| Battle of Krasnohorivka | |||||||
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| Part of the eastern Ukraine campaign of the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |||||||
 Railway station in Krasnohorivka before the war | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Russia |  Ukraine | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
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As part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a battle has been taking place between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for control over the city of Krasnohorivka since 8 April 2024.
The city of Krasnohorivka lies around 5 km to the west of Donetsk, the capital of the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic since 2014. Together with Avdiivka and Marinka the city was one of the three major strongholds of the Ukrainian army in the western part of Donetsk.[ citation needed ]
After the Russian capture of Marinka at the end of 2023 and the fall of Avdiivka in February 2024, Krasnohorivka is the last remaining stronghold of Ukraine in this sector of the frontline. The relative sparing[ citation needed ] of the city in the first two years of the war changed after the fall of Marinka and Avdiivka. Russian forces advanced marginally north of Marinka around 17 February. [3] Four days later, a Russian source said that Russian troops captured some forest belts west of the Trudovska Mine , which had been captured by 18 July 2023, moving closer to the city's southern outskirts. [4] [5]
A Russian source stated on 26 February 2024 that Russian forces entered Krasnohorivka through a southern residential neighborhood and reached the Shkilna / Paryz'koyi Komuny Street. [6] Geolocated footage confirmed after two days that elements of the Russian 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade / Oplot Brigade had reached the southern outskirts of the city. Armored vehicles were used to cover the assault and land troops. The DNR People's Militia further said that Russian forces moved deeper towards the city center. [7]
In the end, Russian troops did not manage to consolidate positions in the city during this attack. It was reported that Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade knocked Russian forces out of the southeastern part of Krasnohorivka by the end of the month. [8] [9]
By 8 April, a Russian mechanized assault managed to re-enter the southeastern part of the city and advance along Vatutin Street. The next day, the Ukrainians mounted a counterattack that was able to recover some lost positions. [10] Between 10 and 13 April, Russian forces managed to regain some lost positions in the initial Ukrainian counterattack and reportedly continued armored advances towards the Krasnohorivka refractory plant (brick factory). [11] [12]
Between 15 and 16 April, Russian forces captured the railway station , several private buildings around Zaliznychna Street and the abandoned auto-repair plant in the south of the city. The DNR People's Militia further stated that six attack helicopters aided the Russian assaults. Also on 16 April, a drone video emerged showing a Russian 'turtle tank' freely roaming in southern Krasnohorivka and advancing up to Istorychna and Akhtyrskoho Streets, just south of the refractory plant. The tank was then able to successfully leave the city premises. [13] [14]
By 25 April, Russian sources reported that almost all of southern Krasnohorivka had been captured as geolocated footage from the same day showed a Russian soldier hoisting the Russian flag inside one of the southmost buildings of the brick factory. [15] Two days later, geolocated footage confirmed a Russian advance towards the traffic circle also in central Krasnohorivka. [1] By 4 May, it was reported that Russian forces had captured the brick factory, the city's main fortification. This was generally corroborated by videos showing the planting of Russian flags on buildings in the northern part of the factory. [16]
 | This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: talk about the capture of the "hunting house" fortification.(May 2024) |
Between 8 and 9 May, Russian sources said that Russian troops broke through Ukrainian defenses in eastern Krasnohorivka. Initial statements were that Pershe Travnia (1st of May) Street was completely captured and that the Russians reached the first houses of Tchaikovsky Street, the latter supported by geolocated footage. One source then claimed that an attack from the south advanced across Sovietska Street and between Soniachna Street and Tsentralnyi Lane, allegedly trapping a number of Ukrainian soldiers in fortifications on the eastern outskirts. In the process, Russian troops reportedly established a foothold in the Solnechnyi Microraion. The new Ukrainian defense line would thus be pushed back to the Eastern Microraion, hospital complex, and Agricultural College areas. [17] [18] Meanwhile, a spokesman for Ukraine's Khortytsia operational-strategic group said that its units, mainly the 59th Brigade, had blocked the Russians inside the refractory plant. [19]
Between 12–13 May, Russian sources said that Russian troops advanced past the refractory plant further into central Krasnohorivka, in a region of apartment complexes. [20]
As a satellite city, Krasnohorivka functions as a gateway to the regional capital of Donetsk. Many residents of the city's pre-war population of 16,000 used to work in local material factories in the capital. In case of a Russian capture, they will have successfully pushed Ukrainian forces away from the western flank of Donetsk city. At the same, it would open new possibilities for the Russian forces to advance westwards in the direction of Kurakhove. [21]
The battle witnessed the introduction of a modified tank. Russian engineers built a metal structure type armor around a T-72 tank. It was soon labeled as a 'turtle tank', referring to the shield of a turtle shell. The main purpose of this armor is to fend off FPV drone attacks, one of the greatest threats to inflict damage on armored vehicles during this war. [22] [23] To make it even harder for drone operators to hit the turtle tanks, an improved design included the integration of anti-drone defenses in the form of a cluster of radio jammers. [24]
Regarding the role of the turtle tank on the battlefield, military historian Matthew Moss assessed it as a breacher vehicle. [25] A breacher is characterized as an engineering vehicle equipped with a plow. The main task is to lead other vehicles through a minefield in order to get them as close as possible to the enemy defense line. As it plows through the buried mines, the enemy will start firing at the turtle tank, requiring the thick armor. [26] [27]
Although the tank's shield successfully contributes to repelling drone attacks, it also has it's limitations. Military journalist David Axe points to the decreased mobility and visibility of the tank. The vertical posts of the metal installation prevent the tank's turret from rotating. In addition, the add-on armor is not invulnerable to heavier munitions such as artillery or anti-tank missiles. [28] Nevertheless, assaults involving the turtle tanks seem to be effective as Ukrainian forces are in lack of these types of weapons. Rob Lee, an analyst with the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, described it as an adaptation by Russian forces to the current conditions on the battlefield in which Ukraine has a lot of FPV drones but very few heavier weapons. This is mainly a result of the months long delaying campaign of U.S. aid to Ukraine, which includes American-made artillery shells and Javelin anti-tank missiles. [29]
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Geolocated footage published on April 8 shows that Russian forces made gains along Vatutin Street in southeastern Krasnohorivka