The battle of Rubizhne was a

military engagement A military engagement is a combat between two forces, neither larger than a division nor smaller than a company, in which each has an assignor perceived mission. An engagement begins when the attacking force initiates combat in pursuit of its missi ...

that started on 15 March 2022 and ended on 12 May 2022 during the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, as part of the

eastern Ukraine offensive The eastern Ukraine campaign is a Theater (warfare)#Theatre of operation, theatre of operation in the ongoing 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine that affects three provinces (Oblasts of Ukraine, oblasts) in the Eastern Ukraine, eastern part of U ...

and the battle of Donbas.

Background

At around 15:00 on 28 February, Russian forces began to shell

Sievierodonetsk russian: Северодоне́цк , other_name = Severodonetsk , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = Severodoneck prapor.png , image_shield ...

, the acting administrative center of

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...

, located just southeast of

Rubizhne Rubizhne ( uk, Рубі́жне, Rubížne, ; rus, Рубе́жное, Rubéžnoye, links=1, rʊˈbʲeʐnəjə) is a city located in Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Situated on the left bank of the Donets river near the cities of Sieviero ...

. According to

Serhiy Haidai Serhiy Volodymyrovych Haidai ( uk, Сергій Володимирович Гайдай; born 6 November 1975) is a Ukrainian entrepreneur and politician. He is the current head of the Luhansk Regional Military–Civil Administration since 25 ...

, the

governor of Luhansk Oblast The Governor of Luhansk Oblast is the head of the executive branch for the Luhansk Oblast. Due to the current Russo-Ukrainian War, the administration has been assigned as a civil–military administration since 5 March 2015. As a result, the Gov ...

, one person was killed and several were injured. Gas pipelines were also hit by the shelling. On 2 March, fighting was reported in almost all the villages near Sievierodonetsk. Russian forces continued to shell the city, including a school gym that was acting as a bomb shelter. No deaths were reported. At 15:20 that day, Ukrainian officials said Russian forces tried to enter the city, but were repelled. Four days later, Haidai stated that fighting was taking place on the outskirts of

Lysychansk Lysychansk ( uk, Лисича́нськ ; russian: Лисича́нск ) is a city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion of the Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine. Prior to 2020 municipal classification reforms, it was incorporated as a city of oblast significa ...

, Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne.

Battle

March

On 17 March, pro-Russian LPR forces advanced into and captured the western and northwestern outskirts of Rubizhne and then attacked the southern part of the town around noon, while capturing a city administration building. By the following day, the LPR was in control of portions of Rubizhne, while fighting continued in the southern part of the town. Between 19 and 20 March, Russian and LPR forces captured the village of Varvarivka, north of Rubizhne. On 22 March, the head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, claimed that "almost 80% of the territory" of the Luhansk region was taken and "

Popasna Popasna (, rus, Попасная, r=Popasnaya) is a ruined city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2013, it had almost 22,000 inhabitants. Prior to 2020, it was the administrative center of the former Popasna Raion. In 20 ...

, Lysychansk, Rubizhne, Sievierodonetsk and

Kreminna Kreminna (; ) is a city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion of the Luhansk Oblast of Ukraine. Prior to 2020, it served as the administrative center of the former Kreminna Raion. It has a population of The city was occupied by Russian Armed Forces on 1 ...

have not been liberated". He noted that the situation in the battlefields is "stably tense" and units of the People's Militia of the LPR were striving to take Popasna and Rubizhne under control. Two days later, Russian forces made advances in Rubizhne.

April

By 6 April, Russian forces had reportedly captured 60% of the city of

, shells and rockets were landing in the city on "regular, sustained intervals". The next day, forces of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade conducted an offensive which reportedly drove Russian forces 6–10 kilometers away from the town of Kreminna, located northwest of Rubizhne. On 9 April, elements of the Russian

4th Guards Tank Division The 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Order of Lenin Red Banner Tank Division named after Yuri Andropov (), commonly known as the Kantemirovites, the Kantemirovskaya Division or Kantemir Division, is a Guards armoured division of the Russian Ground F ...

were reportedly concentrating in the area. Between 11 and 12 April, continuing Russian attacks gained no ground. By 16 April, Ukraine claimed that 70% of Sievierodonetsk was destroyed by Russian shelling. On 18 April, Russia renewed its offensive in Donbas, launching airstrikes into Sievierodonetsk. That morning, Russian troops entered Kreminna, as Ukrainian forces lost control amid heavy fighting. Haidai claimed that more than 200 civilians were killed during the battle, with four additional civilians being killed and one more wounded as they attempted to escape the fighting. During the fighting, a LPR battalion commander was killed when he and his fighters were surrounded by Ukrainian forces close to Kreminna and "fought to the last", according to the LPR. The clashes left an unknown number of killed and wounded. By the next day, Russian forces secured full control of Kreminna. On 20 April, Russian and LPR forces advanced in Rubizhne, capturing the central part of the city. As of 26 April, the Russian military was slowly advancing west and south of the city in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian forces.

May

Ukraine reported on 3 May, that Russian aircraft bombed a grain elevator in Rubizhne. The grain elevator, owned by Golden AGRO LLC and opened in 2020 was completely destroyed. Also, on 3 May, the village of Mykhailivka near Rubizhne was shelled, St. Elijah's Monastery Barbarian and rector of the church of St. Theodosius of Chernihiv in Mykhailivka, hieromonk Parthenius died. On 4 May, Ukrainian forces claimed that Russian forces tried to take full control of Rubizhne without success. It was reported that Russian forces seized

and the nearby town of Voevodivka on 12 May 2022. The BBC claims that during the fighting for Rubizhne up to 1500 shells per day were fired before Russian forces advanced.

Casualties

At least 13 civilians were killed and 14 wounded due to fighting in the city.

References

{{coord missing, Ukraine

History of Luhansk Oblast Battles involving Russia

March 2022 events in Ukraine April 2022 events in Ukraine May 2022 events in Ukraine Eastern Ukraine offensive Battles involving the Luhansk People's Republic