The eastern Ukraine campaign is a theatre of operation in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine affecting oblasts in eastern Ukraine: Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast (collectively the Donbas) and Kharkiv Oblast. The invasion is an escalation or intensification of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which had been waging between Ukraine and Russian proxies since 2014.
The battle of Donbas was a major offensive in the eastern theatre that took place in mid-2022. By the culmination of the offensive in July 2022, Russian forces and their separatist allies had captured the cities of Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Rubizhne and Izium. However, in early September, Ukraine launched a major counteroffensive in the east, which recaptured the cities of Izium, Balakliia, Kupiansk, Sviatohirsk and the strategic city of Lyman. The counteroffensive stalled around the Oskil river, and a campaign in far-eastern parts of Kharkiv Oblast and far-western parts of Luhansk Oblast has continued since.
After the end of the counteroffensive, Russia refocused on capturing the small city of Bakhmut, in a battle that largely destroyed the city and its surroundings and became one of the bloodiest of the entire war. Russia captured the vast majority of the city by early 2023, but suffered extremely heavy losses, and its progress soon slowed in and around the city. In June 2023, Ukraine launched a widely-anticipated counteroffensive across the entire frontline, including in the Donbas, where it pushed back the Russians along the outskirts of Bakhmut and in far-western parts of Donetsk Oblast. However, Russia has continued to be on the attack in the Luhansk campaign in this period.
Background
Sporadic fighting had been taking place since 2014 between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists from the Donetsk People's Republic during the war in Donbas.
Campaign
Initial Russian attacks (February–March 2022)
On 24 February, after Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a 'Special military operation in Ukraine' Russian forces crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border and began advancing towards Kharkiv. They met Ukrainian resistance, thus beginning the Battle of Kharkiv. A Russian missile struck the Chuhuiv air base, which housed Bayraktar TB2 drones. According to OSINT information the attack left damage to fuel storage areas and infrastructure.
Also on 24 February, Russian forces and their separatist allies launched an offensive thrust along lines of contact into the Donbas. On the morning of 25 February, Russian forces, along with allied separatists, advanced from territory controlled by the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) towards Mariupol, encountering Ukrainian forces in Pavlopil. The Ukrainians were victorious, destroying at least 20 Russian tanks in the process. In the evening the Russian Navy began an amphibious assault 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Mariupol, along the coast of the Sea of Azov. In Starobilsk, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reportedly destroyed a group of Russian soldiers attempting to cross the river Aidar during a battle. Starobilsk was reported to have been heavily damaged by Russian artillery barrages the next day, 26 February, while Russian forces continued to bombard Mariupol with artillery throughout the day
On 25 February, fierce fighting continued in the northern outskirts of Kharkiv, especially in the village of Tsyrkuny. On 26 February, the governor of Kharkiv Oblast, Oleh Synyehubov, stated that the city of Kharkiv was still under Ukrainian control, and announced a curfew for the city.
In the early morning of 27 February, a gas pipeline in Kharkiv was destroyed by Russian forces. Russian light vehicles broke into the city, with half of them reportedly destroyed by Ukrainian forces in ensuing fighting. By the afternoon, Ukrainian officials stated that Kharkiv was still under Ukrainian control despite the overnight attack by Russian forces. Meanwhile, Hennadiy Matsegora, the mayor of Kupiansk, agreed to hand over control of the city to Russian forces and accused Ukrainian forces of abandoning it when the invasion began. He was later accused of treason by the Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova.
On the morning of 27 February, it was reported that a Russian tank column was quickly advancing towards Mariupol from the DPR, but the attack was prevented by Ukrainian forces. Six Russian soldiers were captured. Luhansk Oblast governor Serhiy Haidai stated that Stanytsia Luhanska and Shchastia were captured by Russian forces, who practically destroyed the settlements with shelling. Donetsk Oblast governor Pavlo Kyrylenko also accused them of destroying Volnovakha.