The Battle of Kharkiv was a military engagement that took place from February to May 2022 in and around the city of Kharkiv in Ukraine, as part of the eastern Ukraine offensive during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Kharkiv, located just 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of the Russia–Ukraine border and a predominately Russian-speaking city, is the second-largest city in Ukraine and was considered a major target for the Russian military early in the invasion.
By 13 May, Ukrainian forces pushed Russian units attempting to encircle the city back towards the Russian border. Additionally, it was reported that Russia had withdrawn units from the area. The Institute for the Study of War opined that Ukraine had "likely won the battle of Kharkiv". However, bombardment continued, and by 20 May, Russian forces were again shelling the city.
On 12 June, Amnesty International claimed it found the evidence of widespread use of widely-banned cluster munitions by Russia, such as 9N210/9N235 cluster bombs, and "scatterable" munitions that eject small mines that explode later in timed intervals. In September, the Ukrainian military launched a major counteroffensive into territories that were still under Russian control in Kharkiv Oblast. As a result, Russian forces located close to the city were pushed back, resulting in significantly reduced pressure on Kharkiv.
Background
The Ukrainian military first started preparing the defence of Kharkiv Oblast in case of a Russian invasion after the appointment of Valerii Zaluzhnyi as commander-in-chief in July 2021. Russian forces frequently carried out "false-flag" operations near the border of Kharkiv Oblast before the 2022 invasion. However, the Ukrainians did not expect a full-scale invasion, and were ill-prepared for a Russian advance on Kharkiv from the directions of Lyptsi, Zolochiv, and Bohodukhiv, having anticipated combat only from the direction of Kupiansk.
Battle
Commencement of operations (24–26 February)
Ukrainian military bases near Kharkiv were among the military targets bombarded by Russian forces in the early hours of 24 February. The 92nd Mechanized Brigade's base at Chuhuiv was hit at 04:00, according to its commander, Pavlo Fedosenko. According to Lt. Col. Petro Vitushko of the 92nd Brigade, most of the vehicles and equipment had been moved off the grounds of the base by the time of the strikes.
An estimated 20,000 Russian forces amassed in Belgorod crossed the border on 24 February and began advancing towards Kharkiv. Ukraine's 92nd Brigade clashed with them across a 100-kilometer front. Part of the body of forces broke off towards Vovchansk, capturing the city after a short battle and heading south towards Izium. Russian forces began encircling Kharkiv from the north and eastern directions.
Russian troops failed to enter Kharkiv on 24 February. According to Ukrainska Pravda, the Russians had planned to occupy the city within two days. A captured Russian officer later testified that the city was expected to fall within three days.
By 25 February, fierce fighting had broken out in the northern suburbs of the city, near the village of Tsyrkuny, where Ukrainian forces were able to hold against Russian forces. Russian artillery barrages hit an apartment block in the city, killing a young boy. On 26 February, Oleh Synyehubov, the Ukrainian Governor of Kharkiv Oblast announced a curfew and that non-military vehicles on the street would be "liquidated."
American officials reported that the heaviest fighting of the entire conflict was occurring at Kharkiv.
In the early morning of 27 February, Russian forces destroyed a gas pipeline in Kharkiv.
Fighting in the city (27–28 February)
On 27 February, two companies of the Russian 2nd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade entered Kharkiv proper. According to Ukrainian officials, some Russian soldiers attempting to enter the city from the west were stopped at Pisochyn.
The Russian companies were cut off as soon as they had advanced into the city. Ukrainian officials claimed that their forces had destroyed at least 6 GAZ Tigr-Ms, half of Russian military vehicles that had advanced into Kharkiv. Russian Ministry of Defence spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed that Russian forces had secured the surrender of the Ukrainian 302nd Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment and captured 471 Ukrainian soldiers, a claim that Ukrainian officials denied.
A fierce firefight broke out at the School No. 134, where one Russian company was pinned down. Synyehubov reporting that heavy fighting was occurring, and Ministry of Internal Affairs advisor Anton Herashchenko claiming street fighting was underway in the city centre.
On the morning of 28 February, the Russian company broke out and rejoined the main body of Russian forces outside the city. Synyehubov reported that Ukrainian forces had regained full control of the city. He added that dozens of Russian soldiers had surrendered. Fedosenko stated that the Ukrainian forces "drove the Russians out of the city, dug in and that's it."
Intensified strikes (28 February – 2 April)
On 28 February, Herashchenko claimed that Russian rocket strikes on the city had killed dozens of civilians, while Synyehubov reported that eleven civilians were killed and dozens wounded, and Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, reporting that nine civilians were killed and 37 were wounded. One of those killed was a 25-year-old student from Algeria, who was killed by a Russian sniper.
Later on 28 February, Terekhov reported that Russian forces were beginning to destroy electrical substations in Kharkiv, resulting in some areas of the city being disconnected from power, heating and water. He also added that 87 homes had been damaged in Russian shelling. It was also reported that the Malyshev Factory had been destroyed by Russian shelling.
Later on 28 February, Human Rights Watch stated that Russian forces used cluster bombs in the Industrialnyi, Saltivskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts of the city. Human Rights Watch noted that this use of inherently-indiscriminate cluster bombs against a civilian area "might constitute a war crime".
On the morning of 1 March, a Russian 3M54-1 Kalibr missile struck Freedom Square in central Kharkiv, detonating in front of the Kharkiv Oblast administrative building. The Slovene consulate was destroyed in the blast. An opera house and a concert hall were also damaged. At least 24 people were wounded and 29 were killed, according to the regional administration.
The Biathlon Federation of Ukraine later reported that one of the Ukrainian soldiers killed in Kharkiv on 1 March was Yevgeny Malyshev, a biathlete and former member of the Ukrainian national team.
Later on 1 March, it was reported that an 21-year-old Indian student studying at Kharkiv National Medical University had been killed during Russian shelling. The student was from the village of Chalageri in Karnataka. According to the local Indian student coordinator, he was killed by an airstrike in the morning while he stood in a line-up to buy groceries. Indian authorities later announced they had evacuated all Indian nationals from Kyiv as part of a wider operation. Of the 8,000 Indian students that were still in Ukraine on 1 March, around half were located in Kharkiv and Sumy. A member of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, Mayna Fenina, was also killed during shelling on 1 March.
On 2 March, Synyehubov stated that at least 21 people had been killed and 112 wounded in the previous 24 hours. Russian paratroopers landed in Kharkiv and conducted a raid on a Ukrainian military hospital after an aerial assault on the city, leading to heavy clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces. A local official later claimed that Ukrainian forces still controlled the hospital.
The Kharkiv Police headquarters, a military academy and the National University of Kharkiv were damaged by Russian shelling during the morning. Several residential areas were also struck by Russian missiles. Russian missiles later struck Freedom Square again, damaging the Kharkiv City Council building and the Derzhprom, in addition to some high-rise buildings.
On the night of 2 March, two missiles struck the headquarters of the Kharkiv Territorial Defence Forces. The Assumption Cathedral, which was being used as a shelter by civilians, was also damaged, along with the Catholic Church of St. Anthony. CNN released a report claiming that of all the 16 locations in Kharkiv targeted by Russian shelling that week; only three were non-civilian areas.
The Security Service of Ukraine stated on 6 March that Russian BM-21 Grads were shelling the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology, which houses a nuclear research facility, and warned it could lead to a large-scale ecological disaster. The International Atomic Energy Agency stated the next day that the nuclear research facility had reportedly been damaged but there was no radiation leak. Local emergency officials stated that at least eight civilians had been killed in the shelling on the city overnight. The Azerbaijani consulate in the city was meanwhile severely damaged and the Albanian consulate was demolished.
On 7 March, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence announced that Ukrainian forces had killed Russian Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, a deputy commander of the 41st Combined Arms Army. This claim later turned out to be untrue, as Gerasimov received the Order of Alexander Nevsky on 23 May. Two other Russian officers were also killed in the attack. Russian soldiers also killed two civilian volunteers at the Feldman Ecopark as they entered the animals' enclosure to feed them.
On 8 March, Synyehubov stated that more than 600,000 civilians had been evacuated from the city via railways. Ukrainian officials stated that all of Kharkiv was under their control, and that aside from some shelling on the outskirts of the city, no Russian offensive action was being taken.
On 10 March, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine stated that four people, including two children, were killed by Russian shelling in Kharkiv. Russian shelling also destroyed a shopping mall in the centre of the city. Later, Herashchenko claimed that a Russian airstrike had struck the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology.
On 14 March, Russian shelling hit a residential area, killing two civilians and wounding one. The following day, Synyehubov claimed that the city had been shelled 65 times on 14 March, killing a civilian, and that 600 residential buildings had been destroyed in Kharkiv. The following day, Ukraine reported that they had killed Igor Nikolaev, commander of the 252nd Motorized Rifle Regiment, along with around 30% of the regiment's personnel and equipment.
On 16 March, Ukrainian officials claimed that three civilians were killed and five were wounded when Russian forces shelled a market.
On 18 March, Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office reported shelling of residential buildings in Slobidskyi and Moskovskyi districts of the city. In addition, the building of the Institute of State Administration of the National Academy for Public Administration was partially ruined. Russian shelling of Saltivka killed 96-year-old Boris Romanchenko, who survived four Nazi concentration camps and was engaged in preserving the memory of the crimes of Nazism.
On 19 March, Oleh Synyehubov, the appointed head of the Kharkiv Regional Civil-Military Administration (HOVA), stated that the northern suburbs of Kharkiv had been under constant bombardment and that the city centre was being struck by shells and rockets. He claimed that numerous administrative and cultural buildings had been damaged and destroyed. He also stated that Ukrainian forces had counter-attacked, pushing Russian forces away from the outskirts of the city.
On 24 March, a Russian airstrike hit a Nova Poshta office, killing six civilians and injuring at least 15. Ukrainian forces retook the villages of Mala Rohan and Vilkhivka, approximately 20 kilometres east of Kharkiv, on 25 March. On 26 March, Russian shells damaged a monument at the Drobytsky Yar Holocaust memorial.
On 28 March, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that about 30% of city's residents had left Kharkiv since the onset of the war. Head of HOVA, military governor Oleh Synyehubov, reported that Russians had again hit city neighbourhoods with cluster munitions.
After retaking the village of Mala Rohan, Ukrainian forces managed to reopen the highway between Kharkiv and Chuhuiv by 30 March. A commander in the 92nd Brigade told AFP journalists that Russian forces had been pushed back by about 10 kilometres to the north.
Amid the heightened Russian shelling of Kharkiv on 31 March, Russian authorities attributed an explosion at an oil supply depot approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of the border in Belgorod within Russia to an attack by two Ukrainian Mi-24 military helicopters. Meanwhile, the Russians claimed to have killed, on the same day, more than 100 "extremists and mercenaries" from Western countries in Kharkiv with a high-precision Iskander missile strike on a defence base.
Russian bypass (April)
By 1 April, the Institute for the Study of War assessed that Russian command had abandoned its operations to encircle and capture Kharkiv, now seeking to fix in place Ukrainian mechanised units to prevent them from reinforcing the Donbas or launching counterattacks elsewhere.