Semen Ihorovych Semenchenko ( uk, Семен Ігорович Семенченко) is a former deputy to the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

, First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on National Security and Defence and the commander-founder of the volunteer territorial defence battalion "Donbas", based in Donetsk. He was a deputy of the

from 2014 to 2019.

Personal life

Semenchenko was born as Konstantin Igorevich Grishin (russian: Константин Игоревич Гришин) on 6 June 1974 in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

. He is ethnically Ukrainian. He moved to

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loc ...

at an early age. In 1993 he entered the Black Sea Higher Naval Institute of Nakhimov, and transferred to the Sevastopol National Technical University, faculty of finances. From 2006 to 2008 Semenchenko studied to become a film director. He has three sons – Hryhoriy, Mykhailo, and Artem.

Career

According to Semenchenko, he and the other members of the

Donbas Battalion , image = Emblem of the Donbas Battalion.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = Donbas Battalion emblem , start_date = , country = , alle ...

gained combat experience in the

Ukrainian army The Ukrainian Ground Forces ( uk, Сухопу́тні військá Збрóйних сил Украї́ни), also known as the Ukrainian Army, are the land forces of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They w ...

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

. He said he worked in "business activities in the field of security" before the

war in Donbass 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 ...

. Semenchenko, the founder of the Donbas Battalion, said in May 2014: "Our state needs defending, and we decided that if the army could not do it, we should do it ourselves." On 19 August 2014, Semenchenko was wounded by shrapnel when his forces were hit by mortar fire before entering the town of

Ilovaysk Ilovaisk (, ; ) is a city in Khartsyzk municipality, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is ''de facto'' under the military occupation of Russia and administered by the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is known as a major regional railroad hu ...

, 18 kilometers east of

. He underwent an emergency surgery and recovered slowly. He was later awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky by the

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...

. During 2014 he was always photographed wearing a

balaklava Balaklava ( uk, Балаклáва, russian: Балаклáва, crh, Balıqlava, ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklava Raion that used to be part of the Cri ...

. Removing it on 1 September 2014, he stated, "I was never afraid, I was worried about my family; they are now safe and I'm not afraid." Semenchenko made his entry into national politics prior to the

2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada took place on 26 October 2014. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential election in May.Samopomich, he was elected to the

. On February 9, 2015 by the Decree of the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Semen Semenchenko delegated his powers as a commander of the Donbas battalion to Anatolyi Vynogrodskiy though being a founder of the battalion Semenchenko remained its honoured commander. Semenchenko was the Samopomich candidate in the 27 March 2016 early mayoral election in

Kryvyi Rih Kryvyi Rih ( uk, Криви́й Ріг , lit. "Curved Bend" or "Crooked Horn"), also known as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог) is the largest city in central Ukraine, the 7th most populous city in Ukraine and the 2nd largest by area. Kr ...

. With 10.92% of the vote he lost this election to Yuriy Vilkul (who won the re-election with 74.18%. Semenchenko did not take part in the

2019 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Ukrainian parliament were held on 21 July 2019. Originally scheduled to be held at the end of October, these elections were brought forward after newly inaugurated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dissolved parliament on 21 ...

, he said his experience and organizational skills would be more useful for Ukraine outside parliament than the “guerrilla war” of an opposition deputy.Semenchenko decided not to run for parliament, so as not to "partisan"

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...

(24 June 2019)

Political positions

Semen Semenchenko took part in the 2004

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...

and 2013–2014

Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhno ...

popular uprisings. In 2014 during the parliamentary elections the battalion commander Semenchenko decided to run for the elections as a member of the party of a

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...

politician,

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of the city Andriy Sadovyi - Self-Reliance Union. On September 12, 2014 a list of candidates was made public and the commander of the battalion was number 2, while Аndriy Sadovyi was number 50. In Espreso.TV studio he explained his reasons to go into a big-league politics: One of the issues of Semenchenko program is building of the Ukrainian military organization created by him which mobilizes the society to encourage a process of forming a unified system of the territorial defence in Ukraine. According to Semenchenko: His vision of the future Ukraine as a final aim of his political activity Semenchenko expressed like this: At the beginning of June Semen Semenchenko together with veterans of the Donbas battalion inspected checkpoints to the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

and from the Crimea. At each such checkpoint they found about 500 trucks a day carrying different stuff: Being a member of the Self-Reliance Union Semen Semenchenko is a Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Security and Defence.

Opposition to the Minsk agreements

In June 2014 Semen Semenchenko together with soldiers of the

Donbas battalion , image = Emblem of the Donbas Battalion.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = Donbas Battalion emblem , start_date = , country = , alle ...

went to the Presidential Administration to protest against an introduction of a cease-fire regime with separatists and martial law In 2015 Semenchenko together with the Donbas battalion requested near Shyrokyno to cancel demilitarization. Semen Semenchenko claimed the necessity and availability of the alternatives to Minsk agreements. Later he was a co-author of a law which was an alternative to Minsk Agreements

Awards and honours

On August 21, 2014 by the decree of the

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...

, Semenchenko was awarded the Bohdan Khmelnytsky Order, Third class for "personal courage and heroism shown during protection of the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, dedication to loyalty oath, highly professional execution of his duty". He was awarded for the service in the battle shown while liberating the cities of Artemivsk, Popasna and Lysychansk. On September 1, 2014 the Order was handed together with a service gun — the Makarov pistol from the Head of SBU. Semenchenko was also awarded with a department encouraging honour of the MoI ‘Firearm’ – nameplate weapon having the right to live carrying - Fort-17 pistol of domestic production. During the official ceremony in the Regional Hospital of Mechnikov in Dnipropetrovsk visited by the acting Prime-Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Semenchenko took off the balaklava in public for the first time. On July 22, 2015 during the first anniversary of the Popasna city liberation from terrorists the administarion of the Luhansk region handed a medal ‘for the merits to Popasna district’ to Semen Semenchenko.

International activity

Semen Semenchenko is a member of a group on interparliamentary connections with the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. On September 14, 2014 Semen Semenchenko being a member of a delegation of the Ukrainian Military Organization arrived to the United States of America where he met members of the Congress, representatives of the Pentagon, American civil society and Ukrainian diaspora. They discussed how the USA can help to create the territorial defence of Ukraine. On November 12, 2014 Semen Semenchenko, Andriy Teteruk and Yuriy Bereza had a meeting with the Head of Department of Consular Support of Ukraine - Poliova Alla Valentynivna in Frankfurt (Germany). During the meeting they discussed the issue of volunteers’ help to ATO participants and shared their ideas about possible perspectives of cooperation. Semen Semenchenko also touched the urgent topic of providing those who suffered during the ATO in Ukraine with quality prostheses. Semen Semenchenko went to the US to pay a visit to military training centres to talk about training. On November 13, 2014 Semen Semenchenko with a delegation came to the US to discuss provision of the military aid to Ukraine with congressmen.

Civil activity

In the middle of February 2015 Semen Semenchenko initiated a creation of his personalized charitable organization Charitable Fund of Semen Semenchenko. The main activities of the fund are resettlement of volunteer soldiers, providing assistance to them in treatment and rehabilitation, providing assistance to the soldiers and their families who are in poor financial conditions. On February 18 in Dripropetrovsk being already a member of the parliament, an ex-commander of the Donbas battalion Semen Semenchenko, deputy commander of the Volunteer Ukrainian Corps Valentyn Manko and a supervisor of the Kryvbas battalion Mykola Kolesnyk said they were to set the General Staff of volunteer battalions as a coordination centre to exchange intelligence data which will provide information to the President of Ukraine. The Staff was headed by seven commanders including Semenchenko and a leader of

Right Sector Right Sector ( uk, Пра́вий се́ктор, ''Pravyi sektor'') is a right-wing to far-right, Ukrainian nationalist organization. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several radical nationalist orga ...

(Pravyi Sektor) Dmytro Yarosh.

Volunteers’ support

Semen Semenchenko is a civil activist in providing legal rights and interests of volunteers, namely his activity is aimed at preventing illegal prosecution of volunteers, taking soldiers of volunteer battalions on bail and visiting courts to provide support and protection for soldiers. Semen Semenchenko took part in protests to protect a founder and soldier of the Aydar battalion Valentyn Lykholit (code name Batia). Thanks to active actions Kyiv Court of Appeal let Valentyn Lykholit out on bail of the Verkhovna Rada deputies Semen Semenchenko and others. Semen Semenchenko was also present and provided support and protection of interests of

NABU Nabu ( akk, cuneiform: 𒀭𒀝 Nabû syr, ܢܵܒܼܘܼ\ܢܒܼܘܿ\ܢܵܒܼܘܿ Nāvū or Nvō or Nāvō) is the ancient Mesopotamian patron god of literacy, the rational arts, scribes, and wisdom. Etymology and meaning The Akkadian "n ...

(the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine) in Solomianskyi Court of Kyiv where NABU accused a military prosecutor of the ATO area Kostiantyn Kulyk of illegal getting rich.

Participation in a lustration process

In January 2015 Semen Semenchenko together with Yehor Soboliev and others accused a judge of Kharkiv District Administrative Court of delivering a judgment which doesn't express the will of people. Threats of Yehor Soboliev (judges will be thrown out of the windows) and Semen Semenchenko became a subject of an open letter of the Judges Council of Ukraine about threatening their health and lives. Soon the claimant refused of the lawsuit because it was dangerous for the judges that's why the judgment of the first instance court was not evaluated by the appeal court. Semen Semenchenko in his turn expressed his views on the situation:

ATO participation — the Donbas battalion

Before the National Guard

In mid-April 2014 Semenchenko formed a detachment of citizen militia out of Ukrainian citizens in the Donetsk region to struggle against separatists of the self-proclaimed

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a disputed en ...

(DPR). He suggested calling it the

Donbas Battalion , image = Emblem of the Donbas Battalion.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = Donbas Battalion emblem , start_date = , country = , alle ...

. However, the leadership of the Donetsk Regional State Administration did not support Semenchenko's initiative, resulting in the activists moving to the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region. With support from the region's leadership, they managed to form its detachment as a company of the Donbas Battalion. According to Semenchenko, ‘We faced a serious counteraction in our region. The Governor did nothing though he had agreed to. We managed to form a battalion only in the neighbouring region’. Semen Semenchenko, August 6, 2014

Semen Semenchenko in his interviews repeatedly highlighted that the Donbas Battalion was formed thanks to volunteers’ and activists’ donations. The battalion received no funding from Kolomoyskyi. According to Semenchenko, he and his companions received their first military weapon having attacked a terrorist-controlled checkpoint and being equipped with traumatic weapon on May 1. Further on, till the battalion was including into the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, the battalion was deployed with small arms, grenades RGD and sniper rifles. Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration supported the Donbas battalion commander Semen Semenchenko when he asked their assistance.

Borys Filatov Borys Albertovych Filatov ( uk, Борис Альбертович Філатов; born 7 March 1972, in Dnipropetrovsk) is a Ukrainian politician, journalist, lawyer, businessman, and the current Mayor of Dnipro. In 2014 and 2015 he was a member ...

, a deputy governor of the Dnipropetrovsk Region told to Obozrevatel. ‘Semen came to us and said Hello and we supported him’ – he said. ‘I remember the time when he had only 60 persons without uniform, boots and ammunition and their first weapons they got coming to checkpoints at night’ – continued the deputy head of the Regional State Administration. On May 15, 2014 Semenchenko leading the battalion liberated the district department of militia in Velyka Novosilka from loyal to terrorists militia. Then a head of the district department was changed and the personnel swore an oath to be loyal to Ukraine one more time. Above the District Department Building a Ukrainian flag was raised. Soon at about 9 pm they were informed about 30 vehicles of separatists from so called Vostok battalion moving in the direction of Velyka Novosilka though a real battle did not take place. After a short firefighting having several men lightly wounded Vostok retreated. On May 22, 2014 the battalion took control over the administration building of Vlodarsky district the DNR flag was removed from the building and replaced by the

flag of Ukraine The flag of Ukraine ( uk, Прапор України, Prapor Ukrainy) consists of equally sized horizontal bands of blue and yellow. The blue and yellow bicolour first appeared during the 1848 Spring of Nations in Lemberg, then part of the ...

. On the morning May 23, 2014 the battalion fell into an ambush of Russian terrorists in the village of Karlivka Mariyinsky district. Part of militaries managed to escape the entrapment and reach a checkpoint of the Ukrainian militaries close to the town of Krasnoarmiysk. 5 people were killed. As a result of fights almost half of all the combatants had got wounds of varying severity. During the fight at least 15 terrorists were destroyed. The Donbas battalion lost 5 militaries, 7 were wounded. End of May on the basis of the 1st company of the Donbas battalion which had already grown the Special Purpose Battalion of the National Guard Reservists was formed. Semenchenko became a commander and was awarded a captain of the reserve of the National Guard of Ukraine.

Being a part of the National Guard

At the beginning of June 2014 newly formed reserve battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine had a training and operational coordination on the training range of the National Guard of Ukraine near the village of Novi Petrivtsi, Vyshhorod Raion, Кyiv Oblast. Among 630 soldiers of the Donbas battalion 460 were selected to the National Guard; all the rest became a part of the 24th Battalion of Territorial Defence Aidar of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly know ...

. On June 29 Semenchenko came to Kyiv requesting to stop a cease-fire regime and to introduce a martial law. He led a demonstration near the

Presidential Administration The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to the jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, administration can be described as a decision making body. United States In American usage, the ter ...

and had a word on the stage of Maidan.

July 2014

On July 4, 2014 the battalion soldiers led by Semenchenko being a part of АТO forces took part in a liberation operation of Mykolayivka, the Donetsk region. On July 5, 2014 the intelligence company of the battalion led by Semenchenko took part in a liberation operation of

Kostiantynivka Kostiantynivka ( uk, Костянтинівка, ; russian: Константиновка) is an industrial city in the Donetsk Oblast ( province) of eastern Ukraine, on the river. Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast signi ...

, the Donetsk region. On July 6, 2014 the battalion soldiers led by Semenchenko together with other units of ATO forces used a reconnaissance in force near the village of Karlivka close to

to find out fire positions of terrorists. As a result of the operation terrorists were destroyed by a large-caliber artillery and multiple rocket launchers Grad. The terrorists of so-called Sever battalion who left their positions near Donetsk airport suffered some losses. The battalion soldiers located in Artemivsk and led by Semenchenko are taking active actions to liberate the city from terrorists, night attacks of terrorists are repelled, checkpoints in the city and beyond its boundaries are being built and the operations to clear the territory are being prepared. The battalion units provide patrolling of the adjacent areas to Artemivsk and

Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...

. On July 8, 2014 one more company of the Donbas battalion arrived to the ATO area the Donetsk region. On July 8, 2014 a video appeared on the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel demonstrating a meeting of Semen Semenchenko and a leader of the Right Sector Dmytro Yarosh in Kurakhove Donetsk region. It was the first meeting of two commanders who shared their views to the camera on the ATO course, a role of oligarchs in the Ukrainian politics, Russian mass media and future plans. Semen Semenchenko claimed, ‘I am supporting the idea of decreasing oligarchs’ role in the country. They should be rich people, pay taxes properly and stay aside from politics’ On July 11, 2014 a reconnaissance group of the Donbas battalion guided by Semen Semenchenko nearby Artemivsk had a battle with terrorists who surrounded a checkpoint. During the fight a passenger car was destroyed, 2 battalion soldiers were wounded, 7 terrorists were killed and several wounded. As a result of the fight the terrorists’ positions were destroyed and they had to retreat. After the fight the Donbas battalion soldiers while clearing the territory found a terrorists base and collected a lot of weapon. On July 18, 2014 the battalion soldiers led by Semen Semenchenko had a fight with terrorists in the city of Popasna. During the fight 2 battalion soldiers were killed, 6 were wounded; terrorists had 7 victims. On July 19, 2014 during the next fight for Popasna the battalion commanded by Semen Semenchenko destroyed 4 checkpoints of terrorists, about 40 terrorists were killed and 6 were captured. The Donbas battalion in its turn lost 2 soldiers, 5 were wounded and 1 soldier is considered to be missing. On July 21, 2014 during an operation participated by units of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, the Donbas battalion guided by Semen Semenchenko and Dnipro-2 the settlement of Pisky was liberated. The battalion soldiers captured 4 armed terrorists sappers with explosives from so called Russian Orthodox Army. The Donbas battalion did not suffer any losses during the operation. Later on a fortified area of terrorists near the settlement of Netaylove was destroyed as well as partially destroyed a fortified area on the suburbs of Donetsk. On July 22, 2014 the battalion soldiers led by Semen Semenchenko liberated from terrorists and took control over the city of Popasna. During the fight more than 100 LNR terrorists were killed, no losses in the Donbas battalion. On July 24, 2014 the battalion soldiers led by Semen Semenchenko together with other units of ATO forces liberated from terrorists the city 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 ...

and started to patrol the streets, distribute food and water to the locals. On July 26, 2014 the Donbas battalion together with units of the

and the

started the assault of Pervomaysk, where a lot of terrorists were concentrated armed with Grads,

infrared homing Infrared homing is a passive weapon guidance system which uses the infrared (IR) light emission from a target to track and follow it seamlessly. Missiles which use infrared seeking are often referred to as "heat-seekers" since infrared is rad ...

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...

(SAM)

MANPADS Man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS or MPADS) are portable surface-to-air missiles. They are guided weapons and are a threat to low-flying aircraft, especially helicopters. Overview MANPADS were developed in the 1950s to provide military ...

and armored vehicles. On the same day the battalion soldiers led by Semenchenko capture storage of the terroristic grouping Prizrak battalion located in the building of Lysychansk Glass Factory. They found 2 armed vehicles, anti-aircraft missile weapon,

anti-tank guided missile An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...

s (ATGM), mortars, small arms, a lot of vehicles, tanks of petrol and diesel fuel, a lot of uniform sets with terrorists’ insignia, more than 800 boxes of humanitarian aids, Russian passports and electronic database of terrorists including personal data and photos. On July 29 a parliamentary Olexander Brygynets informed that the commander of the Donbas volunteer battalion Semen Semenchenko was appointed as a person in charge of Artemivsk. As it turned out later the message was not true.

August 2014

On August 10, 2014 the

together with the soldiers of the Donbas,

Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mout ...

, Shakhtarsk battalions and

started an operation to liberate

and destroy a fortified area of pro-Russian insurgents. On August 14 the battalion soldiers during the search in a church of the Moscow Patriarchate in Sloviansk found an arsenal of ammunition. According to the battalion representatives, the priest had a heavy drinking session for three days in row, that is why he could not give any clear statements. We would treat him. On August 18, 2014 the battalion soldiers led by Semenchenko fighting severely entered

Ilovaisk Ilovaisk (, ; ) is a city in Khartsyzk municipality, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is ''de facto'' under the military occupation of Russia and administered by the Donetsk People's Republic. The city is known as a major regional railroad hu ...

and threw the terrorists out of the city part. The eastern part of

was taken under control, the territory was cleared and 3 checkpoints and 4 fire points of terrorists were found. Till the morning August 19 most part of the city territory was controlled by the ATO forces. As of 10 pm August 19 after heavy fighting the battalion suffered losses near

and had to leave the battlefield. Semenchenko was wounded, and four battalion soldiers, among whom the husband of journalist Mykhaylyna Skoryk Serhiy, were killed. Semenchenko was evacuated the same day and underwent an surgery in

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper Rive ...

. Sergii Ryzhenko, head doctor of Dnipropetrovsk Regional Hospital named after Mechnikov: ‘ He talked to the staff in a strong language and told: ‘you have an hour to get shrapnel out of me and send me back’. Our surgeons got out pieces – one which went through the shoulder blade and stuck in the rib and two pieces in the thigh’. While Semen Semenchenko was treated the battalion command was delegated to other officers of the unit, namely to Viacheslav Vlasenko, codename Filin.

December 2014

On December 14, 2014 the Donbas battalion soldier together with Semen Semenchenko supported an operation to block ‘humanitarian rounds’ of Rinat Akhmetov and counteract the illegal movement of smuggled goods. In the trucks carrying humanitarian aid alcohol and cigarettes going to the occupied territory were found. Semen Semenchenko put an ultimatum concerning letting these doubtful ‘humanitarian’ goods:

January 2015

On January 11, 2015 about a hundred of Donbas battalion combatants started to the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Bogomolets Street in Kyiv requesting to send them to the ATO area. The Donbas battalion commander Semen Semenchenko entered the building of the Ministry to meet the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine

. On January 13, 2015 the second assault company of the Donbas battalion set to the ATO area in the Luhansk region. On January 27, 2015 the first company of the Donbas battalion returned to the ATO area ahead of schedule to help their brothers. On January 30 Semen Semenchenko together with a part of the Donbas battalion according to the order arrived to the AFU positions Vuglegirsk-Debaltseve to perform combat activities. On January 31, 2015 during the liberation operation of Vuglegirsk and deblocking of the Svitiaz battalion Semenchenko was seriously shell-shocked and had broken ribs. He was sent Mechnikov hospital.

February 2015

On February 1, 2015 Borys Filatov informed that besides being shell-shocked Semenchenko had injured lungs and some fractures. Other sources provided different diagnosis - ‘closed craniocerebral trauma, concussion of the brain, closed chest trauma, slaughter of the chest, slaughter of the lumbar spine, blunt abdominal trauma’. On February 9, 2015 the fights for the village of Logvynove the Luhansk region started (between Vuglegirsk and Debaltseve). The Donbas battalion was fighting decently. On February 12 the Donbas battalion together with the AFU units took Logvynove by assault which had a strategic meaning for Ukraine. The Donbas battalion soldiers managed to capture 15 terrorists. On February 18 Semen Semenchenko informed the situation in Logvynove got worse:

March 2015

Since middle February Donbas battalion combatants were keeping the positions in Luhansk and Mariupol directions (the village of Shyrokine). On March 17, 2015 the third intelligence company of the Donbas battalion set to the frontline in

Shyrokyne , settlement_type = Village , image_skyline = Shirokino 2007.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , flag_alt = , image_shield = Герб Шир ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Semenchenko, Semen 1974 births Living people People from Sevastopol Self Reliance (political party) politicians Eighth convocation members of the Verkhovna Rada Ukrainian military leaders Ukrainian people of Russian descent Ukrainian military personnel of the war in Donbas Pro-Ukrainian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Nakhimov Naval Academy (Sevastopol) alumni Sevastopol National Technical University alumni Recipients of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class