Battle of Kherson

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Battle of Kherson
Part of the southern Ukraine campaign of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
2022 Kherson-Mykolaiv Offensive.png
Date24 February – 2 March 2022
(6 days)
Location
In and around Kherson, Ukraine
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
Russia Ukraine
Units involved
Casualties and losses
1 Su-25 aircraft
1 Mi-24 helicopter
Per Lahuta:
Heavy		Per Kolykhaiev:
Up to 300 soldiers and civilians killed

The battle of Kherson [2] began on 24 February 2022, as part of the southern Ukraine campaign of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The city of Kherson was captured by Russian forces on 1 March 2022. [3] [4] Russia then began a military occupation of the area.

Contents

The fall of Kherson was a major defeat for Ukraine; Kherson was the first major city, and the only regional capital, to be captured by Russian forces during the 2022 invasion. [5] [6] Russian forces also took the city with little resistance, which has been attributed to treachery on the part of several local officials.

Battle

Russian invasion

In the early hours of 24 February, a large Russian force, estimated by Ukrainian military expert Serhii Hrabskyi to be 35,000 men strong, invaded Kherson Oblast from Crimea. [7] [8] Fighting was soon reported in Chonhar, on the border with Crimea, and residents of the town of Chaplynka in southern Kherson Oblast observed columns of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and multiple rocket launchers moving in the direction of Nova Kakhovka. [9] [3]

Dmytro Ishchenko  [ uk ], the commander of the Kherson Oblast territorial defense brigade, was informed at approximately 5:00 a.m. that an invasion was underway, and began preparations for Kherson's defense. Kherson International Airport was bombarded shortly afterwards. Hundreds of Kherson residents soon flocked to the city's military headquarters to receive weapons and volunteer for the defense of Kherson. Ultimately, about 500 civilians would enlist in the 192nd Kherson Battalion of the Territorial Defense Forces. [4] [3]

At approximately 11:00 a.m., a Russian column reached nearby Nova Kakhovka from Crimea, hanging the Russian flag over the city's hydroelectric power plant. [9] [3] [10] Around the same time, Russian forces disembarked from helicopters and took up positions around the Antonivka Road Bridge and the village of Antonivka. With both of the area's crossings of the Dnieper River under Russian control, Ukraine's 59th Brigade of about 1,200 men was effectively surrounded outside of Oleshky. [7] [3]

Battle for the Antonivka Road Bridge

The Antonivka Road Bridge, pictured in 2006 View of Kherson and Antonovskiy bridge, 2006.jpg
The Antonivka Road Bridge, pictured in 2006

By mid-day, most civilian volunteers from Kherson had been deployed to the 192nd Battalion's base in Naddniprianske, 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) outside of the city. Ka-52 helicopters fired on battalion members as they retrieved weapons from the battalion's warehouses near Antonivka and Sadove  [ uk ], and an Mi-8 transport helicopter was observed preparing to land paratroopers in the area of the Antonivka Railway Bridge. [4] [3]

At 3:00 p.m., a company of territorial defense fighters began moving towards the road bridge to force the Russian paratroopers out and open a path for the encircled 59th Brigade to withdraw over the Dnieper. Of the 78 men in the company, one was killed and three others wounded, including the company's commander, Oleksandr Berezovsky, by a Russian air raid as they approached the bridge. Two more companies of territorial defense advanced toward the bridge, and despite additional airstrikes, the Ukrainians took control of the bridge and managed to cover the retreat of the 59th Brigade, which withdrew to the city of Mykolaiv. The territorial defense units returned to Naddniprianske sometime between 8:00 p.m. and midnight. [4] [3] Governor of Mykolaiv Oblast Vitalii Kim credited the counterattack on the bridge with preventing a Russian attack on Mykolaiv. [11]

Around midnight, the tank battalion of the 59th Brigade, which had remained positioned at the bridge, was met with a massive Russian bombardment involving fighter planes, Ka-52 attack helicopters, FAB-500 bombs, mortars and artillery. After an hour-long battle, the battalion was forced to withdraw to the village of Molodizhne  [ uk ], having suffered heavy casualties; according to commander Yevhen Palchenko, only one of the battalion's companies had remained intact. However, the unit would soon be ordered back to the bridge in order to support units of Ukraine's 80th Brigade, which had begun pushing Russian forces back from the bridge. Fighting continued throughout the early hours of 25 February. [12]

Around 4:00 a.m. on 25 February, part of the 192nd Battalion was sent to prevent a bridge over the Inhulets River at Darivka from being captured by Russian paratroopers. They observed a Russian column on the opposite site of the Inhulets, and withdrew shortly thereafter, having received information that a column of Russian tanks was crossing the Antonivka Road Bridge. [4] [3]

In the morning, a CNN team visited the Antonivka Road Bridge in the aftermath of the battle and found disabled military vehicles, dead soldiers, and craters caused by shelling. [13] The bridge was still manned by Ukrainian soldiers, one of whom told the reporters that the nearest Russian positions were about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) away. The Russians were stationed at the southern side of the bridge, near Oleshky, but were said to not be disturbing civilians, who freely drove from one side to the other in personal vehicles. [14] [15] Shelling of Ukrainian positions and residential areas continued in the afternoon, and by dusk, governor of Kherson Oblast Hennadiy Lahuta announced that the Ukrainian military had lost control of the bridge and the city's defenses had fallen. [14] [15]

Russian encirclement and capture of Kherson

Ukrainian forces withdrew from the Antonivka Bridge to Kherson International Airport in Chornobaivka on 26 February. The same day, Russian forces began unexpectedly advancing on the airport, forcing the Ukrainian units stationed there to retreat towards Mykolaiv. [12]

On the morning of 26 February, mayor Ihor Kolykhaiev announced that Kherson remained under Ukrainian control. [16] According to a Tweet by The Kyiv Independent , Russian forces pulled back from Kherson after a Ukrainian air strike on Russian armored vehicles. [17] [ better source needed ] A Ukrainian official, Anton Herashchenko, published footage of a destroyed column of Russian military vehicles near Radensk and Oleshky, just south of Kherson. [18] Ukrainian air defense shot down a Russian Su-25 jet and Mi-24 helicopter near the city on the 26th as well. [19]

On the morning of 27 February, the Russian Ministry of Defence stated that Russian forces had encircled Kherson and, according to Ukrainian officials, had captured a part of the city, including the airport. [20] [21] [22] Later in the morning, the Ukrainian Air Force allegedly conducted a successful drone strike against Russian forces in the town of Chornobaivka, just to the north of Kherson. [23]

By 28 February, the Institute for the Study of War assessed that Russian troops had likely completely encircled Kherson. [24] In the early morning of 1 March, Ukrainian officials stated that Russian forces had launched a renewed assault on Kherson and were advancing from Kherson International Airport to the highway between Kherson and Mykolaiv. While conducting heavy shelling, Russian forces surrounded the city, reached the highway, and advanced to the village of Komyshany before establishing a checkpoint. [25] [26] Russian forces entered Kherson later in the day. [27]

Memorial to the Kherson Territorial Defense fighters in Lilac Park Memorial to Kherson Territorial Defense fighters in Lilac Park (21).jpg
Memorial to the Kherson Territorial Defense fighters in Lilac Park

At around 10:00 a.m., more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers of the 194th Bilozerka Battalion of the 124th Territorial Defense Brigade went to Lilac Park  [ uk ], in the city's Korabelnyi district  [ uk ], near the Kherson Refinery. [28] The Ukrainian military expected only light Russian infantry to be present in Lilac Park. However, when they arrived, the Russian military was fully present, with tanks and armored vehicles. [28] [29] At around 11:00 a.m., a 20–30 minute engagement took place between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers at the park. The engagement left at least 24 Ukrainian soldiers dead, with the Russian military "finishing off" any wounded Ukrainian soldiers found after the battle. [28] [29] Only one Russian soldier was killed during the engagement. [29] Some of the Ukrainian soldiers who survived the battle retreated to the oil refinery and later abandoned that position. [28]

On the evening of 1 March, Russian forces occupied the port of Kherson. Pavel Filatyev, a former member of Russia's 56th Guards Air Assault Regiment who wrote a book on his experience in the war, compared the scene to paintings of barbarians sacking Rome, as "savage" Russian soldiers looted valuable goods and ate all the food they could find. [30]

In the early morning of 2 March, Mayor Kolykhaiev reported that Russian forces had captured the railway station and the Kherson River Port. [31] Later in the morning, Russian forces were seen at Freedom Square  [ uk ], in central Kherson, where the Kherson Regional Administration building is located. [25] Later in the day, a group of about ten Russian officers, including a commander, entered the city council building, where Kolykhaiev was. [32] That evening, Kolykhaiev announced that he had surrendered the city and that the Russian commander intended to set up a military administration. [32] [33] Kolykhaiev acknowledged the Ukrainian military was no longer present in Kherson, and another official stated that the Russian military was in all parts of the city. [33] [34]

Aftermath

After capturing Kherson, Russia began a military occupation of the city and surrounding region. [35] [36] They used force to suppress protests by the local population. [37] [38] On 22 March, a Ukrainian official warned that Kherson was facing a "humanitarian catastrophe" as the city was running out of food and medical supplies. It accused Russia of blocking the evacuation of civilians to Ukraine-controlled territory. [39] [40] The Russian forces were reported to have committed human rights violations against the populace, including torture and arbitrary detentions. [41] [42]

On 23 March, Ukrainian forces launched counterattacks against Russian forces in Kherson Oblast. [43] [44] A senior US defense official claimed that the Russian forces no longer had full control of Kherson as the Ukrainians fought "fiercely" to recover the city. CNN, however, reported that the situation in the city remained unchanged, citing residents confirming Kherson was under full Russian control. [45] Ukrainians in Kherson also "questioned the Pentagon's assessment, saying that the city remained in Russian hands". [46] [47]

Casualties and war crimes

According to Mayor Kolykhaiev, speaking immediately after the fall of the city, the fighting led to the deaths of as many as 300 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, and severe destruction of the city's infrastructure. [32] He said that bodies were being buried in mass graves, and that many remains were unrecognizable. [32] [48] Kolykhaiev claimed that schools and tower blocks had been damaged by the fighting, and that residential buildings had been fired upon by Russian forces. Kolykhaiev claimed that on 1 March, Russian soldiers shot citizens who were armed with Molotov cocktails. [31]

On 25 February, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, Iryna Venediktova, claimed that Russian forces murdered a journalist and an ambulance driver near Kherson. Venediktova stated that Ukrainian law enforcement had opened criminal proceedings into the shootings. [49] Ukrainian officials alleged that beginning on 27 February, Russian forces began moving civilians from nearby villages towards Kherson, attempting to use them as human shields. [50]

Lahuta reported that the Russian military had taken "heavy losses" during combat for the Antonivskyi Road Bridge over the Dnieper River on 25 February. [15] In May 2022, Valentyna Romanova, a writer for the European Consortium for Political Research, published that Ukraine sustained 300 military casualties during the battle, with the entire Ukrainian defense force at Kherson having been injured or killed during the fighting. [51]

Analysis

Treachery and collaboration

In November 2023, Gilbert W. Merkx, a professor at Duke University, along with the United States' Marine Corps University, published an article in the Journal of Advanced Military Studies placed on the Project Muse database, that stated Russia had captured Kherson with "little resistance". Merkx stated that Russia planned and attempted to execute an amphibious landing assault on the "Kherson-Mykolaiv-Odesa axis", but was stopped by the Ukrainian coastal defenses in the early stages of the invasion. [52]

There were questions concerning how Kherson was captured so easily. [53] [54] Orysia Lutsevych, a member of the Chatham House, a British-based think tank stated that "Russia had its agents infiltrated into the Ukrainian security forces". [53] On 1 April 2022, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the head of the Security Service of Ukraine's Kherson regional branch and a general as traitors. Zelenskyy described their actions as that of "anti-heroes", and that he "...had trouble determining where their Fatherland is". [53] An aide to a general was arrested for handing over maps of minefields to Russian forces and helping coordinate Russian airstrikes in the region. [53]

Significance

In October 2022, the Spanish newspaper El País described the fall of Kherson as "Ukraine's worst defeat in the war". [55] Kherson's symbolic significance was as the first major city and the only oblast capital captured by Russian forces during the invasion. [32] [56] Strategically, Kherson has been described as "a gateway to Crimea", and as a key to control of the Dnieper river. [56] On 2 March, just after Kherson was captured, there was a measured spike in bots on Twitter (now X) with pro-Russian hashtags, including #IStandWithPutin. [57] On 4 March, there was a measured spike in bots promoting the pro-Ukrainian hashtag #IStandWithUkraine, which the Australian University of Adelaide believed to have been Ukrainian authorities countering Russian propaganda. [57]

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

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  2. ↑ Ainsworth, Richard (23 February 2023). "The Powerful Imagery that Defines Ukraine : A nation grieving yet resilient" (Article). The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 November 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2023. Russia had captured the area during the Battle of Kherson in the first week of the 2022 invasion.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 БРАТУЩАК, ОЛЕКСІЙ; РЄУЦЬКИЙ, КОСТЯНТИН (8 March 2023). "Битва за Херсон. Історія останніх захисників міста" (in Ukrainian). Ukrainska Pravda. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
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  6. ↑ Craeghs, Esra; Wouters, Jan (2023). "The prosecution of Putin before the International Criminal Court". Hasselt University, KU Leuven & Maastricht University (Theses and Dissertations). Hasselt University: 25. hdl:1942/40936 . Retrieved 3 January 2024. ... the first city to fall following Russia's invasion was the city of Kherson.
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  16. ↑ "Херсон наш: на линии вышли троллейбусы, водоснабжение в обычном режиме, в бомбоубежищах родились двое малышей | Новости Одессы". dumskaya.net (in Russian). Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
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  22. ↑ "Russia says it "Blocks" Ukraine's Kherson, Berdyansk –RIA". Reuters. 27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
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  24. ↑ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, February 28, 2022". Institute for the Study of War . Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  25. 1 2 "Russian Military Vehicles seen Across Kherson after Heavy Shelling". CNN. 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  26. ↑ Tamila Ivanova (1 March 2022). "Шостий день вторгнення РФ: ситуація на Херсонщині. ТЕКСТОВА ТРАНСЛЯЦІЯ". Suspilne (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  27. ↑ "Russian Forces Have Entered Kherson, says Ukrainian Official". Reuters. 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  28. 1 2 3 4 БРАТУЩАК, ОЛЕКСІЙ; РЄУЦЬКИЙ, КОСТЯНТИН (8 March 2022). "Подвиг у Бузковому парку. Невідома історія окупації Херсона" (in Ukrainian). Ukrainska Pravda. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  29. 1 2 3 Іванців, Анастасія (24 August 2023). "За Херсон до останнього. Історія подвигу та загибелі оборонців Бузкового парку" (in Ukrainian). Suspilne. Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2023.
  30. ↑ Filatyev, Pavel (17 August 2022). "'They turned us into savages': Russian soldier describes start of Ukraine invasion". The Guardian . Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  31. 1 2 Eugene Shaporenko (2 March 2022). "У Херсоні ворог захопив залізничний вокзал та річковий порт". Fakty i Kommentarii (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 Schwirtz, Michael; Pérez-Peña, Richard (2 March 2022). "First Ukraine City Falls as Russia Strikes More Civilian Targets". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  33. 1 2 Clark, Mason; Barros, George; Stepanenko, Kateryna (3 March 2022). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, March 3" (Historical research and analysis). Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Washington, D.C., United States: ISW Press. pp. 1–8. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 1 March 2024. The mayor of Kherson conditionally surrendered to the Russians.
  34. ↑ York, Evan (31 March 2023). "Classical Realism and Ukraine: Constructing the Causes". European Journal of Law and Political Science. 2 (2). Florida State University: 29–35. doi: 10.24018/ejpolitics.2023.2.2.73 . Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023. This quick decapitation attempt failed as Ukrainians proved both far less supportive of the Russians than expected and far more capable as a military force. Nonetheless, Russian forces struck far into the country, managing to capture the oblast capital of Kherson and surround the historically important port of Mariupol.
  35. ↑ Kaparulin, Yurii (30 May 2023). "Eyewitness Account of the Nazi Occupation in the South of Ukraine: Diary of a Kherson Resident". Eastern European Holocaust Studies. 1 (1). De Gruyter Oldenbourg: 215–239. doi: 10.1515/eehs-2023-0018 . On February 24, 2022, the Russian army launched a full-scale invasion on Ukraine. Military units assembled in the South entered Kherson from the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The Russian army established control over the city on March 2, after weeklong skirmishes approaching the city. Over the nine months that followed, Kherson was under Russian occupation until its liberation by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on November 11, 2022.
  36. ↑ Landry, Carole (27 July 2022). "The Battle for Kherson". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023. Kherson was the first Ukrainian city to fall to Russian forces. Since March, the port city and its surrounding region have been a key beachhead, from which Russian forces continuously launch attacks.
  37. ↑ "Russian soldiers fire on Kherson protesters". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  38. ↑ "Ukraine says Russian forces violently disperse Kherson protest". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  39. ↑ Zinets, Natalia; Prentice, Alessandra (22 March 2022). Heritage, Timothy (ed.). "Ukraine says 300,000 people are running out of food in occupied Kherson" . Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  40. ↑ "Medicine shortages and Russian army searches: life in occupied Kherson". France 24. 31 March 2022. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
  41. ↑ "Russian military abducts, tortures people in Kherson region". www.ukrinform.net. 4 April 2022. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  42. ↑ Davies, Caroline (31 May 2022). "Ukraine war: Stories of torture emerging out of Kherson". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 June 2022.
  43. ↑ Williams, Nathan; Waterhouse, James (23 March 2022). "Ukraine changes the narrative". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  44. ↑ Williams, Nathan (23 March 2022). "Where are Ukrainian Forces Fighting Back?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 23 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  45. ↑ Cooper, Helene (25 March 2022). "Russia is not in full control of Kherson anymore, the Pentagon says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  46. ↑ Cooper, Helene (25 March 2022). "Conflicting reports emerge on whether Russia is still in full control of Kherson". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  47. ↑ "Russian Military Remains in Full Control of City of Kherson, Residents say". CNN. 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  48. ↑ James, Liam (3 March 2022). "Russian Claims it has seized Kherson as City's Mayor Agrees to Curfew". The Independent. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  49. ↑ "Journalist shot Dead by Russian Occupiers in Kherson Region". www.ukrinform.net. 27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  50. ↑ "Russian Invaders Plan to use Kherson Residents as Human Shield". www.ukrinform.net. 28 February 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  51. ↑ Romanova, Valentyna (May 2022). "Ukraine's resilience to Russia's military invasion in the context of the decentralisation reform". ResearchGate . Stefan Batory Foundation. doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.32756.83840 . Retrieved 8 December 2023. The example of the territorial defence in Kherson, in southern Ukraine, is probably the most telling. The Ukrainian armed forces had been protecting Kherson oblast since the Russian invasion, but they were defeated on 2 March 2022. Still, the territorial defence unit – up to 300 military personnel – continued to defend the city when the Russian army entered Kherson in tanks. The entire Kherson territorial defence unit was shot in battle by the invaders.
  52. ↑ Merkx, Gilbert W. (November 2023). "Russia's War in Ukraine: Two Decisive Factors". Journal of Advanced Military Studies. 14 (2). Marine Corps University and Project Muse: 13–33. doi:10.21140/mcuj.20231402001 . Retrieved 28 November 2023. The Russian spearhead north toward Kherson and Melitopol from Crimea was more successful. Russian jets took out the Ukrainian air defenses in this area. Both Kherson and Melitopol were captured with little resistance, and the larger city of Mariupol was largely encircled.
  53. 1 2 3 4 Mednick, Sam (18 December 2022). "Key Ukrainian city's rapid fall leaves unanswered questions". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 25 February 2024. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
  54. ↑ "Ukrainians question the Ease of Russian Capture of Kherson". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 11 July 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  55. ↑ Segura, Cristian (25 October 2022). "Russian troops preparing for urban combat in Kherson as Ukrainian army advances". Archived from the original on 7 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  56. 1 2 "Ukraine war: Why is control of Kherson so important?". BBC. 8 November 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2024. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
  57. 1 2 Smart, Bridget; Watt, Joshua; Benedetti, Sara; Mitchell, Lewis; Roughan, Matthew (12 October 2022). "#IStandWithPutin Versus #IStandWithUkraine: The Interaction of Bots and Humans in Discussion of the Russia/Ukraine War". Social Informatics. International Conference on Social Informatics. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol. 2022. University of Adelaide via Springer Nature. pp. 34–53. arXiv: 2208.07038 . doi:10.1007/978-3-031-19097-1_3. ISBN   978-3-031-19096-4. S2CID   251564574.

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