Siege of Chernihiv

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Siege of Chernihiv
Part of the Northeastern Ukraine offensive and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russian bombardment in the center of Chernihiv.png
Top: The ruins of a building after Russian shelling.
Date24 February 2022 – present (3 weeks and 6 days)
Location
Chernihiv, Ukraine
Status Ongoing
Belligerents
 Russia  Ukraine
Units involved

 Russian Armed Forces

 Ukrainian Armed Forces

Casualties and losses

Per Ukraine:

30+ tanks destroyed[8]
56 tankers destroyed[9]

Per Ukraine:

113+ killed[10]
Per Ukraine: 105+ civilians killed[10]

The Siege of Chernihiv is an ongoing siege at the city of Chernihiv, Ukraine. It began on 24 February 2022, as part of the Kyiv offensive during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Initial battle[edit]

On 24 February 2022, at 03:27 EET (UTC+2), a captain and a corporal from the Russian 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade surrendered to elements of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU) near Chernihiv.[1] On the same day, Ukraine claimed a reconnaissance platoon of the Russian 74th Motorized Rifle Brigade had surrendered.[3]

5 hours later, the Ukrainian military repelled a Russian attack in Chernihiv and seized Russian equipment and documents.[11] According to the British Ministry of Defense, Russian forces had failed to capture the city and instead opted to bypass the city through an alternative route to Kyiv.[12][13] Ukrainian officials reported that the Russian forces were heading towards the nearby towns of Sedniv and Semenivka.[14]

Siege[edit]

Chernihiv residential building after Russian shelling on 3 March
Russian plane shot down on March 5
Ukrainian firefighters try to put out diesel fuel tanks attacked by Russia in Chernihiv

On 25 February 2022, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian forces had surrounded Chernihiv and were laying siege to the city.[15] The next day, Ukrainian forces claimed the defeat of a Russian military unit that attempted to capture the city. Several Russian tanks were allegedly seized by Ukrainian forces.[16] The Ukrainian government also says that Russian BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers (MRL) hit hospitals and kindergartens in Chernihiv, though this claim was not independently verified.[17]

On 27 February, Ukrainian officials said that Russian forces damaged most of Chernihiv's city center with missiles, and destroyed the historic Shchors cinema.[18][19] Russian force's later claimed that they had completely blockaded the city.[20] Ukrainian sources also claimed that 56 Russian fuel trucks were destroyed by Ukrainian forces.[9]

On 28 February, the village of Kiinka came under fire. Cluster munitions prohibited by international agreements were used in the attack.[21] Saboteurs with the support of armored vehicles also tried to break into Chernihiv; they were found and killed in the outskirts of Chernihiv.[22]

On 1 March, Ukrainian officials stated that Belarus joined the Russian invasion and was sending a column of military vehicles towards Chernihiv from the Belarusian city of Grodno. US officials disagreed with this claim, stating that there was "no indication" that Belarus had invaded.[23] Viacheslav Chaus, the governor of Chernihiv Oblast, stated that every access point to the city was heavily mined.[24]

On 2 March, the mayor of Chernihiv, Vladyslav Atroshenko, predicted that urban warfare in the city was possible.[25] Two missiles hit a hospital in the city during the day according to the health administration chief, Serhiy Pivovar.[26]

On 3 March, a Russian airstrike was reported to have hit residential buildings and two schools.[27][28] Around 47 people were reported to have been killed.[29]

On 5 March, in the outskirts of Chernihiv in Masany the Ukrainian military shot down a Russian attack aircraft; both pilots were arrested.[30]

On 6 March, as of the morning, 141 settlements in the region were left without electricity. Attacks continued as the Russian Air Force dropped heavy bombs on residential buildings intended for fortifications.[31] The city received humanitarian aid (food, medicine, etc). Due to the threat of shelling, the trucks were immediately unloaded.[32]

On 10 March, Mayor Vladyslav Atroshenko said that Russian forces had completed the encirclement of Chernihiv, adding that the city is completely isolated and critical infrastructure for its 300,000 residents was rapidly failing as it came under repeated bombardment.[33] A Russian airstrike also damaged the Chernihiv Arena.[34]

On 11 March, the Chernihiv Stadium and a library were badly damaged by a Russian airstrike.[35] The "Hotel Ukraine" building in the city was destroyed on 12 March.[36] Ukrainian forces later claimed to have destroyed a Russian missile unit shelling the city, with some Russian troops surrendering.[37]

On 13 March, a Russian airstrike at 05:46 hit a dormitory,[38] killing five civilians according to the State Emergency Services.[39] Ukrainian forces later claimed to have shot down a Russian fighter jet while it was bombing Chernihiv.[40] On 14 March, Chaus stated that Russian airstrikes had destroyed the Chernihiv Polytechnic National University.[41] The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine stated that ten civilians were killed during the shelling on the city.[42]

Casualties[edit]

On 2 March, The Kyiv Independent reported on a WhatsApp audio message allegedly recorded by a woman from Aleysk, Russia. The woman stated that nearly all of a "tank brigade", part of the 35th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade which is based in Aleysk, had been killed in battle near Chernihiv; only 18 soldiers of the original 150 survived. The woman described the dead soldiers as "mostly very young men". The woman stated that 45 coffins were expected to arrive on the day of her message.[43][44]

On 3 March, 47 people were killed[29] while 18 others were injured in a Russian "bombing attack" that hit residential areas and several schools.[45]

The Chernihiv Regional Prosecutor's Office stated that at least 113 Ukrainian soldiers and 105 civilians, including five policemen, had been killed as of 15 March.[10]

On 16 March, Ukrainian and American officials claimed that Russian forces shelled or shot at a group of civilians who were waiting in a breadline, killing 10.[46][47] Chernihiv Oblast governor Viacheslav Chaus stated on 17 March that 53 people were killed in the city during the previous day alone.[48]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "ЗСУ "підсмажили" техніку окупантів під Черніговом" [The Armed Forces of Ukraine "roasted" the equipment of the occupiers near Chernihiv]. Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). Hazeta po-ukrayinsʹky (Newspaper in Ukrainian). 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022. У полон Збройних сил України здалися гвардії капітан Міхоєв і єфрейтор Касаткін. [Captain Mikhoyev and Corporal Kasatkin surrendered to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.]
  2. ^ "Russia-Ukraine Warning Update: Initial Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment". Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b Courtney-Guy, Sam (24 February 2022). "Russian platoon 'surrenders saying they didn't think they had been sent to kill'". Metro. Photograph by Agence-France Presse (AFP). DMG Media. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
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