The Ilovaisk operation began in early August 2014 and lasted the entire month.
The details of the operation are reproduced in detail based on numerous testimonies of Ukrainian fighters and commanders. The story we are telling began on the night of August 24.
Then, on one of the heights near Ilovaisk, Ukrainian scouts noticed columns moving towards the city. The Russian regular army was advancing — this was confirmed by radio intercepts. Almost all of the Russian equipment had its tactical markings removed or masked. The Russians captured or destroyed checkpoints and ammunition depots near the city. There was no one to stop their breakthrough into the city on the outskirts.
No reinforcements arrived. The Ukrainian Armed Forces group lacked weapons, food, and water, and the number of wounded was constantly increasing. They were mostly sent to the local school No. 14, which eventually became the only shelter, albeit unreliable.
Leaving the city became the only option. Most of the soldiers refused to leave their positions until the last moment, because during the defense of Ilovaisk, the Russians disrupted the evacuation dozens of times by shelling the columns.
Donbas fighters during patrol in the Donetsk region.
Wikimedia / «Бабель»
On August 28, 2014, a temporary ceasefire was declared for the exit through the “green corridor”. The Russian side guaranteed the Ukrainian military safe passage.
Before the exit, negotiations on the exchange of prisoners also took place. The parties agreed that the exchange would take place after the columns passed, but at the last moment the Russians announced that there would be no exchange.
The troops began to withdraw from Ilovaisk on the morning of August 29. All units gathered near Mnohopillya, gradually collecting fighters and equipment from positions.
They were to withdraw in two columns — the “northern” and the “southern”.
The “northern” column was to move along the following route: Mnohopillya — Ahronomichne — Novodvirske — Mykhailivka — Andriivka — Chumaky — Horbatenko — Novokaterynivka — Starobeshevo.
The route of the “southern” column passed through Mnohopillya — Chervonosilske — Osykove — Pobeda — Novokaterynivka — Starobeshevo.
A column of soldiers preparing to leave through the "green corridor".
Роман Зіненко
"Antykvar", "Nych", "Lyubomyr", "Philosoph", "Lyokha", "Sto devyatyi", "Stan" and "Dudayev" are fighters of the volunteer battalion "Donbas". All of them survived in the "green corridor" during the shooting of the columns. They hid in sunflower and corn fields, as well as in the surrounding villages. Later, having regrouped, through the same fields, crowded with Russians, they reached the controlled part of Donbas.
But, not everyone.
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The Russians opened fire on the Ukrainian columns. Those in the vanguard and rearguard of the columns saw it immediately. Most reacted quickly and turned into the fields. Some drove into the fields in cars. Some crawled their way through. People scattered individually or in small groups.
“Antykvar”, “Nych”, “Lubomyr” and “Sto devyatyi” immediately united into one group. 18-year-old Oleksandr Hoshylyk, with a callsign "Sto devyatyi", led his brothers out of Ilovaisk using GPS. Then the guys moved from the city along the railway tracks. It was risky from the start.
The tracks are an open and priority landmark, along them or near them the enemy could equip positions. The Ukrainian fighters were armed and in uniform, and therefore noticeable.
"We just wanted to get to our families, our faces tired, beaten by the sun and thirst. We had practically nothing to eat. There were only 20 sugar sticks from dry rations that I had been collecting in my bulletproof vest for several months. One candy was found by ʼAntykvarʼ. We found some vegetables, watermelons, and melons. That was our entire ration for four for three nights of escaping the encirclement,” said Oleksandr.
Oleksandr Hoshylyk with a callsign "Sto devyatyi".
The fighters came across a “separatist secret” — a trench dug for secret observation. The secret was empty. Nearby stood two boxes of Russian dry rations — one empty and the other full. The guys took the dry rations and, barely leaving the trench, decided to have a snack.
"Having retreated no more than 500 meters from the ʼsecretʼ, we went into the cornfield and, illuminating it with flashlights, loudly crunched biscuits. How wonderful it was to feel the taste of food! There was apple puree in the dry rations. This is the only good memory I have associated with the Russian army," said Oleksandr.
Leaving the field, the fighters came across another group. From behind the bushes, a command was heard in Russian — to get out, otherwise they will open fire. The guys had no doubt that these were either Russians or separatists. “Antykvar” got up and, moving towards the sound, threw out a grenade. At that moment, they heard the phrase "Friendly!" by them [which means, that they were Ukrainian soldiers also].
The guys saw people in Russian uniforms. Among them, Oleksandr recognized Pavlo Puhachov "Dudayev", with whom he had once lived in the same tent. Pavlo had a machine gun in his hands.
"I was like, ʼOh my God. ʼDudayevʼ was captured? Then why does he have a machine gun in his hands? Why doesnʼt he run away?ʼ Then I realized that these were our people. I hugged him tightly. We all said hello and together started looking for where ʼAntykvarʼ had thrown the check. In the end, they inserted a needle instead of the check. Then we brought them the remains of Russian dry goods," Oleksandr said.
It turned out that “Dudayev” group had taken Russian uniforms from captured Russians. In addition to “Dudayev”, the group included fighters with the call signs "Philosoph", "Stan" and "Lyokha". One group of survivors included guys from very different cities. “Sto devyatyi”, for example, was born in the Ivano-Frankivsk region and did not speak Russian at all, like his entire group. “Dudayev” was from Kharkiv. “Lyokha” was from Russia — after the events on the Maidan, he came to Ukraine and stood up for its defense.
Then they all moved on as a group of 8 people.
On August 12, 2014, soldiers of the “Dnipro” battalion patrol Donbas near the border of Ukraine and Russia. An illustrative pic.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
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On their way, the fighters were ambushed.
“We stopped on the tracks and began to discuss where to go next. On the right, from the forest, we heard the words: ʼWell, so what? Shooting them?ʼ We rushed in different directions. I decided to jump over the tracks and accept the fight. ʼAntykvarʼ, ʼLyubomyrʼ and ʼDudayevʼ joined me in the fight,” said Oleksandr.
For some time, Oleksandr fired back. The militants did not fire aimed, but launched a signal rocket for observation. In its light, Oleksandr saw that he was left alone: there was no one nearby.
Ahead, about 70 meters away, was “Antykvar”. Oleksandr rushed to catch up with him and around the bend in the road he met “Lyubomyr” and “Dudayev”. The other four fighters broke away even further and disappeared from sight. Then “Dudayev” went to look for them himself in the dark, without a flashlight.
A soldier of the “Dnipro” battalion patrols the territory near the Ukrainian-Russian border. An illustrative pic.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
“Sto devyatyi”, “Lubomyr” and “Antykvar” continued to shoot back. But “Lubomyr” was wounded — during the shelling in the "green corridor" a fragment tore off part of his soft tissues. So he stopped to change the bandage.
And when he finished dressing, the group went to the forest strip — they thought that other fighters were hiding there. They found no one in the forest strip, they began to whisper and call “Dudayev”, but in vain. They had to go out without him.
To escape the encirclement, 7 boys walked 80 km. The only one who did not go out with the group was “Dudayev” (Pavlo Puhachov). Having broken away from his comrades, he ran through the fields for about three km and came across the militants’ positions in one of the villages near Ilovaisk. There, a local resident hid him for three days. Pavlo even left her his mother’s phone number.
Even before leaving through the "green corridor", Pavlo told his mother and brothers that he would never surrender to capture. He received an order from his commander to leave the encirclement in the direction of Mariupol.
Before leaving, he called his mother one last time, after which the connection with him was lost. His mother hoped that Pavlo had been captured after all, but the Russian side did not confirm this. The court declared him dead. The body has not yet been found, and there are no DNA matches.
On August 12, 2014, soldiers of the “Dnipro” battalion patrol Donbas near the border of Ukraine and Russia. An illustrative pic.
Getty Images / «Babel'»
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Of all those who survived the battles for Ilovaisk, at least 180 fighters and officers have lost their lives for various reasons over the past 11 years. Of the units that were in the city, almost none remain today.
The “Donbas” is still fighting at the front. Currently, it is a separate assault battalion of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
All the fighters who left Ilovaisk with “Dudayev” returned to service after being rescued. Some continue to serve today. Oleksandr Hoshylyk (wuth a callsign "Sto devyatyi") was demobilized in 2016. For several years he lived a civilian life, writing poetry under the creative pseudonym "Damn Molfar". In 2022 he was mobilized and took the last battle near Bakhmut in the fall of the same year. He is considered missing.
Andriy Dykyi (with a callsign "Antykvar") died at the front this year. “Stan” continues to serve. “Lyokha” is building a civilian life in Ukraine, despite his Russian roots.