Since 19 September 2022, a military campaign has taken place along a 60-km frontline in western parts of Luhansk Oblast and far-eastern parts of Kharkiv Oblast amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Also known as the Svatove–Kreminna line or the Kupiansk–Svatove–Kreminna–Bilohorivka line after the major settlements along the front, the campaign began a day after the Ukrainian Army recaptured the nearby city of Lyman during the Kharkiv counteroffensive after of which the front line froze over the next few months.
The Bilohorivka school after the Russian bombing in May 2022
The city of Svatove fell on 6 March 2022, less than two weeks into the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 18 April 2022, Ukrainian and Russian officials announced the battle of Donbas, a large-scale Russian push to capture the entirety of Luhansk Oblast and Donetsk Oblast. Kreminna, a key city in the Luhansk region, was the first city in the Donbas to be captured by Russia, falling on 19 April 2022.
Between 5 and 13 May, Russian forces began a series of military engagements known as the battle of Siverskyi Donets on the Lyman-Sievierodonetsk front. The town Bilohorivka in Luhansk Oblast was one of the places where Russian forces tried unsuccessfully to cross the river, becoming a hot spot of fighting in early May 2022. On 7 May 2022, a school in Bilohorivka was bombed by Russian forces. The death of at least two people was confirmed, while authorities said the actual death toll was close to 60. About ninety people were sheltering inside the building's basement at the time, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said was the majority of the village's population. The building was hit by a Russian airstrike, setting it on fire and trapping large numbers of people inside.
With the fall of Lysychansk and its western outskirts in July 2022, Russia and its puppet state the Luhansk People's Republic declared full control of Luhansk Oblast for the first time, achieving an objective of the Russian campaign. Bilohorivka became one of the last settlements in the Luhansk region to come under Russian control.
Battle
Initial Ukrainian advances (19 September 2022–25 January 2023)
However, during the 2022 Kharkiv counteroffensive, on 19 September, Russian troops were forced to leave Bilohorivka, beginning heavy fighting for the village again. These gains gave Ukraine back a "foothold in the region".
Kreminna is a highly strategic city in the war. If Ukraine recaptures Kreminna and nearby Svatove, it could enable Ukrainian forces to launch a campaign to retake the key industrial cities Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, which it previously lost in summer 2022. American military analyst Michael Kofman has also said Ukrainian capture of Kreminna would be a major step in any other potential Ukrainian advances in the Luhansk region, as it would put Ukraine in a position to threaten Rubizhne and the key Russian logistical hub of Starobilsk.
On 20 September 2022, Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai reported that Russian troops had "razed [Bilohorivka] to the ground" during their failed attempts to recapture it, stating that Ukrainian forces had full control of the town.
On the night of 27–28 September 2022, 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 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 access roads to Kreminna and Svatove, according to Luhansk Regional Military Administration head Serhiy Haidai. 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.
On 18 October, Russia attempted an assault with artillery support on Bilohorivka, Stelmakhivka, Hrekivka, Nadia and Novoiehorivka, but the attack was repulsed. Russian troops continued to shell liberated settlements. According to Serhiy Haidai, on October 18, Ukrainian forces repelled several Russian attacks, including one near recently liberated Bilohorivka. Both Russian and Ukrainian media reported on November 9 that fighting continued in the town's neighborhoods and that fierce street fighting continued in the following weeks and months.
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 16 November, the commander of BARS-13 (Russian Combat Reserve) stated that Ukrainian forces had launched a counteroffensive near the city of Kreminna and that counteroffensive operations had been extended 12 km south of Kreminna to Bilohorivka. This counteroffensive operation aimed for Ukrainian forces to regain lost territories in Luhansk south of the Donets. Powerful artillery attacks began with precision strikes from HIMARS multi-barrel rocket systems. Luhansk Oblast Governor Serhiy Haidai stated on 17 November that fierce fighting was taking place near Bilohorivka. On December 8, Haidai said Russia had deployed more troops near Lysychansk to capture Bilohorivka and described an intensified Russian air offensive.
On 18 November, video emerged of what appeared to be at least ten Russian soldiers surrendering to Ukrainian soldiers in the town of Makiivka, then being killed by the Ukrainians after another Russian suddenly emerges from cover opens fire on the Ukrainians. Ukraine claims that the Russian soldiers had committed an act of intentional perfidy firing at them while surrendering, but the Russians deny this, and claim that "the execution of at least 11 unarmed Russian servicemen" had occurred. 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 15 January, the Ukrainians reported that as of the 12th, 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.
According to Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai, Russian forces constructed "a very powerful defense" in the region by December 2022, and were bringing "huge" quantities of reserves and equipment to renew their forces. By the end of January 2023, Ukraine said its advances along the line had slowed.
Winter–spring campaign (26 January 2023–3 June 2023)
After the capture of Soledar, Russian forces continued offensive operations at Bilohorivka on 16 January. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repulsed Russian attacks in the vicinity 24 km north of Soledar at Verkhniokamianske, Spirne, Krasnopolivka, Sil and Bilohorivka. Geolocated imagery showed that Russian forces made minor progress north of Bilohorivka. In early February 2023, Russian troops increased the number of attacks in the Bilohorivka and Kreminna areas, to identify weak points in the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces still maintained a presence in Bilohorivka by 7 February, despite repeated claims from Russian sources that Russia had captured the town. Russian forces made limited advances near Bilohorivka on 23 March, on 12 April, and on 22 May.
On the night between 26 and 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. Much of the fighting and counterattacks between Ploshchanka and Kreminna during this period were conducted by the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division, according to the ISW.
By 8–9 February, Ukrainian government sources and independent analysts said that a Russian offensive along the Svatove-Kreminna line had begun. Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai said "there has been a significant increase in attacks and shelling." A main goal of the Russian offensive is to push Ukraine back over the Oskil River which runs through Kupiansk, as well as to make a "buffer zone" for the Luhansk region.
However, in the early days of the effort, Russia only made marginal gains in the vicinity of Dvorichne (not to be confused with Dvorichna, a village in the same region). Leonid Pasechnik, president of the Russia-controlled Luhansk People's Republic, claimed Ukraine was bringing reinforcements to the area, making the situation "very difficult". A Ukrainian soldier fighting in Kreminna stated Russian ground attacks usually consisted of small groups of around fifteen men. Drone warfare also became prevalent on the front. AP News reported in late February 2023 that "grueling artillery battles" had intensified in the Kupiansk area.
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.
On 17 April, the Ukrainian General Staff claimed that 14 Russian trucks transporting seriously wounded soldiers back to Russian territory 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. Geolocation images released on 31 May showed that Russian troops made a small advance southeast of Masiutivka.
During the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive (4 June–October 2023)
The Kupiansk City Council building after being bombed by Russian forces on 10 August 2023
Amid the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive, in which Russian forces have been in defensive positions along the vast majority of the frontline, the Svatove–Kreminna line has been one of the only places where they are still on attack. Between 19 and 20 June 2023, Russian forces intensified offensive operations on the Svatove-Kreminna line, particularly in the direction of Kupiansk and west of Kreminna. Russian forces made gains in the Kupiansk area on 19 June. Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack on 21 June with the aim of weakening the offensive potential of the Russian effort, with unclear results.
On 14 June, a large concentration of Russian troops from the 20th Army were awaiting a speech from Major General Sukhrab Akhmedov behind the front line in Luhansk Oblast when the gathering was attacked by Ukrainian M142 HIMARS strikes. Reports from both Ukrainian and Russian sources state that 100 Russian troops died, and a further 100 were wounded. On June 20, Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks near Spirne. On 22 June, graphic footage showed Ukrainian forces repelling attacks by Russian Storm-Z, 80th Guards Tank Regiment, and Akhmat forces in the Serebrianka forest.
By 11 July, geolocated footage indicated that Russian forces had entered eastern parts of the village of Torske 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) west of Kreminna. On 13 July, a Ukrainian official reported that Russian forces were massing large amounts of forces in the direction of Kupiansk and Lyman, including airborne (VDV) forces, unspecified infantry formations, BARS reserve units, territorial defense elements, and small private military companies. On 16 July, it was reported by Russian sources that Major General Ramil Ibatullin, commander of the 90th Tank Division, was arrested for failing to make significant advances on the Luhansk front.
On 17 July, Russian forces further intensified active offensive operations, advancing into the area around Kupiansk. The ISW proposed that Russia's aims with the operation were to take advantage of Ukraine's operational focus on other sectors of the front and draw Ukrainian reserves away from critical theaters like Bakhmut, western Donetsk Oblast and western Zaporizhia Oblast, where Ukrainian forces were conducting counteroffensive operations. Russian forces deployed Storm-Z assault units formed by former members of the Wagner group and other convicts in the direction of Kupiansk.
Russian forces also tried to carry out a second successful landing across the Oskil River near Masiutivka, taking new positions with the aim of completely breaking the strong Ukrainian defense line. Russian forces also continued limited ground attacks southwest and south of Kreminna, but without much success.
The ISW assessed that this is likely an effort to exploit Ukrainian operational focus on other sectors of the front and draw Ukrainian reserves away from critical areas along the frontline, and said Russia's effort was likely being hindered by their front-line personnel being poorly trained and equipped Storm-Z penal units.
That same day, Ukrainian officials stated that large contingents of Russian forces participating in the offensive were engaged in heavy fighting with Ukrainian forces in the Kupiansk area, claiming that Russia had amassed more than 100,000 troops and more than 900 tanks, 555 artillery pieces and 370 MLRs in the area near Kupiansk and Lyman.
On 18 July, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar and Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Lt. Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky reported that Russian forces continued to transfer reinforcements in the direction of Bakhmut and were concentrating their main forces in the direction of Kupiansk due to Ukrainian advances in the Bakhmut area. On 5 August, Russia claimed to have captured the village of Novoselivske, as Russia launched more attacks in the northeast in an attempt to divert Ukrainian forces from the southern campaign. The capture of the village was confirmed by geolocated footage from the same day. On 10 August, Ukraine ordered a mandatory evacuation of 12,000 civilians from Kupiansk district, citing "the difficult security situation and the increasing amount of shelling by Russian terrorist forces." Ukrainian military spokesperson Hanna Maliar described the situation near Kupiansk and Lyman as a "nightmare".
On 5 August, the Russian Defence Ministry announced that Russian forces had advanced into Luhansk Oblast and captured the village of Novoselivske. Geolocated footage published that same day showed Russian forces posing on the outskirts of village.
On 22 August 2023, Yevlash reported that Russian forces have deployed more than 45,000 troops, 500 tanks, 500 infantry fighting vehicles, 300 artillery systems, and 150 multiple launch rocket systems in the Kupyansk and Lyman directions. On 25 August and 2 September, geolocated footage showed that Russian forces recaptured tactical heights west of Kovalivka [uk] and southeast of Novoiehorivka [uk], respectively.
A few days later on 11 September 2023, there was also a small advance north of Serhiivka.
Renewed offensive towards Kupiansk (November 2023–present)
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: talk about the failed Russian attacks on the Synkivka and Ivanivka/Kyslivka/Kotliarivka axes. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(December 2023)
By 27 January 2024, it was confirmed that Russian troops had advanced west of Synkivka.
After having failed to breach through the Kotliarivka/Kyslivka/Ivanivka [uk] and then Synkivka axes, Russia switched offensive directions and reactivated the Svatove sector. On 18 January 2024, Russian forces managed to advance in the forest area east of Tabaivka and the next day a prominent Russian source reported that Russian troops had advanced up to half a kilometer west of the railway in the direction of Krokhmalne as well. On 20 January, Krokhmalne was recaptured and, on the following two days, several Russian sources said that Russian troops advanced southwest of the village and reached the outskirts of Berestove [uk]. A Russian journalist further said that Russian forces recently recaptured sections of the P07 highway, including near Novoselivske. He also reported that the frontline had been leveled along the highway up to the southern outskirts of Kotliarivka.
On 27 January 2024, Russian sources claimed that the small rural settlement of Tabaivka had been captured (except for the southern outskirts) by elements of the 47th Tank Division. The settlement lies in a lowland exposed to hills east of the P07 highway, which would have facilitated an attack. The next day, they also claimed that Russian forces were moving southwest towards Pishchane [uk], advanced in Berestove, further south, and possibly captured Kotliarivka, immediately northeast. On 1 February, geolocated footage confirmed the Russians had at least stabilized the front along the P07 highway and some Russian sources further claimed that Russian troops had entered Ivanivka and were advancing south towards Kyslivka.
On 7 April, the Ukrainian Azov Brigade published a video in which they ambushed a Russian convoy near Terny. They claimed to have killed 50 Russians, destroyed 11 pieces of equipment, and captured a "new" T-72B3M tank.
On 1 May, the Ukrainians struck a Russian military training ground about 80 kilometers behind the frontline in Luhansk Oblast, southwest of Mozhnyakivka, with four ATACMS. 116 Russian personnel were reportedly killed in the strike.
On 20 May, the Russian defence ministry stated it had fully recaptured Bilohorivka, however Ukraine's General Staff stated their troops were still "holding back" Russian forces near the settlement.
On 9 June, the Institute for the Study of War assessed that Russian forces had "likely recently seized" the village of Ivanivka [uk] in the Kharkiv Oblast citing geolocated footage.
On 18 June, DeepState analysts report that the Russians have amassed up to 10,000 troops and 450 pieces of military equipment, including 200 artillery systems, attempting to take Borova. The Russians reportedly deployed the 3rd and 144th Divisions of the 20th Army as a "striking fist", supported irregular mercenaries and a BARS-14 unit.
On 28 June 2024, the Ukrainians claimed that they had destroyed over 30 Russian planes since the beginning of the year, including 12 Su-34 fighter planes shot down over Luhansk Oblast.
In sporadic casualty updates between November 2022 and October 2023, the Ukrainians had claimed that 3,729 Russian soldiers have been killed, at least 2,633 wounded, and at least 53 captured.
Ukraine has also claimed the destruction of 54 Russian T-80 and T-90 tanks, as well as 7 T-72 tanks. Ukraine has also claimed to have destroyed two 2S4 Tyulpans, and captured 3 T-72B3 tanks.
On 9 February 2023, Ukrainian officials claimed they had destroyed a Russian BMPT Terminator in the Luhansk front, posting pictures online of what appeared to be the destroyed Russian vehicle. If true, this would be the first known loss of such vehicle in the war.
In November 2023, the fighting reportedly escalated, with the Ukrainians claiming that the Russians lost 11,000 men killed during just the past month, with 1,100 pieces of equipment destroyed, including 130 tanks, 208 IFVs and 260 artillery systems and mortars. 1,826 soldiers and 200 pieces of equipment (including 22 tanks and 54 armored vehicles) lost just between 1 and 6 November.
During the first half of December alone, they claimed Russia had lost another 8,000 troops in Luhansk, as well as 500 pieces of equipment, including 67 tanks, 100 armored vehicles and 77 artillery pieces.
By 27 December, the Ukrainians again claimed heavy losses for their enemy, with Russia allegedly suffering more than 3,000 casualties, including over a thousand dead, during just the past week. They also claimed to have taken out 361 pieces of military equipment, including 43 tanks, 83 armored combat vehicles, and 69 artillery pieces.
On 20 January 2024, the Ukrainians claimed to have killed or wounded 7,055 to 7,500 Russian soldiers since the beginning of the year (compared with 14,000 losses in December 2023), and to have destroyed 931 pieces of equipment, including 120 tanks, 218 armored vehicles and 178 artillery systems and mortars within the same period.
On 7 March 2024, the Ukrainians published an intercepted phone call from a Russian soldier, who claimed that the Kremlin was sending prisoners and the disabled to fight, and that 600 of them had been killed in "one-and-a-half months of the assault".
In April 2024, the Ukrainian Khortytsia Joint Task Force claimed that Russia had suffered "total losses", only in the eastern direction, of 24,156 personnel, 308 tanks, 671 armored vehicles, 575 guns and mortars, 19 MLRs, 871 vehicles, plus various other equipment systems.
In June 2024, the Khortytsia group again reported on Russian losses in the east, claiming that they had "eliminated" 31,936 personnel, 342 enemy tanks, 592 armored fighting vehicles, 1,084 guns and mortars, 13 MLRs, 1,302 other vehicles, 80 anti-tank weapons, 44 air defense systems, a heavy flamethrower system and one aircraft, plus various other weapons systems.
On 15 February 2024, Ukrainian forces claimed to have destroyed a battalion-sized Russian assault group from the 3rd Army Corps near the village of Terny, with the loss of four T-90M and two T-80 tanks, plus four IFVs and a TOS-1 thermobaric rocket-launcher.
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