Ongoing battle of the Russo-Ukrainian War
The battle of Huliaipole is an ongoing military conflict between the Armed Forces of Russia and the Armed Forces of Ukraine over the city of Huliaipole, in central Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
In the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian forces captured and occupied the southern part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. They pushed as far as the Ukrainian cities of Orikhiv and Huliaipole, before the offensive stalled and the front line stabilised just south of Huliaipole. Russian efforts to capture the city were frustrated by the Ukrainian forces.
In May 2022, the Russian forces began an intensive shelling of Huliaipole, which has been carried out on a daily basis in the months since. Civilian infrastructure, including residential buildings, cultural centres and agricultural facilities, were damaged and destroyed during the bombardment. In response to the sustained bombardment of Huliaipole, the Security Service of Ukraine has accused the Russian armed forces of committing war crimes.
Initial offensive.
During the course of the southern Ukraine offensive of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Huliaipole lost power and water from 2 March 2022. The following day, Russian forces captured the nearby city of Polohy. On 5 March, Russian forces briefly entered Huliaipole.
A Ukrainian missile division led by Dmytro Vasyliev struck back at the Russian forces near Huliaipole, but on 18 March, Vasyliev was fired upon by Russian forces and died from his injuries the day after. He was posthumously awarded the Order of the Gold Star, which was presented to his wife and child by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. On 26 March, the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration claimed Ukrainian forces had recaptured the villages of Poltavka and Malynivka east of Huliaipole after heavy fighting.
By 30 March, Huliaipole had experienced almost a month of nightly shelling, while its population had decreased to around 2,000, with around a dozen civilian deaths.
On 21 April, three Russian helicopters were shot down over Huliaipole by a Ukrainian man-portable air-defense system, forcing a nearby Russian tank column to retreat, while Ukrainian long range artillery also destroyed 24 Russian tanks and 10 APCs in the area around the city. Serhiy Yarmak, the mayor of Huliaipole, reported that local Ukrainian forces had named their defensive positions after Nestor Makhno, a native of Huliaipole that fought in the Ukrainian War of Independence.
On 25 April, the Russian forces began concentrating their efforts on capturing Huliaipole, reinforcing their own positions and firing on Ukrainian ones. The following day, three people were wounded and a number of houses destroyed during a Russian artillery bombardment, which continued for a number of days. The provincial government of Zaporizhzhia later reported that Russian troops in the area were shooting their own cars, in order to not get sent to the front at Huliaipole, and that they were also complaining about the ineffectiveness that their attacks had on the Territorial Defense Forces.
Shelling.
May 2022.
On 6 May, the Russian forces began to shell the city with artillery and airstrikes. Roman Balinsky, a soldier in the Ukrainian Mechanized Infantry, reported that his brigade "barely had time to dig in when they started bombing us." Balinsky was almost killed in a Russian tank attack on his trench, but his life was saved by field surgeons.
In response to the shelling, Serhiy Yarmak ordered an evacuation of the town's residents. On 14 May, it was reported that many residential buildings had been damaged or destroyed during the continued bombardment, an act which the Security Service of Zaporizhzhia considered to be a war crime. Russian forces also destroyed the road between the Ukrainian-held Huliaipole and the Russian-held city of Polohy, using land mines. That same day, Serhii Parkhomenko, a commander in the 229th Tactical Aviation Brigade, was shot down and killed near Huliaipole. He was posthumously awarded the title "Hero of Ukraine", which was presented to his family by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 
June 2022.
In June, Russian forces deployed multiple rocket launchers to shell Huliaipole's remaining civilian infrastructure. Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, reported that the Ukrainian defensive line was being reinforced at Huliaipole, where clashes were still ongoing. On 7 June, a 10 year-old child was wounded in a Russian artillery strike against Huliaipole.
On 9 June, the Chief Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence reported that the bodies of Russian soldiers who died fighting in Huliaipole had been taken to a meat packing plant in Russian-occupied Melitopol, and accused the Russian government of downplaying the number of casualties. The Chief Intelligence Directorate also revealed that they had attempted to break the siege of Mariupol in early April, but the detachment sent from Huliaipole to break into the city was repelled by the Russian defensive line.
On 13 June, the Russian Air Force launched a series of airstrikes against Ukrainian positions at Huliaipole. The Russian armed forces reportedly continued to target civilian infrastructure, rather than directly engaging Ukrainian forces. According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, this continued bombardment was being carried out in order to pin down the Ukrainian forces in Huliaipole, as part of an attempt by Russian forces to capture the city of Sievierodonetsk. Mortars, artillery and multiple rocket launchers were fired against Ukrainian positions in Huliaipole by Russian forces, but the Ukrainians were able to repel the Russian offensive. Small gains were made by the Ukrainian forces in the area around Huliaipole, although this came at a high personnel cost, with many Ukrainians being injured in the artillery fire.
On 18 June, shelling against Huliaipole continued, damaging several residential and commercial buildings, and wounding a number of civilians. On 28 June, Russian forces bombarded Huliaipole.
July 2022.
Following Russian missile attacks against Huliaipole on 12 July, the National Police of Ukraine reported that cluster bombs had exploded in nearby agricultural fields and burnt down over 600 hectares of grain. Although the Russian Armed Forces were not conducting any further offensive operations in Zaporizhzhia, they continued to shell Huliaipole. 
On 19 July, the Russian Armed Forces began regrouping their troops in Zaporizhzhia and started concentrating their efforts on capturing the region. That date, Russian forces shelled Huliaipole using a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher system and artillery, causing damage to a number of administrative and residential buildings, and reportedly leaving a number of casualties, with the State Emergency Service of Ukraine putting out fires in the aftermath. On 21 July, Serhiy Yarmak reported that over 1,000 homes and nearly all of the town's infrastructure had been damaged during the months of heavy shelling. Russian forces continued to shell civilian and military infrastructure in Huliaipole into August, but did not take any further military actions in the area.
August 2022.
On 12 August, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that Russian forces had opened fire against Ukrainian positions at Huliaipole, but they were repelled. As part of their effort to advance towards Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces then conducted aerial reconnaissance near Huliaipole. Further shelling of Huliaipole was reportedly conducted by Russian tanks and artillery, which were subsequently followed by airstrikes. Sustained bombardment of Huliaipole by Russian artillery and airstrikes resulted in the destruction of a sports complex on 22 August. On the night of 28 August, a Russian Kh-22 missile reportedly struck a housing community in the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia, where a number of Huliaipole residents had been sheltering after fleeing their home city. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian General Staff reported on the continuation of Russian airstrikes against Huliaipole. The Russian air force also carried out reconnaissance around Huliaipole, using unmanned aerial vehicles.
October 2022.
Russian forces did not conduct active offensive operations against Huliaipole at the beginning of October 2022, but continued to shell the city, inflicting fire damage, using artillery, mortars and tanks. According to Zaporizhzhia Governor Oleksandr Starukh, the Russian shelling killed Huliaipole's deputy mayor Oleksandr Savytskyi and the local utility service director Oleksandr Kosarenko, who reportedly died at their workplaces. Following the shelling, on 4 October, the Ukrainian Air Force responded by striking back at Russian positions near Huliaipole, destroying some military equipment.
On the night of 16 October, Russian missiles hit and destroyed schools in the neighbouring villages of Vozdvyzhivka and Dobropillia, just north of Huliaipole, as part of a sustained bombardment against civilian infrastructure in the region. The following day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out strikes against the Russian positions south of Huliaipole, reportedly hitting military equipment and injuring dozens of Russian soldiers. On 19 October, Oleksandr Starukh reported that Russian S-300 missiles had been fired on the city itself, destroying another school without causing any casualties.
November 2022.
On 5 November, Ivan Fedorov gave an interview with Ukrinform, in which he claimed that detained residents of Melitopol were being used by the Russian military to dig trenches around Huliaipole. On 7 November, Oleksandr Starukh reported that Russian forces had fired S-300 missiles at a village near Huliaipole, damaging a cultural center and a farm warehouse, along with some homes. On 10 November, while the artillery shelling of Huliaipole continued, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces were starting to fortify their positions in the occupied areas of the Zaporizhzhia region, using civilians to help with the construction. The following day, Russian forces carried out missile strikes against civilian infrastructure in Huliaipole, reportedly destroying houses. On 12 November, Ivan Fedorov reported that the 115th Separate Melitopol Battalion of the Territorial Defense Forces had destroyed 4 Russian armored personnel carriers near Huliaipole.
On 18 November, the Ukrainian Armed Forces responded to Russian artillery strikes by carrying out strikes against Russian positions along the contact line, wounding more than 100 soldiers and destroying 20 pieces of military equipment. On 21 November, Petro Andriushchenko reported that the movement of Russian military equipment and manpower from Mariupol had changed direction towards Huliaipole, confirming that two large military convoys had moved towards the city through Nikolske. The shelling of Ukrainian military positions and civilian infrastructure in Huliaipole continued over the subsequent days, as the Russian armed forces started to conduct active defensive operations in the area.
December 2022.
Following a successful counteroffensive that had resulted in the capture of Kherson by Ukrainian forces, attentions began to shift towards a possible offensive in Zaporizhzhia. Since the capture of Kherson, Russian helicopter activity around Huliaipole became more frequent and artillery shelling of Ukrainian positions at Huliaipole intensified, as Russian military equipment was moved towards the city.
On 9 December, Russian and Ukrainian forces at Huliaipole exchanged artillery fire, in response to what Russian intelligence reported to be a massing of Ukrainian mechanized infantry around the city, prompting further speculation of a Ukrainian offensive in the region. On 12 December, UNESCO reported that a cultural center and a Kingdom Hall were among the cultural sites in Huliaipole that were damaged by the Russian strikes. Russian forces also began massing troops around Melitopol, in response to the increasing Ukrainian numbers around Huliaipole.
January–February 2023.
On 7 January, during the Russian-proposed "Christmas truce", approximately 230 shells hit the city. 
Having remained largely on the defensive for the first weeks of 2023, on 18 January, the Russian forces attempted an offensive against Orikhiv and Huliaipole, but were unsuccessful. On 22 January, Vladimir Rogov announced that Russian troops were moving towards Orikhiv and Huliaipole as part of a general offensive in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Ukrainian armed forces repelled the offensive, with Russian officials claiming that their advance had stalled. Reports indicated that Russian forces managed to seize a previously-occupied strip of "no-man's land" closer to the cities, although Ukrainian forces reported no large-scale assault in the area. Russian forces in the area were reportedly held back at the town of Charivne, preventing them from moving up the road towards Orikhiv and Huliaipole.
In February 2023, Russian forces began to regroup, reportedly preparing for a new offensive On 22 February 2023 Russian forces launched attacks against the Ukrainian-held areas of the Zaporizhzhia front, but were repelled. Throughout the subsequent shelling of the contact line, the Russian armed forces remained on the defensive.
March–May 2023.
On 14 March 2023, Huliaipole's mayor Serhiy Yarmak reported that shelling had decreased over the preceding month and that there were still 3,000 residents remaining in the city, including 93 children. According to Yarmak, the hospital continued to treat patients in its basement, local police patrolled the streets to prevent Ukrainian troops from buying alcohol and garbage collectors did their usual routes now in body armour and helmets. Yarmak himself also wears fatigues and armour, sporting a