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53-669: The city is known as a major regional railroad hub. It was also the site of a battle in the War in Donbas . The city has a population of 15,396 (2022 estimate) , 17,620 (2001). Starting in mid-April 2014, Russian paramilitaries captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast, including Ilovaisk. On 19 August 2014, Ukrainian forces reportedly secured the city centre from the Russia-backed militants; fighting for control of other parts of

106-619: A T-72B3 tank of the 6th Tank Brigade was captured by Ukrainian troops of the 51st Mechanized Brigade in a fight near Ahronomichne village. The captured tank took part in another fight that day near Mnohopillya village where the Russian column of mixed units from the 8th Mountain Brigade and 31st Air Assault Brigade were ambushed by the Ukrainian anti-tank artillery squad of the Ukrainian 51st Guards Mechanized Brigade. Two soldiers of

159-424: A bit over 400 when including missing or unidentified bodies. Defence Minister Valeriy Heletey was forced to resign on 14 October, in part because of his responsibility for the failure of military coordination during the battle. In Russian nationalist circles the Russian forces that joined the battle are commonly referred to as "The Northern wind" ( Russian : Северный ветер ). Since 2019, Ukraine observes

212-609: A company of the 28th Mechanized Brigade . Soon after securing the area around the Savur-Mohyla hill ( Amvrosiivka Raion and Shakhtarsk Raion ), on 31 July 2014, a battalion of the 25th Airborne Brigade was sent to assault Shakhtarsk . During the attack, the battalion lost 26 soldiers and passed the city from East traveling North conducting a raid towards villages of Petropavlivka and Orlovo-Ivanivka  [ uk ; et ] . Two other battalions traveling past Torez and Snizhne were supposed to reach Miusynsk . Along

265-647: A hundred soldiers from the brigade have served in peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone , Lebanon , Iraq and Kosovo . A battalion of the brigade was part of POLUKRBAT in the 2006 rotation. As of October 12, 2007, the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the brigade is deployed in Kosovo as part of the POLUKRBAT. The commander of the brigade served as a commander of the 5th Separate Mechanized brigade in Iraq. In

318-494: Is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces . The full name of the unit is 30th Independent Mechanized Brigade " Konstanty Ostrogski ". Following the 2014 war in Donbas , the unit dropped all its Soviet decorations. Between September 1 and October 1, 1941, the 83rd Cavalry Division was formed in the city of Samarkand , Uzbekistan . The division consisted of the following units: From September 5, 1941,

371-629: Is possible that the activities of Ukrainian airborne troops near the MH-17 crash site triggered the use of the regular armed forces of the Russian Federation . On 6 August, the National Security and Defence of Ukraine announced that there was a possibility of a Russian military invasion and that Ukrainian army was prepared to stop it. On 7 August 2014, the leader of the pro-Russian militants in Donetsk Oblast, Alexander Borodai ,

424-468: The 17th Tank Brigade , 51st Mechanized Brigade and police units and had four tanks, several IFVs and approximately 1000 troops. The southern column, led by Col. Oleksiy Hrachov  [ uk ] , was formed from forces of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade and Donbas Battalion ; it had two tanks, including a captured Russian T-72B3 , a couple of IFVs, and roughly 600 troops. The northern column advanced 10 kilometres ( 6 + 1 ⁄ 4  mi) along

477-508: The 17th Tank Brigade . After a brief clash, all four Ukrainian tanks and IFVs were destroyed. Some crews were able to leave vehicles, and 42 Ukrainian soldiers made it out of the encirclement and reached Ukrainian positions. During the withdrawal of the southern column, around 300 Ukrainian soldiers and Donbas Battalion fighters were able to take the village of Chervonosilske, losing several IFVs after being fired upon by Russian forces. Ukrainian troops seized and destroyed two T-72B3 tanks of

530-558: The 6th Tank Brigade that were in that village, captured two of the brigade's soldiers and two paratroopers of the 31st Air Assault Brigade . Half of the Ukrainian soldiers were already wounded, but they managed to hold the village until the next day. On 30 August, Dnipro-2 Battalion commander Yuriy Lysenko attempted to contact Russian commanders. They made an agreement according to which Ukrainian forces would surrender their weapons and be evacuated under Red Cross supervision, releasing captured Russian POWs. By 31 August, almost all of

583-618: The Armed Forces of Ukraine and pro-Ukrainian paramilitaries began a series of attempts to capture the city of Ilovaisk from pro-Russian insurgents affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and detachments of the Russian Armed Forces . Although Ukrainian forces were able to enter the city on 18 August, they were encircled between 24 and 26 August by overwhelming Russian military forces that crossed

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636-623: The National Guard of Ukraine were forthcoming. After a day of fighting, roughly fifty percent of Ilovaisk was under government control. Ukrainian forces also captured six insurgents, including one Serbian volunteer. Azov and Shakhtarsk battalions left the battle of Ilovaisk that day, heading to reinforce garrisons of Mariupol and Komsomolske cities respectively. On the following day, 20 August, Ukrainian forces claimed they had taken complete control of Ilovaisk. DPR officials denied this, and declared that they remained in control. Over

689-435: The 30th Guards Tank Division, part of the 8th Tank Army . In 1960, the division's 58th Separate Tank Training Battalion was disbanded. On 19 February 1962 the 335th Separate Missile Battalion and the 108th Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion were activated. In 1968 the 151st Separate Guards Sapper Battalion became the 151st Separate Guards Engineer-Sapper Battalion. The 1043rd Separate Material Supply Battalion

742-477: The 30th Mechanized Brigade repelled a river crossing by the Russian 74th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade near Dronivka . This action was part of a battle on the Siverskyi Donets river that saw the destruction of 80 pieces of equipment and of the estimated 550 Russian servicemembers conducting the operation, 485 were casualties. The battle is considered one of the "deadliest single engagements" of

795-658: The 31st Air Assault Brigade and one wounded soldier of the 8th Mountain Brigade were captured by Ukrainian forces. According to the DPR, a large number of Ukrainian soldiers and paramilitaries were trapped in the town. During the fighting, the Ukrainian commander of the Dnipro Battalion suffered a concussion, while the commander of the Kherson Battalion  [ uk ] was killed. In response to commander Semenchenko's pleas, many Euromaidan activists in

848-649: The ATO began were killed in Ilovaisk . No reinforcements for Ukrainian forces arrived. According to commander Semenchenko, some members of the Donbas Battalion were killed when insurgents flying the Ukrainian flag attacked an ambulance. Semenchenko described this act as "medieval savagery". He also said that the Donbas Battalion had been "abandoned" by both the Ukrainian government and the other volunteer paramilitary battalions, both of which largely had withdrawn from

901-630: The Corps was redesignated as the 6th Guards Cavalry Corps in January 1943 the division became the 13th Guards Cavalry Division on 19 January 1943. The division was under the command of General Major Pyotr Zubov . The 13th Guards Cavalry Division fought at Dubno in 1944, as well as at the Battle of Debrecen and was with 6th Guards Cavalry Corps of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in May 1945. Feskov et al. trace

954-569: The Day of Remembrance of the Defenders of Ukraine annually on 29 August. This day was chosen because 29 August 2014 was the day of the greatest Ukrainian losses during the Battle of Ilovaisk. On 26 March 2023, it was reported that Russian regiment commander Dmitri Lisitsky, who commanded a battalion of the 247th Guards Air Assault Regiment responsible for the massacre of withdrawing Ukrainian troops,

1007-676: The General Staff and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Viktor Muzhenko , claimed on 26 August 2016 that the cause of the battle's outcome was the involvement of Russian troops, along with Ukrainian commanders' incompetence in the planning of the retreat. Since 11 July 2014, parts of Donetsk Oblast were shelled from Russian territory . On 23 July 2014, the brother of the Border Troops General Mykola Lytvyn , General Petro Lytvyn,

1060-492: The Ukrainian capital Kyiv protested what they saw as the government's "abandonment" of the volunteers fighting against the insurgents. Repeated artillery barrages launched by insurgent forces from nearby villages caused heavy casualties amongst the trapped Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainian command attempted to free the encircled forces near Ilovaisk. The company tactical group was formed from 92nd Mechanized Brigade and had 276 soldiers, four tanks, three SPGs and 10+ IFVs . It

1113-467: The Ukrainian soldiers had withdrawn to agreed-upon positions, with Russia and the DPR insurgents re-entering the city on the same day. The city was fully secured on 1 September. Small-scale fighting continued for another day. One fleeing Ukrainian soldier described the situation as "a real meat grinder". The Ukrainian government described the events as a "massacre". One insurgent commander said he had taken 173 Ukrainian soldiers prisoner near Ilovaisk, in

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1166-717: The aftermath of the ambush. He said that he would use them as laborers to rebuild destroyed Donbass cities. A Ukrainian official said that, in total, more than 500 Ukrainian soldiers had been taken prisoner by pro-Russian forces. Commanders and soldiers of the Ukrainian volunteer paramilitary battalions blamed the Ilovaisk incident on Ukrainian army leadership and felt "betrayed by Ukraine" in its aftermath. According to an advisor of Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov , 97 Ukrainian soldiers managed to escape from Ilovaisk on 1 September. Known Russian captured soldiers: Mark Paslawsky , an American-born Ukrainian fighter fighting for

1219-425: The border, joining the battle. After days of encirclement, Ukrainian forces rejected the DPR's proposal to open a humanitarian corridor on the condition that they abandon their armored vehicles and ammunition, and on the morning of 29 August 2014 began to leave Ilovaisk with their weapons. The Russian side opened fire on the evacuating Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom died whilst trying to escape. The Chief of

1272-571: The brigade took part in the battles for Savur-Mohyla. In 2015 the brigade took part in the Battle of Debaltseve during the war in Donbas . On 18 November 2015 the Soviet decorations of brigade's full name (30th Separate Guards Mechanized Novohrad-Volynskyi Rivne Orders of the Red Banner and Suvorov Brigade) were removed, leaving the full name of 30th Separate Guards Mechanized Novohrad-Volynskyi Rivne Brigade. On 22 August 2016, its Guards title

1325-403: The city attempted to negotiate an agreement that would allow them to withdraw from the city. Russian president Vladimir Putin said in the early morning on 29 August that a "humanitarian corridor for besieged Ukrainian soldiers" should be established, allowing the trapped soldiers to leave Ilovaisk. DPR prime minister Alexander Zakharchenko said he had agreed to open a humanitarian corridor on

1378-610: The city of Ryazhsk , Ryazan Oblast as part of the Cavalry mechanized group of the 61st Army as part of the Bryansk Front and the Soviet winter counter offensive in front of Moscow. In January 1942 the division was assigned to the 7th Cavalry Corps and was assigned to be a Mobile Group in the Moscow Defense Zone for the 61st Army. The division remained with the 7th Cavalry Corps for the rest of 1942 and when

1431-413: The city on the night of 18–19 August. This attempt was successful, and they raised the Ukrainian flag over the city administration building without any casualties. Ukrainian media viewed this victory as an example of the strength and effectiveness of the government's "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (ATO) against the insurgents. As Ukrainian forces entered the city, Donbas Battalion commander Semen Semenchenko

1484-418: The city. The remaining Ukrainian forces in Ilovaisk became completely encircled by DPR insurgents and Russian reinforcements on 24–26 August, and the fighting continued to take its toll. Ukrainian soldiers started seeing Russian regular army troops on 24 August, and their presence increased over the next few days. On 24 August at around 12:15, a column of BMD-2s for the Russian 331st Airborne Regiment

1537-498: The column, with tanks, headed to the village of Novokaterynivka, while the rear half was obliterated, with six IFVs and multiple cars of police units destroyed. That valley had a battery of D-30 howitzers of the Russian 1065th Artillery Regiment  [ ru ; uk ] deployed. Several trucks of the regiment were destroyed near the artillery positions. The armoured head of the column reached Novokaterynivka, where several dug-in tanks and IFVs were spotted by Ukrainian tankers of

1590-477: The commanding officer of the division was Lieutenant General Selivanov. On November 7, 1941, the division was sent to the Volga Military District where it was assigned to the newly forming Cavalry mechanized group of the 61st Army . Until December 28, 1941, the division was fortifying near the station of Lysi Gory Saratov Oblast . The first battle that the division took part in was near

1643-488: The condition that the Ukrainian forces leave their armoured vehicles and ammunition behind. These proposals were not accepted by the Ukrainian military command, and on 29 August at 06:00, Ukrainian forces began to move out of Ilovaisk in a column of sixty vehicles. At 8:00, Ukrainian forces regrouped at Mnohopillya, just south of Ilovaisk proper, forming two columns, and prepared to withdraw. The northern column, commanded by General Ruslan Khomchak , consisted of forces from

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1696-470: The conflict shelled Ilovaisk and the surrounding villages in an indiscriminate and disproportionate way , resulting in the death of at least 36 civilians, and shot civilians and prisoners of war, although not on a massive or systematic scale. OHCHR documented the killing of four civilians, two of which were committed by Ukrainian forces, and received allegations of the killing of at least three Ukrainian prisoners of war. Between 22 and 28 August, school No. 14

1749-474: The corridor, about an hour's drive, but was then surrounded by Russian and insurgent troops. At the village of Oleksandrivka, two T-72BAs and an IFV of the Russian 21st Motor Rifle Brigade were destroyed in a clash with Ukrainian forces. Near the Krasnaya Polyana valley Russian troops opened fire on the northern column with mortars and heavy machine guns, splitting it in two. The front half of

1802-506: The course of the day, Ukrainian forces fought off numerous insurgent counter-attacks. Street battles took place across the city, and at least nine Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the fighting. Following this, the Donbas Battalion requested reinforcements. By 21 August, amidst the heavy and constant fighting, the Internal Affairs ministry stated that twenty-five percent of those from volunteer paramilitary battalions killed since

1855-489: The division pledged their allegiance to Ukraine. It was still designated a tank division as of Decree N 350/93 (August 21, 1993). On October 20, 1999, the division was awarded the Novohrad-Volynskyi designation. On July 30, 2004, the division was reformed into a brigade. Currently the brigade is the only mechanized brigade that does not have any conscripts. It is also a part of Joint Rapid Reaction Forces. Over

1908-422: The events, limited steps had been taken by the parties to the conflict to investigate the allegations of human rights violations and abuses. A criminal probe into the failure of Ukrainian troops in Ilovaisk was opened 4 September by the office of Prosecutor General of Ukraine . On the same date, a temporary parliamentary commission (TSK) headed by Batkivshchyna politician Andriy Senchenko  [ uk ]

1961-433: The line, those two battalions, from the 30th and 95th brigades, lost communication with each other, but later the battalion from the 95th Brigade met up with the battalion of the 25th Brigade near Orlovo-Ivanivka and exited towards Ukrainian forces at Debaltseve . On 11 August, the Ukrainian mass media portrayed the manoeuvre as a successful raid behind enemy lines; however, the results and purpose of it remain unknown. It

2014-518: The night and shortly after was hit by heavy artillery shelling. The next morning it was completely defeated by Russian paratroopers, losing most vehicles but with relatively low troop casualties, with eight dead and several missing. The same fate met the Rukh Oporu squad, which was defeated on the morning of 28 August nearby, meaning the units were never able to rendezvous. After days of being under siege in Ilovaisk, commanders of Ukrainian forces in

2067-914: The pro-Ukrainian Donbas Battalion died in battle, became the first American fighter killed in action since the War in Donbas and the Russo-Ukrainian War . On 1 August 2018, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a report on the battle of Ilovaisk based on more than 80 interviews with victims and witnesses and other sources, including photos, videos, forensic reports and criminal investigation materials. OHCHR claimed that both Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists were responsible of serious human rights violations and international humanitarian law violations that may amount to war crimes . According to OHCHR, both sides in

2120-465: The spring of 2014, after the annexation of Crimea to Russia, the 30th mechanized brigade, one of the five brigades of the armed forces of Ukraine, which was manned at that time by contract soldiers and was sent to the south, including to the Berdiansk region, to protect against a possible invasion from Crimea. The brigade participated in the armed conflict in the east of Ukraine. In the summer of 2014,

2173-1048: The town continued over the next days. The Russian Armed Forces retook the city as of 1 September 2014. Ethnic composition according to the 2001 Ukrainian census . Native language as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001 : [REDACTED] Media related to Ilovaisk at Wikimedia Commons This article about a location in Donetsk Oblast is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Battle of Ilovaisk DPR and Russian victory [REDACTED] Ground Forces [REDACTED] National Guard [REDACTED] Patrol Police [REDACTED] Right Sector [REDACTED]   Ukrainian Navy [REDACTED] Russian Army (denied by Russia) [REDACTED] Russian Airborne Troops [REDACTED] Donbass People's Militia Post-Minsk II conflict Attacks on civilians Related The Battle of Ilovaisk started on 7 August 2014, when

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2226-476: The town continued. The next morning they claimed they had control over one half of the town, with the town divided by a railroad line. On 21 August, the Ukrainian Armed Forces claimed that heavy fighting continued "in some districts of Ilovaisk", while the Russia-backed forces claimed they had repelled the Ukrainian military and surrounded a contingent of Ukrainian troops. Fighting for control of

2279-590: The unit's history as follows. At the beginning of June, the division relocated to Novohrad-Volynskyi . On 1 August 1945, the division was converted into the 11th Guards Mechanized Division. During November and December 1956, the division fought in the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 . 44 soldiers of the division were killed during the campaign in Hungary. The division moved back to Novohrad-Volynskyi in January 1957. On 4 June 1957 it became

2332-437: Was also removed. As part of Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations on August 24, 2018, the brigade received the new honorific " Konstanty Ostrogski ". As of 1 March 2020, the brigade had lost 178 people during the war in Donbas. In the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the 30th Mechanized Brigade participated in the 2022 Chornobaivka attacks against Russian positions through mortar strikes. From May 5-13th tanks from

2385-600: Was appointed the commander of sector D. Sector D consisted of the area between Donetsk city and the Russo-Ukrainian border. Ukrainian forces intended to cut off insurgent supply lines between Donetsk and Luhansk. At the same time, some units were involved in attempts to retake the Russo-Ukrainian border. The sector was to be managed by two battalions of the 30th Mechanized Brigade , one battalion from each 25th and 95th Airborne brigades and 51st Mechanized Brigade , Prykarpattia Battalion (composed of volunteers), and

2438-596: Was created and approved by 226 (out of 446) members of the Ukrainian parliament . According to the Head of the Verkhovna Rada 's Ilovaisk investigative committee Andriy Senchenko, up 1,000 soldiers in and around Ilovaisk were killed or later succumbed to their wounds during August. A BBC article from 2019, interviewing survivor Roman Zinenko, gives the official number of dead in the Ilovaisk battle as 366, possibly

2491-620: Was created from the motor transport battalion in 1980. During the Cold War, the division was maintained at 25% strength. In November 1990, the division was equipped with 224 T-72 main battle tanks. The 30th Guards Tank Division, along with the rest of the 8th Tank Army and the Carpathian Military District , became part of the Ukrainian Ground Forces according to the order of Ukraine About Armed Forces of Ukraine from December 6, 1991. In February 1992, all units of

2544-478: Was hit by a Ukrainian anti-tank squad of the 51st Mechanized Brigade near Kuteinykove settlement. Two BMD-2 's were destroyed. The paratroopers left their vehicles and took cover in trees nearby. Several hours later, around 5 pm, they left their cover and were captured by the reconnaissance group of the 51st Mechanized Brigade near Dzerkalne village, the Ukrainian battalion tactical group's field headquarters. Ten paratroopers were captured. On 26 August,

2597-560: Was killed in action against Ukraine. In 2015 Lisitsky was awarded the Hero of Russia award for his actions. 47°55′34″N 38°11′38″E  /  47.926°N 38.194°E  / 47.926; 38.194 30th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine) 30th Guards Mechanized Brigade (2004–2016) 30th Guards Tank Division (1957–2004) 11th Guards Mechanised Division (1945–1957) 13th Guards Cavalry Division (1943–1945) The 30th Prince Konstanty Ostrogski Mechanized Brigade

2650-516: Was replaced by Alexander Zakharchenko . Ukrainian troops made their first attempts to attack the city of Ilovaisk on 7 August 2014. Over the next few days, Ukrainian forces made multiple attempts to enter the city, but were bogged down by heavy fighting with the insurgents. Ukrainian forces attempted to enter Ilovaisk during the day on 18 August, but failed. Led by the Donbas Battalion , Ukrainian forces launched another attempt to storm

2703-592: Was sent from Kharkiv Oblast to Ilovaisk on 24 August 2014, after it became clear Russian military forces were approaching Ilovaisk. The unit was supposed to meet an assault squad from the Rukh Oporu Battalion and attempt to breach the Russian encirclement. Rukh Oporu squad had 90 soldiers and was equipped with two IFVs . The 92nd Brigade's company arrived on 27 August in Komsomolske and continued to advance towards Ilovaisk. The column stopped for

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2756-593: Was used by the Donbas volunteer battalion as a detention facility where each day a number of suspected pro-Russian insurgents varying from 7 to 20 was subjected to torture and ill-treatment. OHCHR also documented that members of volunteer battalions at the hand of the pro-Russian separatists were subjected to beatings, mock executions and threats of physical violence while in custody in the detention facilities in Snizhne and Donetsk . OHCHR lamented that four years after

2809-640: Was wounded after being struck by mortar fire and was evacuated for medical treatment. Following the flag-raising, the Internal Affairs ministry said that Ukrainian military, including the Donbas , Dnipro and Azov brigades, were clearing the city of "terrorists", specifically mentioning that they killed "a great number" of insurgents from the Oplot Battalion of the Donbass People's Militia . They also said that reinforcements from

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