| Battle of Sumy | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the northern Ukraine offensive of the Russian invasion of Ukraine | |||||||
.jpg) Storage building in Sumy after shelling during Russian invasion, 18 March 2022 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Russia |  Ukraine | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Per Ukraine: 104 soldiers captured[2] | Per Ukraine: 81+ killed[3][4][5] 12+ wounded[6] | ||||||
| Per Ukraine: At least 100 civilians killed[7][8][9][10] | |||||||
The battle of Sumy was a military engagement which began on 24 February 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, as part of the northern Ukraine offensive, and ended on 4 April 2022 when Russia withdrew all of its forces from Sumy Oblast.[11]
On 24 February 2022, the Russian army attempted to capture Sumy, located near the Russia–Ukraine border. Ukrainian paratroopers and territorial defense forces began engaging Russian forces within the city, resulting in heavy urban fighting and the destruction of a Russian tank column.[12][13][14][15] That evening, Ukraine's paratroopers were ordered to withdraw from the city, leaving the city's defense to the a few thousand local volunteers armed with rifles, limited anti-tank weapons and no armed vehicles or heavy weaponry. After three to four days of failing to enter the city, the Russian military shifted to encircle and bypass the city, and were then subject to guerrilla ambushes.[16]
On 4 April 2022, Governor of Sumy Oblast Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units.[11]
Battle
Russian tanks and units began to move into Sumy on 24 February 2022, and fighting began on the outskirts at 15:00.[17] There was an extensive amount of urban warfare between the Ukrainian defenders and Russian forces. The first fighting took place at the northern and western entrances to the city, on Kursk avenue and Bilopillia highway, respectively. The fiercest combat took place on Kondratieva street, near the city's cadet school, where the Ukrainian 27th Artillery Brigade was stationed.[18][1] After the clashes in the afternoon, a second round of combat began there around 22:30, with the Russians retreating from the area by 01:39 the next day.[19] A nearby church burned down as a result of the battle.[20]
Hundreds of policemen had been ordered to evacuate the city towards Poltava and Cherkasy early in the invasion, so during the first days of the battle, Sumy's defenders were almost entirely civilian Territorial Defence Forces units. Thousands of firearms were quickly gathered from warehouses around the city and distributed to the volunteers.[18] The 81st Airmobile Brigade, a "small military unit", was also present in Sumy and had received instructions on 24 February to hold it at any cost.[18][1] A few days later, the brigade was moved to Lebedyn.[1]
On 26 February, fighting again broke out on the streets of Sumy.[21] Russian forces were able to capture half of the city. By the end of the day, Ukrainian forces had recaptured the entire city.[22] Ukrainian forces also allegedly destroyed a convoy of Russian fuel trucks.[23] Mayor Oleksandr Lysenko reported three civilian deaths on 26 February, including one killed when Russian BM-21 Grad vehicles fired missiles into Veretenivka, a residential area in the eastern part of Sumy.[24][9]
On the morning of 27 February, a column of Russian vehicles advanced into Sumy from the east.[25] A civilian car was shot at, resulting in civilian casualties.[7][26] Russian forces reportedly ran out of supplies and began attempting to loot markets.[27]
A battle took place near the villages of Verkhnia Syrovatka and Nyzhnia Syrovatka on 1 March, in which five Ukrainian fighters were killed, including their commander, sergeant major Oleksandr Korzhaiev.[18]
Bombardment
On 3 March, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, governor of Sumy Oblast, stated that five people were injured from shelling on buildings of the 27th Artillery Brigade and the military department at Sumy State University.[28] More than 500 international students were trapped since roads and bridges out of the city had been destroyed and fighting was reported in the streets of Sumy.[29]
Zhyvytskyi stated on 8 March that 22 civilians and four soldiers were killed overnight due to a Russian airstrike hitting a residential area.[30] An evacuation of civilians from the city began during the day under an agreement for a humanitarian corridor reached with Russia. Zhyvytskyi later stated that about 5,000 people were evacuated during the day.[31][32]
On 21 March, an airstrike damaged a fertilizer factory in Sumy, leaking out ammonia and contaminating the surrounding ground.[33] Russia denied that it was responsible and instead suggested the incident was a false flag operation by Ukraine.[34]
On 4 April 2022, Governor Zhyvytskyi declared that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn.[11] According to Zhyvytskyi, Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units.[11] On 8 April 2022, he stated that all Russians troops had left Sumy Oblast, but it was still unsafe due to rigged explosives and other ammunition Russian troops had left behind.[35]
Aftermath
Despite Russian forces withdrawing fully from Sumy Oblast by early April, airstrikes continued throughout April and May.[citation needed]
In mid-May, Russian troops made numerous attempted border crossings in the Sumy area.[36] On 17 May, 5 civilians were wounded by Russian shelling in Sumy Oblast.[37] Shelling of the region from Russia continued for the remainder of the year.[citation needed]