Members of volunteer battalions, army servicemen, fighters of the National Guard and other units – all those who fought in the Debaltseve battle, are going for a memorial march in Kyiv on Saturday. The event’s organizers, the local unions of Donbas conflict veterans say that the participants will gather near the city hall at 2 p.m.
The organizers asked the veterans to carry their unit’s banners.
From mid-January 2015 during the Donbas conflict, separatist forces of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic tried to recapture the city of Debaltseve in Donetsk region, which had been under Ukrainian control since a counter-offensive by government forces in July 2014. The city lay in a 'wedge' of Ukrainian-held territory bordered by the Donetsk People's Republic on one side, and Luhansk People's Republic on the other. It is also a vital road and railway junction. The separatists began a concerted effort to force Ukrainian troops out of the city in January 2015, sparking the Battle of Debaltseve. Heavy fighting went on until 18 February 2015, when Ukrainian forces were eventually forced to withdraw. The town remains under control of the Russia-backed militants ever since.
