Kyiv, January 29: This weekend Ukraine honors the 400 young men, most of them new conscripts, who fought for and protected the newly formed Ukrainian People’s Republic by battling Soviet forces advancing on Kyiv on January 29-30, 1918. Sadly, most lost their lives.
The remembrance is poignant and timely as Ukraine finds itself under mounting pressure from Russian forces stationed along the majority of its borders.
The Battle of Kruty took place about 80 miles north of Kyiv at an important rail juncture. The battle was sandwiched between the UPR’s Central Council issuing a declaration called the Fourth Universal on January 22, 1918, breaking ties with Bolshevik Russia and proclaiming a sovereign Ukrainian state and the Red Army seizing Kyiv just weeks later, on February 9. As the 4000-strong Bolshevik forces advanced towards the capital, the student cadets found themselves totally outnumbered. The battle between unequal forces ended tragically.
The small Ukrainian unit of 400 soldiers of the Bakhmach garrison, of whom around 300 were students, withdrew from Bakhmach to the small railroad station of Kruty, which is not far from Nizhyn. Support from a regiment that was stationed nearby failed to arrive. Around 300 of them were killed during the battle, which lasted around five hours.
Some conscripts and officers managed to flee. Others managed to settle overseas, mainly in North America.
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Other history in the area
https://www.historyextra.com/period/general-history/russia-invade-ukraine-history-relationship-crimea-why-conflict-facts/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=HEXT&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2030%2F01%2F2022_1524896_BBC%20History_Newsletters_15497489