Historica Wiki
Advertisement

The Battle of Kharkiv was a battle of the Russo-Ukrainian War which was fought in February 2022 between the Russian Army and the Ukrainian Ground Forces near the major Ukrainian city of Kharkiv in the country's northeast. Starting at 4:00 AM on 24 February 2022, Russian forces launched a surprise attack on the city of Kharkiv, and residents of Kharkiv Oblast were left without heating, water, electricity, and the Internet, while the local citizens attempted to withdraw money from ATMs, get water, and either leave the city or hide in the metro. However, the Russians faced disadvantageous conditions, as the Ukrainian border protection service reported that 30% of the military equipment of the Russian tactical group was faulty, and the Ukrainians were also highly motivated and well-equipped. The Ukrainians used Javelin missiles to devastating effect, ambushing Russian armored columns as they advanced on Kharkiv and inflicting heavy losses. By 25 February, fierce fighting had broken out in the city's northern suburbs, with the Ukrainians repelling a Russian attack on Tsyrkuny. The Battle of Kharkiv soon evolved into the "Stalingrad of the 21st Century", as a Ukrainian presidential advisor called it, with the Russian Air Force indiscriminately bombing civilian targets, including the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, the National University of Kharkiv, the Kharkiv Oblast administrative building, and the Albanian consulate. On 7 March 2022, Russian general and alleged war criminal Vitaly Gerasimov was killed in battle in Kharkiv.

Advertisement