Pisky, Pokrovsk Raion

Pisky (Ukrainian: Піски) is a village in Pokrovsk Raion (district) in Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine, at about 10 km NW from the center of Donetsk and at about 2 km from the western border of Donetsk airfield. Before 2014, the village was a former wealthy suburb of Donetsk.[1] It had a population of 2,160 in the 2001 census, but most residents left during the 2014–2022 war in Donbas.

Pisky
Піски
Village
Flag of Pisky
Flag
Pisky is located in Donetsk Oblast
Pisky
Pisky
Location of Pisky within Ukraine
Pisky is located in Ukraine
Pisky
Pisky
Pisky (Ukraine)
Coordinates: 48°3′44″N 37°40′30″E
Country Ukraine
ProvinceDonetsk Oblast
DistrictPokrovsk Raion
Occupation Russia
Elevation
189 m (620 ft)
Population
 • Total6
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
86053
Area code+380 6236

History

Russo-Ukrainian War
See also: Battle of Pisky (2022)

In the war in Donbas the village switched hands many times (between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces).[2] The village has been controlled by the Ukrainian army since 21 July 2014.[2] According to an eyewitness, the Dnipro Battalion captured the settlement that day on its own initiative.[2] Commander of Dnipro Battalion's squadron 5 Volodymyr Shylov claims they then ignored orders to leave Pisky.[2] Since then the village has come under daily attack from the separatists.[2][3][4][5]

Pisky was one of the hotspots of the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport, from September 2014 to January 2015.[3][6]

The conflict brought both civilian and military casualties to the village that had a population of 2,000 before the war in Donbas.[7][8][9][10] In June 2015, only a dozen of the poorest civilians continued to live in Pisky, many of them shell-shocked and bearing injuries.[1] By then, the village lay in ruins.[1] On 27 August 2015 the village had six residents – according to observers of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine.[11] BBC News correspondent Fergal Keane reported on 8 February 2016 that 18 people lived in Pisky.[7]

In late July 2022, Pisky became a battleground in a renewed Russian offensive during the Battle of Avdiivka.[12] The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) claimed on 5 August that it had taken the control of the village, while the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine rejected these early claims.[13] On 10 August, Russian forces used TOS-1 thermobaric weapons on Ukrainian positions in central Pisky. Meanwhile, Russian and DPR sources claimed that roughly 90 percent of Pisky had been captured.[14] By 12 August, Russian sources claimed that Russian forces "controlled" the "situation" in Pisky, suggesting control of the village, though the Ukrainians did not confirm the loss of the front line settlement. Satellite imagery and combat footage posted online suggested the village had been "visibly leveled" by bombardment during the Russian assault.[15]

On August 14, 2022, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov stated that "as a result of offensive operations by the allied forces, the settlement of Peski in the Donetsk People’s Republic has been completely liberated."[16] The Ukrainian military denied the village had been captured and insisted that clashes were ongoing,[17] and on August 16 fighting was still ongoing.[18] On August 26, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed that the village had been captured by the DPR.[19]

On August 31, 2022, the ISW announced that Russia had captured Pisky village in their Russian offensive campaign assessment.[20]

References
  1. The 93rd brigade: Part of the Red Army in WWII, it now fights against Russian-backed separatists, The Independent (13 June 2015)
  2. We Can Win After All, The Ukrainian Week (6 August 2015)
  3. Shelling pierces ceasefire in Ukraine's ghost town of Pisky, Ukraine Today (26 Nov. 2015)
  4. Pisky, Ukrinform
  5. What the war in Ukraine looks like: B-sides after five days on the front, Washington Post (17 August 2015)
    This Is What the Ukraine War Looks Like: 8 Days on the Front Line, The Daily Signal (20 June 2015)
    Fears of new flareup in Ukraine as violence grows on frontline, Yahoo! News (11 November 2015)
    Situation in Donbas tense: 47 attacks in 24 hrs on ATO forces, UNIAN (7 February 2016)
  6. "Ukraine forces admit loss of Donetsk airport to rebels". The Guardian. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
    "The cease-fire war in Donetsk". The Washington Post. 28 October 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  7. Return to the village on Ukraine's frontline, BBC News (8 February 2016)
  8. "Ukraine crisis: The town where war still rages on". BBC News Online. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  9. Gibbons-Neff, Thomas (17 August 2015). "What the war in Ukraine looks like: B-sides after five days on the front". The Washington Post. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  10. Losh, Jack (30 December 2015). "Best of 2015: The Priest, the Pianist, a Cat, and a DIY Sauna—One Week in Ukraine's Forgotten War". Vice News. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  11. "ОБСЄ: у Пісках залишилось лише шість жителів". Інформаційне агентство Українські Національні Новини (УНН). Всі онлайн новини дня в Україні за сьогодні - найсвіжіші, останні, головні. (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 30 December 2020.
  12. "Russian forces dress in Ukrainian military uniform during assault operations near Pisky General Staff report". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  13. "Russian-backed separatists say they have taken Pisky village in east Ukraine, TASS reports". Reuters. 5 August 2022.
  14. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 11". The Institute for the Study of War. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  15. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 12". Institute for the Study of War. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  16. "Allied forces fully liberate settlement of Peski in DPR — Russian top brass". TASS. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  17. "Піски – під контролем України". Chanel 24. 14 August 2022.
  18. Axe, David. "The Russians Want Pisky. The Ukrainians Want Pisky. Neither Army Has Enough Troops For A Quick Victory". Forbes. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  19. Stepanenko, Kateryna; Hird, Karolina; Kagan, Frederick W.; Barros, George (25 August 2022). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 25". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
  20. "Institute for the Study of War". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
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