Starting from April 12, 2014, a number of settlements in Donetsk region were subjected to armed seizure by Russian occupation forces.
From June 2 to June 4, 2014, an operation was conducted to liberate the city of Lyman.
From June 3 to June 19, 2014, Ukrainian troops carried out operations to liberate other settlements in the Lyman area, including the villages of Yampil, Zarichne, and Zakittne.
On the night of June 19, the first column of Ukrainian paratroopers from the 25th Separate Airborne Dnipro Brigade moved towards the Yampil checkpoint of the militants, where our soldiers fell into an enemy ambush. Timely reinforcements managed to turn the tide of the battle, and the aggressor's units were scattered and pushed back.
At the same time, from the side of Torsk, two combined groups of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after King Daniel, reinforced by special forces of the National Guard, went on the offensive. Lacking the strength to counter the tanks, the enemy abandoned Yampil without a fight.
After regrouping, the enemy organized an ambush on the southern bank of the river near Zakittne. Despite the reinforcements that the command of the Russian mercenaries sent to repel the Ukrainian offensive, these efforts were in vain — strategically important positions for the aggressor were lost.
As a result of the operation, 16 servicemen from the 24th Mechanized Brigade, the 25th Airborne Brigade, and the 95th Air Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were killed. Two more servicemen were killed near the village of Kryva Luka on June 30 and July 2, 2014.
On June 19, 2014, the operation to liberate the settlements of the Lyman community in Donetsk region from Russian occupation forces was completed.
The first significant victory became a valuable experience that inspired further successes in the Russo-Ukrainian war. The expulsion of the occupiers from Lyman was also the first, initial stage on the path to continuing the liberation of the cities of northern Donetsk region in 2014.