Battle of Lebedyn

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A series of clashes began on 26 February 2022 around the city of Lebedyn, Sumy Oblast, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On the evening of 26 February, Ukrainian forces held the Russian forces on the outskirts of the city. The Ukrainians reportedly suffered some casualties. At 22:45, a battle began in Kamyane [uk].^[1] Five soldiers were brought to the hospitals of Lebedyn on the morning of 27 February. Most of them were wounded near Lebedyn's Batiutenko Street. According to the Regional Centre of Emergency Care and Disaster Medicine, no wounded civilians arrived.^[2] On the night of 27 February, a Ukrainian soldier reportedly died in combat near Lebedyn.^[3]

On the afternoon of 3 March, the 93rd Mechanized Brigade announced that Ukrainian artillery had destroyed a Russian column near the village of Moskovskyi Bobryk [uk].^[4] During their stay in the village, the Russians looted the local shops and burnt the car of the head of the village, according to residents.^[5] Also on 3 March, Russian troops shelled Lebedyn amid a large bombardment across Sumy Oblast.^[6]

Lebedyn was completely cut off from electricity for the 4 and 5 of March. On 5 March at 7 a.m., civilians heard an air raid alarm in Lebedyn as the Russians began shelling the city.^[7] The explosions blew out windows in multistoried buildings. The artillery shelling went on all day long.^[8] An electric substation, the Lebedyn bakery, and a gas station were destroyed by Russian shelling.^[9]

By the evening of 5 March, Russians had been reported to have captured civilians driving by cars through the countryside. Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, the Head of the Military Administration, said that people could not leave Lebedyn, Sumy, Okhtyrka and Trostianets at the moment because "the Russian troops rob and occasionally shoot at the cars of peaceful Ukrainians."^{[citation needed]}

According to the Military Administration, Russian artillery shelling and the airstrikes of 6 March left many inhabitants of Lebedyn without electricity. The prosecution launched a pre-trial investigation into the destruction of the Lebedyn bakery by the strikes of Russian military planes.^[8]

On 7 March, the electricity supply to Lebedyn was partially restored.^[8]

On the night of 8 to 9 March, the Russian air forces attacked Lebedyn. Two houses in Shevchenka Street were ruined. Five people, two children among them, were retrieved from the debris. The officers of the 5th State Fire and Rescue Brigade, who were in charge that night, worked at the site from 01:45 on 9 March.^[10]

On the night of 11 March, the Russian troops shelled houses in Kerdylivshchyna [uk] killing two locals – Vasyl Masliuk and Valeriy Sukhanov.^[10]

As of 13 March, 22,500 civilians in Sumy Oblast had no electricity. According to the Military Administration, shelling damaged the power lines in Okhtyrka, Trostianets, Lebedyn and Sumy.^[11]

"Green corridors" for evacuation functioned in Sumy Oblast on 12 March. People could go from Sumy, Trostianets, Konotop, Lebedyn, Velyka Pysarivka, and Krasnopillia through Romny to Poltava. According to the Head of the Military Administration Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, they finally managed to reach an agreement about Lebedyn, which had no electricity or communication at that point. At 9:00, a column of private transport and buses gathered at Lebedyn city council. The route was from Lebedyn via Shtepivka, Nedryhailiv, Korovyntsi, Romny, Andriyashivka, Lokhvytsia, Lubny and Poltava. Overall, 28 vehicles with 83 civilians and four buses with 52 civilians left Lebedyn.^[12][13]

On March 15, the humanitarian corridors worked in Sumy region on five routes - from Sumy, Trostyanets, Lebedin, Konotop and Shostka. The final destination of all routes was Lubny in Poltava region.^[14]

Humanitarian corridors worked in Sumy region on March 18. It was possible to leave the Velyka Pysarivka, Trostianets, Krasnopillia, Sumy, Lebedyn and Konotop communities.^[15] Lebedyn could leave on personal transport and buses from 9 am from the square near the city council. From the city the column moved through Shtepivka, Nedryhailiv, Korovyntsi, Romny, Andriiashivka and further to Poltava Oblast through Lokhvytsia to Lubny.^[16] The column was traditionally accompanied by representatives of the International Organization of the Red Cross. According to the regional military administration, as of 5:00 pm, 4 buses carrying 50 citizens had left Lebedyn.^[17]

50°34′59″N 34°28′56″E / 50.58306°N 34.48222°E / 50.58306; 34.48222