Battle of the Svatove–Kreminna line

Battle of the Svatove-Kreminna line
Part of the Eastern campaign of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Date 2 October 2022 – present ( years,  months,  weeks and  days) Location Between Tavilzhanka, Svatove, and Kreminna along the P66 Highway, Luhansk Oblast, Donetsk Oblast and Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Russia Luhansk PR	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Roman Berdnikov Aleksandr Lapin Valery Gerasimov	Oleksandr Syrskyi Valerii Zaluzhnyi
Units involved
Russia Armed Forces 20th Guards Combined Arms Army 3rd Motor Rifle Division 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division 488th Motor Rifle Regiment 1st Guards Tank Army 4th Guards Tank Division 26th Tank Regiment BARS-13 detachment BARS-16 ("Kuban") detachment 362nd Motorized Rifle Regiment 346th Motorized Rifle Regiment LPR People's Militia 11th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Cossack Battalion 6th Cossack Regiment	Ukraine Armed Forces 53rd Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine) 17th Tank Brigade 66th Mechanized Brigade 80th Air Assault Brigade (Ukraine) 95th Air Assault Brigade Territorial Defense Forces (Ukraine) National Guard of Ukraine 15th Slovyansk Regiment Ukrainian partisans
Strength
~15,300	~15,800
Casualties and losses
Ukrainian claim: 3,111 killed, 1,571+ wounded 12 POWs killed 34+ captured 53 T-80 and T-90 tanks destroyed 4 T-72 tanks destroyed 1 2S4 Tyulpan destroyed 1 BMPT Terminator destroyed 3 T-72B3 tanks captured	Unknown

The Battle of the Svatove–Kreminna line is a series of ongoing military engagements between Russia and Ukraine in Eastern Ukraine along a frontline running from the village of Tavilzhanka in the northeast, the city of Svatove in the center, and to the city of Kreminna in the south.^{[citation needed]} The battle began on 2 October 2022, a day after the Ukrainian Army recaptured the nearby city of Lyman.

Background

Main article: First Battle of Kreminna

After Russia began their invasion of Ukraine, Svatove quickly fell on 6 March during the Eastern Ukraine campaign. On 18 April, Russia announced the Donbas offensive; Kreminna was the first city in the Donbas to be captured. Through the summer, Russia made slow, costly gains through the rest of Luhansk, northern Donetsk, and eastern Kharkiv Oblasts.^{[citation needed]}

Battle

Initial Ukrainian advances (27 September 2022–25 January 2023)

On the night of 27–28 September, Ukrainian forces crossed the Siverskyi Donets River in Dronivka, stormed the Siverskyi Donets Forest Park, and successfully blocked the critical Kreminna-Torske road. Surviving troops from the BARS-13 detachment and 20th Guards Combined Arms Army, previously based in Lyman where they sustained heavy casualties during the second battle for the town, reestablished themselves in Kreminna.

On 2 October, Ukrainian forces began heavily bombarding Russian positions in Kreminna, advancing as far as the R-66 highway. The following day, Ukrainian troops managed to intersect a segment of the highway between Chervonopopivka and Pishchane, although were pushed back by Russian forces. To counter Ukrainian advances, Russian forces had mined all roads between Kreminna and Svatove. Between 2 and 13 October, Ukrainian troops recaptured 14 towns and villages, including Borova, along the Kharkiv-Luhansk border. Ukrainian forces also advanced towards Chervonopopivka on the Svatove-Kreminna highway, although they were pushed back from their positions by October 5. Two more villages were recaptured by Ukrainian forces on 24 October.

During November, there were little territorial changes due to the muddy terrain, although fierce battles raged every day. Much of the Russian defense line in northern Luhansk Oblast became staffed with newly-mobilized Russian reservists throughout the month.

On the night of 2 November, Ukrainian sources claimed to have destroyed an entire Russian battalion near the town of Makiivka, in Svatove Raion. According to a Russian survivor of the attack, out of the 570 soldiers in his unit, 29 survived, 12 were wounded, while the other 529 men had been killed. Furthermore, some Russian sources claimed that the unit to which the battalion belonged, the 362nd Motorized Rifle Regiment, lost 2,500 men killed (or over half its strength) in just 12 days at a position near Svatove, and only had 100 men left to man the defense line. The same source also claimed that 300 Russian wounded who attempted to crawl back to their positions were treated as deserters, although neither of these reports could be independently verified at the time. Meanwhile, on 7 November, 21 Russian soldiers from the 346th Motorized Rifle Regiment surrendered en masse to the Ukrainians near Svatove.

On 18 November, 12 surrendering Russian soldiers were killed by Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainians claimed that the Russians had committed an act of perfidy firing at them while surrendering, but the Russians deny this. In early December, Ukrainian forces broke through Russian lines around Chervonopopivka, with fighting mostly centered west of the R-66 highway connecting Kreminna and Svatove. By early December, Ukraine had advanced to the hills west of Chervonopopivka.

Throughout December, relentless battles occurred along the line, with both Russian and Ukrainian forces launching daily attacks to varying degrees of success. On 18 December, a geolocated video showed Ukrainian forces advancing in the Serebryansky forest south of Kreminna. On 26 December, Ukrainian Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai said that fighting continued near Kreminna, with the Russian command installed there having recently moving to Rubizhne; however this claim remained unverified as of early January 2023. On 12 January 2023, Ukrainian forces reported Russian shelling of west Kreminna, possibly indicating battles near that area.

On 15 January, the Ukrainians reported that a battalion from the Russian 26th Tank Regiment had been reduced to just 30 men and 10 tanks, down from an established strength of 40 T-80BV tanks and 120 tank crewmen.

By the end of January 2023, Ukraine confirmed its advances along the line had slowed.

Russian counteroffensive (27 January 2023–present)

Russian airborne troops operating on the Kreminna front, February 2023. Video released by the Russian Ministry of Defence.

On the night between 26–27 January 2023, Russian forces reportedly began preparing for a new offensive west of Kreminna, launching small ground attacks near Dibrova. Clashes broke out along the front line, with Russian forces conducting attacks towards Ukrainian positions in Chervonopopivka, Ploshchanka, Nevske, and west of Kreminna. These clashes continued throughout the rest of January, increasing in intensity with Ukraine conducting some counterattacks and artillery attacks, although there were no confirmed territorial changes. A Ukrainian soldier on the frontlines between Svatove and Kreminna stated Russian ground attacks usually consist of around 15 men. Much of the fighting and counterattacks between Ploshchanka and Kreminna were conducted by the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division, according to the ISW.

By 8 February, the ISW claimed that the Russian offensive along the Svatove-Kreminna line had unofficially begun, although had only made marginal gains in the vicinity of Dvorichna. That same day, photos emerged online of a destroyed Russian BMPT Terminator on the Svatove–Kreminna front, the first known loss of such vehicle in the war. Drone warfare also become prevalent on the front.

Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai also corroborated claims that Russia had launched an offensive on the front in early February, stating "there has been a significant increase in attacks and shelling." Conversely, LPR president Leonid Pasechnik claimed Ukraine was bringing reinforcements to the area, making the situation "very difficult".

On 24 March, the Ukrainians claimed to have killed or wounded 183 Russian soldiers and to have taken two prisoners in fighting east of Kupiansk and Lyman. They also claimed to have destroyed 10 T-80 and T-90 tanks over the course of the previous week.

Furthermore, on 26 March, they claimed that 100 Russian soldiers had been killed and taken to a morgue in Troitske, a town in Svatove Raion. Another 140 seriously injured were taken to hospitals for medical treatment. By 5 April, the Ukrainians claimed to have destroyed another 10 T-90 tanks during the fighting. At this time, there were also reported attacks on Torske and Terny, of the Donetsk Oblast near Lyman.

On 17 April, 14 Russian trucks transporting seriously wounded soldiers back across the border were denied entry and turned back, with some of the men dying as a result. The remaining 50 of them were later taken to Troitske Central District Hospital in Luhansk Oblast.

On 8 May, the Ukrainians claimed to have destroyed two Russian tanks, one a T-80 and the other a T-90, during fighting in Luhansk Oblast. They also claimed to have killed 50 Russian soldiers and wounded another 96.

On 1 June, Russian landing forces successfully landed on the left bank of the Oskol River and launched a frontal attack on Dvorichna northeast of Kupiansk.

Strengthening of Russian offensive actions

On 19 June, Russian forces intensified offensive operations on the "Svatove-Kremina line", especially in the direction of Kupiansk.

On 20 June, Russian forces increased the pace of ground attacks west of Kreminna near Yampolivka (17 km west), Torska (15 km west) and western Dibrova (7 meters southwest), and south of Kreminna near Hrihorivka (10 km south) and Spirna (25 km south). Russian airborne units (VDV) captured several Ukrainian strongholds in the Serebrian Forest area.

On 21 June, Ukrainian forces attempted a counteroffensive on the "Svatove-Kreminna line" with the aim of weakening the Russian offensive potential that was launched two days earlier. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claims that Russian forces stopped three Ukrainian sabotage-reconnaissance vehicles northeast of Kupiansk.

See also

• Outline of the Russo-Ukrainian War