Today, on August 29, Ukraine honors the memory of the defenders of Ukraine who died in the struggle for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The event was launched in 2019 to mark the anniversary of the Ilovaisk tragedy. The symbol of today's sad date is the sunflower, UNN writes.
On August 4, 2014, the ATO headquarters decided to conduct an operation to partially encircle Donetsk in order to take control of the main communication routes.
The first assault on Ilovaisk began on August 6. By August 20, Ukrainian forces managed to partially take control of the city.
A decisive role in further events was played by the fact that Russia openly began to send its military units to help the separatists.
As a result of fierce and unequal fighting, as of August 28, Ukrainian troops were surrounded. It was agreed that they would leave the encirclement through two humanitarian corridors.
The withdrawal began in the morning of August 29. However, the Russians and militants cynically violated the agreement and fired on both convoys.
According to the official data of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 220 people were killed in the battle for Ilovaisk, 129 of them during the breakout from the encirclement.
According to some independent estimates, the death toll may exceed 300. The battle for Ilovaysk killed the most Ukrainian soldiers during the ATO/JFO.
In total, about 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed during the ATO/JFO.
Official data on Ukrainian casualties during the full-scale Russian invasion are not disclosed. Although, in February of this year, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the number of dead - 31 thousand soldiers.
Western media report that this figure could reach 200,000.