
Russia Gennady Zhidko
Russia Oleg Salyukov
Russia Nikolai Yevmenov
Russia Sergey Dronov
Russia Andrey Mordvichev
Russia Yakov Rezantsev (killed per Ukrainian claim)[10][11]
Russia Arkady Marzoyev [ru][11]		 Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi
Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi
Ukraine Andrii Sokolov
Ukraine Serhii Kotenko †[12]
Ukraine Vitaliy Nevinsky[13]
Ukraine Dmytro Marchenko
Units involved
See order of battle See order of battle
Strength
Up to 20,000 in 25 BTGs (invasion force, 24 February 2022)
7 brigades (west bank Kherson, May 2022)[11]
20,000–25,000 (west bank Kherson, August 2022, per Ukraine)[14]
40,000 (west bank Kherson and support units, October 2022, per Budanov)[15]
152,000 (Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, May 2023, per Ukraine)[16]
200,000 (October 2024, per Ukraine)[17]		 1,800 (24 February 2022, pre-invasion)
8 brigades (west bank Kherson, May 2022)[11]
20,000 (west bank Kherson, August 2022)[18]

The southern Ukraine campaign is an ongoing theatre of operation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. The Russian military invaded Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine from Russian-occupied Crimea, quickly entering Mykolaiv Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast amid battles with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[19][20]

Elements from the southern Russian offensive joined forces with elements advancing from the Donbas to jointly surround and bombard the city of Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, which fell after months of siege.

Kherson was surrounded two days into the war, after which Russian forces advanced to the outskirts of Mykolaiv, which they failed to capture. The front then stabilised until a Ukrainian offensive in August. Ukrainian forces retook all of the territory west and north of the Dnieper river, and the front stabilised again just south of Kherson in November 2022. Kherson, the only oblast capital captured by Russia after its 2022 invasion, was liberated on 11 November.[21]

  1. ^ "Russia says it captures Ukrainian city of Kherson -RIA". Reuters. 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  2. ^ Hopkins, Valerie; Nechepurenko, Ivan; Santora, Marc (16 May 2022). "The Ukrainian authorities declare an end to the combat mission in Mariupol after weeks of Russian siege". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Nova Kakhovka has fallen to Russia: Ukraine media". The Business standard. 27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022. Its mayor Volodymyr Kovalenko has reportedly said that Russian troops have seized the city's executive committee and removed all Ukrainian flags from buildings
  5. ^ "Part of Kherson region territory occupied by aggressor – Regional Administration". Interfax Ukraine. Kyiv. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Mayor of southern Ukrainian town says Russians have taken control". CNN News. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  7. ^ Clark, Mason; Stepanenko, Kateryna (8 April 2022). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 8". Institute for the Study of War. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference gazetaupdate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 28, 2022". Institute for the Study of War. 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Sodan nopeaa päätöstä luvanneen kenraalin sanotaan kuolleen" (in Finnish). Verkkouutiset. 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  11. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference cripo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kotenko was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Michael Schwirtz (22 April 2022). "Dug in on the front lines, Ukrainian soldiers fight to repel the Russian onslaught". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Ukraine starts a push to recapture Kherson, a crucial Russian-occupied city". The Economist. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  15. ^ "Ukraine Situation Report: Another Week, Another Fired Russian General". The Drive. 29 October 2022. Archived from the original on 29 October 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  16. ^ Over 150,000 Russian troops in southern Ukraine prepare for Ukrainian counteroffensive – Defence Intelligence
  17. ^ "Russia amassed a grouping of 200,000 troops in south". defense forces. 29 October 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Ukraine Is Attacking Everywhere". Forbes. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023.
  19. ^ "Russian forces seize Chernobyl, parts of Kherson region". Daily Sabah. 24 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Ukraine says it was attacked through Russian, Belarus and Crimea borders". CNN. 23 February 2022. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  21. ^ "Ukraine troops enter centre of Kherson as Russians retreat in chaos". the Guardian. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2022.