Battle of Huliaipole

Battle of Huliaipole
Part of the Southern Ukraine offensive of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Map of combat operations in the vicinity of Huliaipole on June 28, 2022
Date 5 March 2022 – present ( years,  months,  weeks and  days) Location Huliaipole, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Russia	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Serhiy Yarmak Vitaliy Nevinsky
Units involved
Russia Armed Forces	Ukraine Armed Forces
Casualties and losses
Heavy	Heavy

The Battle of Huliaipole is an ongoing military conflict between the Armed Forces of Russia and the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the city of Huliaipole, the region of Zaporizhzhia.

Battle

During the course of the Southern Ukraine offensive of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Huliaipole lost power and water from 2 March 2022. The following day, Russian forces captured the nearby city of Polohy. On 5 March, Russian forces briefly entered Huliaipole.

On 15 March, the Russian Armed Forces were conducting combat operations around Huliaipole. On 26 March, the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration claimed Ukrainian forces had recaptured the villages of Poltavka and Malynivka east of Huliaipole after heavy fighting.

By 30 March, Huliaipole had experienced almost a month of nightly shelling, while its population had decreased to around 2,000, with around a dozen civilian deaths. On 21 April, three Russian helicopters were shot down over Huliaipole by a Ukrainian man-portable air-defense system, forcing a nearby Russian tank column to retreat, while Ukrainian long range artillery also destroyed 24 Russian tanks and 10 APCs in the area around the city. Serhiy Yarmak, the mayor of Huliaipole, reported that local Ukrainian forces had named their defensive positions after Nestor Makhno, a native of Huliaipole that fought in the Ukrainian War of Independence.

On 25 April, the Russian forces began concentrating their efforts on capturing Huliaipole, reinforcing their own positions and firing on Ukrainian ones. The following day, three people were wounded and a number of houses destroyed during a Russian artillery bombardment, which continued for a number of days. The provincial government of Zaporizhzhia later reported that Russian troops in the area were shooting their own cars, in order to not get sent to the front at Huliaipole, and that they were also complaining about the ineffectiveness that their attacks had on the Territorial Defense Forces.

On 6 May, the Russian forces began to shell the city with artillery and airstrikes. In response to the shelling, Serhiy Yarmak ordered an evacuation of the town's residents. On 14 May, it was reported that many residential buildings had been damaged or destroyed during the continued bombardment, an act which the Security Service of Zaporizhzhia considered to be a war crime. Russian forces also destroyed the road between the Ukrainian-held Huliaipole and the Russian-held city of Polohy, using land mines.

On 28 May, the 45th Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces published a video documenting the artillery bombardment of Russian forces, which were reportedly looting a hamlet near Huliaipole. In June, Russian forces deployed multiple rocket launchers to shell Huliaipole's remaining civilian infrastructure. Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, reported that the Ukrainian defensive line was being reinforced at Huliaipole, where clashes were still ongoing. On 7 June, a 10 year-old child was wounded in a Russian artillery strike against Huliaipole.

On 9 June, the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence reported that the bodies of Russian soldiers who died fighting in Huliaipole had been taken to a meat packing plant in Russian-occupied Melitopol, and accused the Russian government of downplaying the number of casualties. The Chief Intelligence Directorate also revealed that they had attempted to break the siege of Mariupol in early April, but the detachment sent from Huliaipole to break into the city was repelled by the Russian defensive line.

On 13 June, the Russian Air Force launched a series of airstrikes against Ukrainian positions at Huliaipole. The Russian armed forces reportedly continued to target civilian infrastructure, rather than directly engaging Ukrainian forces. According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, this continued bombardment was being carried out in order to pin down the Ukrainian forces in Huliaipole, as part of an attempt by Russian forces to capture the city of Sievierodonetsk. Mortars, artillery and multiple rocket launchers were fired against Ukrainian positions in Huliaipole by Russian forces, but the Ukrainians were able to repel the Russian offensive. Small gains were made by the Ukrainian forces in the area around Huliaipole, although this came at a high personnel cost, with many Ukrainians being injured in the artillery fire.

On 18 June, shelling against Huliaipole continued, damaging several residential and commercial buildings, and wounding a number of civilians. On 28 June, in order to pin down Ukrainian forces as part of the Russian offensive against Lysychansk, Russian forces bombarded Ukrainian positions in Huliaipole. On 5 July, the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration reported continued Russian missile attacks against civilian infrastructure in Huliaipole. On 10 July, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces also reported sustained Russian artillery attacks on Huliaipole. Following Russian missile attacks against Huliaipole on 12 July, the National Police of Ukraine reported that cluster bombs had exploded in nearby agricultural fields and burnt down over 600 hectares of grain.

Although the Russian Armed Forces have not conducted any further offensive operations in Zaporizhzhia, they have continued to shell Huliaipole. On 19 July, Russian forces shelled Huliaipole using a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher system and artillery, causing damage to a number of administrative and residential buildings, and reportedly leaving a number of casualties, with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine putting out fires in the aftermath. On 21 July, Serhiy Yarmak reported that over 1,000 homes and nearly all of the town's infrastructure had been damaged during the months of heavy shelling.