Battle of Basivka

Battle of Basivka
Part of 2025 Sumy Oblast incursion
Map of Sumy oblast as of 24 April 2025, with Basivka now under Russian control.
Date 20 February 2025 — 23 April 2025 (3 months and 2 days) Location Basivka, Sumy Oblast 51°11′13″N35°05′18″E / 51.187054°N 35.0882°E / 51.187054; 35.0882 Status Russian victory
Belligerents
Russia	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Unknown
Units involved
810th Naval Infantry Brigade 76th Air Assault Division 83rd Air Assault Brigade	36th Marine Brigade
Casualties and losses
At least 8 killed [1]	Unknown

The Battle of Basivka was a military engagement over the village of Basivka in the Sumy Oblast, it is a part of the 2025 Sumy Oblast incursion of the Russian armed forces. ^[2]

Background

After the Russian victory in the Kursk Region the Russian forces begun small incursions into the Sumy Oblast. ^[3] After capturing Novenke they moved further south until they reached the village of Basivka. ^[2]

Basivka has been fortified in the last months in order to prepare for the Russian offensives. Russian forces made constant attempts to gain control over the village, mostly due to the fact that it could provide a space for Russian forces to accumulate and prepare further offensives into Yunakivka.

The intensity of the fighting led to almost complete destruction of the villages. According to Ruslan Mykula, co-founder of the DeepState monitoring project, "There is no village there anymore; there were just two basements where people could hide." ^[1]

Incursion

On February 20, 2025, Russian sources reported that troops from the 810th Brigade had entered Basivka, while Ukrainian sources confirmed that Russian forces had launched an incursion across the border in Sumy Oblast. ^{[4] [5]}

By February 28, Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation acknowledged that Russian forces were attacking along the international border near Basivka and Novenke, while DeepState referred to Basivka as a "gray zone". ^{[6] [7]}

According to Ruslan Mykula the Russian forces tried to advance into Loknia but failed, all eight soldiers involved in the attempt have been killed. ^[1]

Starting March 11, Russian troops pushed west of Basivka, trying to strengthen their positions in the area. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]} On March 23, geolocated footage showed that Russian forces had captured a border checkpoint east of Basivka. ^{[12] [13]}

By April 6, footage indicated Russian advances south of Basivka. ^[14] Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed full control of Basivka, ^{[15] [16] [14]} but Ukrainian officials denied this. ^{[17] [18]} On April 9, Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets reported that Russia’s 76th Air Assault Division and 83rd VDV Brigade had successfully seized Basivka. ^[19]

On April 24, Russian forces have been confirmed to have captured Basivka and advanced southwards to Loknya. ^[20]

References

1. "Ukrainian forces thwarting Russian push in Basivka, Sumy Oblast". The New Voice of Ukraine. April 7, 2025.
2. "Russian troops push into Ukraine's Sumy region". Reuters. April 6, 2025.
3. "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2025-04-11.
4. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 20, 2025". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2025-03-21. Russian milbloggers also claimed that Russian forces crossed the Ukraine-Russia international border from Sverdlikovo into Sumy Oblast near Novenke and Basivka (both just south of the international border) and that elements of the Russian 810th Naval Infantry Brigade (Black Sea Fleet [BSF]) entered Basivka
5. "Russian troops stormed the border in Sumy region". Militarnyi. Retrieved 2025-03-23.
6. Грамм, Вікторія (2025-02-28). "Село Новеньке на Сумщині у "сірій" зоні — Deep State" [The village of Novenke in Sumy region is in the 'gray' zone — Deep State]. Суспільне | Новини (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2025-03-14.
7. "ВСУ остановили прорыв войск РФ возле с. Новенькое в Сумской области. Враг продолжает попытки штурмов, - Генштаб Источник" [The Ukrainian Armed Forces stopped a breakthrough of Russian troops near the village of Novenke in the Sumy region. The enemy keeps trying to attack, - General Staff Source]. Censor.net. 2025-03-28.
8. Harward, Christina; Wolkov, Nicole; Mappes, Grace; Novikov, Daria; Barros, George; Kagan, Frederick W.; Runkel, William (12 March 2025). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 12, 2025". Institute for the Study of War . Retrieved 28 March 2025.
9. "Russia trying to gain foothold in Ukraine's Sumy region, border guard says". Reuters. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
10. "Russian troops attempt to consolidate positions near Basivka in Sumy Oblast – video". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
11. "Russians try quad bikes to seize village in Sumy Oblast, but face swift defeat". New Voice. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
12. "Russia 'reaches Ukraine border area' in battle for Kursk". The Telegraph. 2025-03-28. Retrieved 2025-03-28.
13. Evans, Angelica; Wolkov, Nicole; Mappes, Grace; Gibson, Olivia; Gasparyan, Davit; Hird, Karolina; Trotter, Nate; Runkel, William (27 March 2025). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 27, 2025". Institute for the Study of War . Retrieved 28 March 2025.
14. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 6, 2025". Institute for the Study of War. April 6, 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
15. "Russia Says Captures Village In Ukraine's Sumy Border Region". barrons. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
16. "Russia Says Captures Village in Ukraine's Sumy Border Region". The Moscow Times. 2025-04-06. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
17. "Russia claims capture of Sumy Oblast border village, Ukraine calls it 'disinformation campaign'". The Kyiv Independent. 2025-04-07. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
18. "Ukraine's disinfo watchdog denies Russia's capture of Basivka in Sumy region". www.ukrinform.net. 2025-04-06. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
19. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 9, 2025". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
20. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 24, 2025". Institute for the Study of War. 24 April 2025.