Battle of Popasna#Aftermath

{{Short description|Battle in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine}}

{{Multiple issues|

{{Update|date=December 2022}}

{{Lead too short|date=November 2023}}

{{Expand Ukrainian|topic=mil|date=December 2022}}

}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}

{{Infobox military conflict

| conflict = Battle of Popasna

| place = Popasna, Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine

| coordinates = {{Coord|48|37|N|38|21|E|region:UA-14_type:event|display=inline,title}}

| date = 18 April 2022 – 7 May 2022{{cite web | url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-april-18 | title=Institute for the Study of War }}
(2 weeks and 5 days)

| image =

| caption = Ukrainian soldiers taken prisoner in Popasna during the battle

| result = Russian victory{{Cite news |date=2022-05-08 |title=Ukraine troops retreat from Popasna, Luhansk governor confirms |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/chechnyas-kadyrov-says-his-soldiers-control-popasna-ukraine-disagrees-2022-05-08/ |access-date=2022-05-08}}{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/8/battles-rage-in-ukraines-luhansk-as-russia-targets-main-city|title=Battles rage in Ukraine's Luhansk as Russia targets main city|work=Aljazeera|date=8 May 2022 |quote=However, the Ukrainian army withdrew from Luhansk’s embattled city of Popasna, Haidai said on Sunday, adding troops “moved to stronger positions, which they had prepared ahead of time”}}

| territory = Russian and LPR forces capture Popasna

| partof = the eastern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

| combatant1 = {{flag|Russia}}
{{flag|Luhansk People's Republic}}

| combatant2 = {{flag|Ukraine}}

| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

| commander1 = {{flagdeco|Russia}} Aleksandr Lapin
{{flagdeco|Russia}} Roman Kutuzov
{{flagdeco|Luhansk People's Republic}} Leonid Pasechnik

| commander2 = {{flagdeco|Ukraine}} Valerii Zaluzhnyi
{{flagdeco|Ukraine}} Oleh Mikats
{{flagdeco|Ukraine}} Roman Mamavko{{cite web | url=https://www.newsweek.com/watch-ukrainian-commander-talks-about-keeping-his-troops-going-1724409 | title=Watch: Ukrainian Commander Talks About Keeping His Troops Going | website=Newsweek | date=13 July 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://global.espreso.tv/for-25-months-there-were-daily-attacks-no-let-up-roman-mamavko-talks-about-the-battle-for-popasna | title=For 2.5 months there were daily attacks, no let up: Roman Mamavko talks about the battle for Popasna. Espreso }}

| units1 =

  • 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade{{cite web | url=https://medium.com/@max.schonhausen/wounded-tiger-17-ukrainian-mobiks-64f55d3f919 | title=Wounded Tiger 17 — Ukrainian Mobiks | date=28 May 2024 }}
  • 76th Guards Air Assault Division{{cite web | url=https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-8 | title=Institute for the Study of War }}
  • LPR People's Militia
  • Kadyrovites{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUVwO326-Ys | title=Chechens Soldiers in a Close Quarter Battle with Ukraine Soldiers in Popasna Luhansk Oblast | website=YouTube | date=6 May 2022 }}
  • Wagner Group{{cite web | url=https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2023-04-28/popasna-to-bakhmut-wagner-group-russia-ukraine-war | title=From Popasna to Bakhmut. The Wagner Group in the Russia-Ukraine War | date=28 April 2023 }}

| units2 =

  • 24th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine){{cite web | url=https://www.rfi.fr/en/ukrainian-forces-cling-on-in-devastated-eastern-town-popasna | title=Ukrainian forces cling on in devastated eastern town Popasna | date=14 April 2022 }}{{cite web | url=https://mil.in.ua/en/news/the-ukrainian-military-eliminated-russian-mercenaries-from-libya/ | title=The Ukrainian military eliminated Russian mercenaries from Libya }}

| casualties1 = Unknown

| casualties2 = Russian claim:
~ 1/3 of the 24th Mechanized Brigade personnel lost

}}

In mid-April 2022, a military engagement began in Popasna between Ukrainian and Russian forces. On 7 May, the city came under Russian control.

Background

Popasna is an important regional hub with many roadway junctions key to separatist forces during the war in Donbas and the Russian advances in the eastern theatre of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Protracted battles between Ukrainian and separatist forces frequently took place throughout the years of the Donbas conflict. Prior to the full-scale invasion by Russia in early 2022, Ukrainian forces held a number of settlements around Popasna, including the villages of Troitske, and Novooleksandrivka, and the towns of Hirske, Novotoshkivske, and Zolote. Before the invasion, Popasna had a population of approximately 22,000 people.{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Daniel |date=2022-05-10 |title=Russia's Progress in Donbas Means Ukraine Likely Won't Win the War |url=https://www.19fortyfive.com/2022/05/russias-slow-and-steady-war-in-the-donbas-means-ukraine-wont-win/ |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=19FortyFive |language=en-US}}

Battle

Troops of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Russian Armed Forces began advancing towards Popasna on 18 April.{{Citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In mid-April, Russian and LPR troops launched artillery and air strikes on Ukrainian positions in the Popasna area. As clashes and shelling continued, civilians living in frontline areas fled to basements for shelter. However, by 18 April, according to the Institute for the Study of War, the Russian military was making little progress on the ground. According to pro-Russian sources, Russian-LPR forces launched more artillery and missile barrages in the region on 20 April following nighttime Ukrainian counterattacks. The same day, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claimed Hennadii Shcherbak, a "Ukrainian nationalist that collaborated with NATO instructors", was killed in Popasna.{{Cite web |title=Россияне контролируют около половины Попасной: идут бои - ГЛАВА АДМИНИСТРАЦИИ |url=https://haqqin.az/news/243193 |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=haqqin.az|date=21 April 2022 }}{{Cite web |title=Артиллерия ЛНР открыла ответный огонь по позициям ВСУ в Попасной |url=https://iz.ru/1323949/2022-04-21/artilleriia-lnr-otkryla-otvetnyi-ogon-po-pozitciiam-vsu-v-popasnoi |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=Известия |date=21 April 2022 |language=ru}}

On 21 April, Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade, one of the main units defending the sector, claimed to have killed what appeared to be a 25-man unit of pro-Russian foreign mercenaries in overnight clashes in and around Popasna. Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine's National Security Council, said Libyan and Syrian identification documents were purportedly recovered from the bodies of the unit. The 24th Mechanized Brigade said it had successfully repelled their assault and suggested the militants were foreign fighters of private military company Wagner Group and Russian citizens of rural origins. Danilov said Popasna remained under full Ukrainian control; however, the chairman of the Luhansk Regional Administration, Serhiy Haidai, said heavy fighting continued for the city.{{Cite web |date=2022-04-21 |title=Ukrainian officials: Dozens of RF mercenaries from Libya, Syria, Russia killed in Popasna attacks - KyivPost - Ukraine's Global Voice |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/ukrainian-officials-dozens-of-rf-mercenaries-from-libya-syria-russia-killed-in-popasna-attacks.html |access-date=2022-05-13 |website=KyivPost}}

On 22 April, Serhiy Haidai declared that the Russian army had failed in Popasna. At the same time, Haidai said that Russian and LPR troops controlled 80 percent of the territory of Luhansk.{{Cite web |title=80% территории Луганской области находится под контролем России, — глава Луганской ОГА |url=https://cxid.info/163541_territorii-luganskoi-oblasti-naxoditsya-pod-kontrolem-rossii-glava-luganskoi-oga.html |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=cxid.info |language=ru}} However, two weeks later on 7 May, the city was reportedly captured by Russian mercenary forces from Wagner Group. The city had been ravaged by the fighting and Chechen Kadyrovites were suspected of having participated in the last phase of the battle. Haidai confirmed Ukrainian troops had withdrawn.{{Cite web |title=Сергій Гайдай / Луганська ОДА |url=https://t.me/serhiy_hayday/6369 |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=Telegram}}

On 7 May, Haidai initially said in his Telegram channel that the Russians controlled only half of the city, but later admitted Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from Popasna.{{Cite web|url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/russians-didn-t-capture-all-of-luhansk-oblast-in-donbass-ukraine-says-governor-50241003.html|title=Luhansk governor refutes Russia's claims of capturing entire oblast|website=english.nv.ua}} Western assessments considered Popasna to be fully under Russian control. According to the pro-Russian Telegram channel RIA FAN, Russian and LPR forces began setting up a new Russian-backed government in the city and continued to advance westward as part of the larger offensive.{{Cite web |title=МЕЖДУНАРОДНЫЙ ФАН |url=https://t.me/riafan_everywhere/8756 |access-date=2022-05-09 |website=Telegram}}

Aftermath

In August, a video and photos of the head and hands of a Ukrainian prisoner of war stuck on poles appeared. The video showed the mutilated body of the captured soldier and then his head stuck on a wooden pole with his hands on metal spikes on either side of it, in front of the garden of a house. The footage was seemingly taken in late July and geolocation showed it was close to the center of Popasna; a sign on a wall of one of the photos showed "21 Nahirna Street". The video and photos were published by Haidai on his Telegram channel. Reactions to the video in social media were harsh. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled Russian businessman, described the image as an example of the "Russian world", a propaganda term used by the Russian authorities to refer to a cultural and political union of Russian-speakers. Olexander Scherba, former ambassador of Ukraine to Austria, described the event as a war crime.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/aug/06/footage-appears-show-head-ukrainian-pow-stuck-pole|title=Footage appears to show fresh atrocity against Ukrainian PoW|first=Luke|last=Harding|newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 August 2022}}

See also

References