With the collapse of April’s Easter Ceasefire, hostilities between Ukraine and the Russian-led separatist forces escalated throughout May, including a series of offensives from the Ukrainian Armed Forces in both the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. In perhaps the most important maneuver, Ukrainian forces recaptured the village of Chyhyri, located in the northwestern outskirts of Horlivka, though separatist officials dispute whether these moves were victories or acts of desperation during a retreat.

Capture of Chyhyri

News first broke on May 10 that the village of Chyhyri was being taken by Ukrainian forces. A pro-Russian/separatist VKontakte (ВКонтакте or VK) group shared information about this on May 10 and asked for more information on the rumors.

(Source: VK / We are Donetsk Petrovka!)

There are rumors that the Ukrops [derogatory term for Ukrainians] have taken the village of Chyhyri (in the grey zone, west of the Gagarin Mine). Does anyone have any more information?

Two days later, on May 12, officials from the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DNR) released a statement regarding the Ukrainian offensive in western Horlivka, including the movement into Chyhyri.

In particular, Ukrainian terrorists have attempted to move their forces from the village of Yuzhnoe by advancing two platoons in the direction of the Nikitsky district of Horlivka. This desperate move was necessary for the punishers [derogatory term for Ukrainian soldiers] to seize several positions in order to be able to move unhindered to the southeastern outskirts of the village of Chyhyri, where dachas are located.

The DNR official went on to say that the Chyhyri village is in a tactically disadvantageous position due to its proximity to DNR-controlled areas at a higher elevation. The DNR has claimed that Ukraine lost nine soldiers in fighting in northwestern Horlivka, but these claims have not been substantiated by Ukrainian casualty reports and were likely exaggerated. Ukrainian media outlets have reported that three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded on May 11.

Russian state media parroted claims from the DNR press service.

Strategic Positions

On May 12, after the Ukrainian capture of the village of Chyhyri, the DNR’s Press Service released a video of its soldiers observing the Ukrainian positions from a nearby slagheap.