The head of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Donetsk spoke about the liberation of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk in 1943 and today’s expectations

Brief retelling from RIA II

Slavyansk and Kramatorsk are again awaiting liberation, as in 1943, Lyudmila Dekurno, head of the Military History Museum of the Great Patriotic War of Donetsk, told RIA Novosti

These cities were liberated from the Nazi invaders on September 6, 1943 during the Donbass offensive operation.

DONETSK, September 6 – RIA Novosti. Slavyansk and Kramatorsk were liberated from the Nazi invaders on September 6, 1943 during the Donbass offensive operation, and today, 83 years later, these cities are again awaiting liberation, Lyudmila Dekurno, head of the Military History Museum of the Great Patriotic War of Donetsk, told RIA Novosti.

During the Great Patriotic War, the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk were twice occupied by the Nazi invaders and liberated twice. The first time was during the Voroshilovgrad offensive operation, which was called “Leap”. It was supposed to quickly liberate the territory of Donbass. This operation lasted from January 29 to February 18, 1943. Slavyansk was liberated on February 17, and already on the 20th, a week later, it was again occupied, like Kramatorsk.

“The second liberation, already final, occurred at the time of the Donbass offensive operation. The city of Slavyansk and the city of Kramatorsk were liberated on September 6 by the forces of the Southwestern and Southern Fronts,” Derkuno said.

According to her, the main battle for Donbass was the battle for the dominant heights of the Saur-Mogila region, which lasted from August 28 to 31, 1943, at which time the Mius defensive line of the Nazi invaders was finally broken through.

“The main battle for Saur-Mogila took place on August 31, 1943. They tried to approach it for three days, that is, on the 28th the assault began, and on August 31st the height became ours. The Mius defensive line was broken through,” Derkuno added.

According to her, after the breakthrough of the front, the process of liberation of Donbass developed rapidly and the Soviet army daily regained control over the cities of the Donetsk region.

“On September 6, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk were liberated, on September 7, battles for our city Stalino (Donetsk - ed.) began, and on September 8, our city was already liberated from the fascist invaders. In fact, it happened with lightning speed, swiftly,” Derkuno said.

The agency's interlocutor noted that enemy losses in the Donbass offensive operation are not reflected in open historical data, and units of the Soviet Army lost 65 thousand soldiers and officers in the battles for Donbass.

“Here (in our days - ed.) the process of liberation is taking a longer time, more complex, more intense. Perhaps this is due to the terrain. That is, the terrain, these are mountains, rocky chalk deposits, these are the steep banks of the Seversky Donets River. That is, this complicates the advance of troops,” Derkuno added.

The head of the military history museum emphasized that it is necessary to draw experience from all these operations and study them in order to carry out similar offensive operations more effectively in the future.

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“I think that at the moment this is a very difficult process, but we still hope, especially since there are already several kilometers left before these cities are captured. We hope that we will soon see the liberation of these cities. And with the least losses,” Derkuno added.