The Battle of Svitlodarsk
was a battle in the
War in Donbas
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
near
Svitlodarsk
Svitlodarsk (, ; ) is a city of district significance in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. The city's population is .
It is an industrial town, built as the home for the Vuhlehirska power station.
In the War in Donbas (tha ...
,
Donetsk Oblast
The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...
in 2016. It was described as the "bloodiest battle in 5 months".
The battle
It is unclear who initiated the heavy fighting near Svitlodarsk on 18 December 2016, with both sides accusing each other of starting the battle.
According to the Ukrainians, the separatists launched three attacks on Ukrainian positions, with all of them being repelled. During the fighting, the separatists reportedly conducted three rounds of shelling of Ukrainian positions, with each lasting three to six hours. The shelling was claimed to had originated from residential areas in the village of Kalynivka, and the towns of
Vuhlehirsk
Vuhlehirsk (, ; , Uglegorsk) is a city in Horlivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. The city's population was 10,309 in 2001. More recently, the population has been estimated to be .
Vuhlehirsk is a district-level city in the Donet ...
and
Debaltseve
Debaltseve or Debaltsevo ( uk, Деба́льцеве ''Debálʼtseve'', ; russian: Деба́льцево ''Debálʼtsevo'') is a city of regional significance in the ''de facto'' Donetsk People's Republic; ''de jure'' Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. T ...
, which prevented the Ukrainian military from responding due to fear of inflicting potential civilian casualties.
Ukrainian forces also claimed to had advanced 1.5 kilometers near the village of Luhanske,
seizing a strategic height from the separatists,
Hill 223. According to the separatists, the fighting started when they themselves came under attack by the Ukrainian military near Debaltseve, but managed to eventually repulse the assault.
According to a separatist
Luhansk People's Republic
The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...
(LPR) official, 40 Ukrainian soldiers conducted the attack, supported by heavy artillery fire, with 150 shells being fired near the village of Kalynivka.
In all, 2,900 explosions were recorded in the region during the day, most around Svitlodarsk.
Later, it was reported that on 18 December, the Ukrainians seized four or possibly five other points on the left bank of the Hryazevskyi pond after launching their attack.
Another separatist attack was reportedly repulsed on 20 December, when three groups of 3–5 fighters attempted to assault Ukrainian positions after a mortar attack.
On 22 December, separatist shelling left almost a dozen Ukrainian soldiers wounded, while the LPR militia reported an attempted Ukrainian breakthrough by 50 soldiers and three
IFV
An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed For ...
s near Debaltseve was repelled.
The next day, the Ukrainians stated a new separatist ground assault supported by shelling and armored vehicles was driven off.
For the first time in six days, no fighting took place in the Svitlodarsk area on 24 December, after a general ceasefire came into effect at midnight.
Aftermath
On 24 December, the Special Monitoring Mission of the
OSCE
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
was forced to evacuate their patrol base in Svitlodarsk due to artillery attacks nearby. They returned on 26 December.
On 25 December, the Ukrainian military and the separatists exchanged the bodies of two Ukrainian soldiers and two separatist fighters killed during the fighting at Svitlodarsk
in
Shchastia
Shchastia ( uk, Ща́стя, lit=Happiness, translit=Shchastia, ; russian: Сча́стье) is a city in the Shchastia Raion of the Luhansk Oblast (province) in Ukraine. Population:
The Luhansk power station, a large powerplant built in the 1 ...
. The same day, a new round of shelling was reported in the Svitlodarsk area.
On 28 December, the separatists reportedly deployed
Grad MLRS
A multiple rocket launcher (MRL) or multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) is a type of rocket artillery system that contains multiple launchers which are fixed to a single platform, and shoots its rocket ordnance in a fashion similar to a voll ...
s near the Svitlodarsk area.
On 4 February 2017, Oleg Anashchenko was assassinated by
car bomb
A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles.
Car bombs can be roughly divided ...
ing in Luhansk.
See also
*
Outline of the Russo-Ukrainian War
Below is a topical outline of Wikipedia articles significantly or meaningfully related the Russo-Ukrainian War; it is not an outline of articles related generally to RussianUkrainian relations. The Related outlines section contains links to ...
*
Vuhlehirska Power Station
References
{{coord missing, Ukraine
Svitlodarsk
Svitlodarsk (, ; ) is a city of district significance in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. The city's population is .
It is an industrial town, built as the home for the Vuhlehirska power station.
In the War in Donbas (tha ...
2016 in Ukraine
History of Donetsk Oblast
Svitlodarsk
Svitlodarsk (, ; ) is a city of district significance in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. The city's population is .
It is an industrial town, built as the home for the Vuhlehirska power station.
In the War in Donbas (tha ...
December 2016 events in Ukraine
Battles involving the Donetsk People's Republic