Battle of Kruty: Heroic Defense of Ukraine’s Capital

Ukraine marks the 106th anniversary of the Battle of Kruty, where hundreds of young defenders bravely faced superior Bolshevik forces, becoming a lasting symbol of patriotism.

In 2024, Ukraine marks the 106th anniversary of the Battle of Kruty. On January 29, 1918, several hundred Ukrainian cadets, students, and gymnasium pupils defended the approaches to Kyiv against 4,000-strong Bolshevik forces led by Muravyov. The defenders of the Ukrainian capital demonstrated unprecedented heroism in the face of superior enemy forces. This was reported by Vgoru.

How did it all begin?

In mid-January 1918, the Bolsheviks launched a large-scale offensive into the territory of the Ukrainian People’s Republic.

“Having taken Poltava, Bolshevik forces under Muravyov advanced westward, while from Homel, the ‘revolutionary’ unit of Berzin moved toward Bakhmach. The few troops of the Central Rada offered little resistance. On January 28, both columns of the aggressors joined at the key railway station of Bakhmach. Ukrainian units retreated without a fight to the Kruty station. The Bolsheviks began preparing for an advance on Kyiv along the Bakhmach–Nizhyn–Darnytsia railway,” noted historian Mykhailo Kovalchuk.

At that time, the approaches to Kyiv were defended by units of the Ukrainian military youth school under the command of Sotnyk Tymchenko. Exhausting time on the positions, cold, and a lack of provisions forced the command to send part of the youths to rest in Kyiv, which weakened the capital’s defenders.

“The Spartans” of the Ukrainian army

On the evening of January 28, the Bolsheviks began their advance from Bakhmach toward Plysky, where Ukrainian forces were positioned. Therefore, Tymchenko, together with the Hlukhiv Cossacks, part of the Sich Death Battalion, and the 13th Sich Regiment, numbering up to 300 soldiers, retreated to Kruty station.

“When late in the evening an enemy armored train arrived at Plysky, the Ukrainian soldiers were no longer at the station. By that time, the defenders of the Central Rada had already withdrawn to Kruty station,” writes historian Mykhailo Kovalchuk.

Later, one of the Red units attacked the Ukrainian positions, and a fierce battle began. Under pressure from superior forces, the Sotnyk wanted to lead his soldiers from Kruty to Nizhyn, but he received a message that reinforcements had been dispatched from the capital.

Reinforcements for the defenders at Kruty station were supposed to include the 1st Sotnia of the Sich Riflemen, the Haidamak combat kurin, and Serdutsky’s detachment. However, the reinforcements were poorly equipped. Still, the total number of defenders increased to around 500 soldiers.

At this time, Sotnyk Tymchenko was replaced by Sotnyk Nosenko, who decided to prepare defensive fortifications east of Kruty railway station. The Ukrainian fighters also tried to damage the railway section between Kruty and Plysky, but the presence of the enemy armored train at Plysky prevented them from doing so, even though Nosenko sent a cavalry unit there to try to drive the Bolsheviks out.

Defense of the station

The forces defending Kruty station numbered 20 officers and 500 soldiers. Nosenko was certain that he would not be able to hold the position without reinforcements. At this time, Sotnyk Tymchenko traveled to Nizhyn to try to persuade the T. Shevchenko kurin stationed there to join the defense.

At 9 a.m., the Bolshevik units began their assault. The Ukrainian defenders repelled enemy attacks for six hours, while the opposing forces were supported by artillery. Through enormous effort, heavy human losses, and with the help of reinforcements, an armored train, and cannons, the enemy began to gain the upper hand in the battle.

Understanding the tragic situation, the Ukrainian command decided to withdraw the troops toward Kyiv. At 7 p.m., the 1st Student Sotnia, followed by the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th cadet sotnias, gradually began retreating toward the train. At that time, news arrived that Symon Petliura’s detachment was in the area of Bobryk station, but it could not come to assist because the Bolsheviks had organized an uprising at the Arsenal factory in Kyiv. Therefore, it moved toward the capital.

During the retreat, the Ukrainian command discovered that about 30 soldiers from the reconnaissance unit were missing. It later became known that they had lost their way at dusk and ended up at Kruty station, which had already been captured by the Red units. Enraged by their heavy losses, the Bolsheviks decided to take revenge on these young men. The Reds first tortured them and then executed them. Local residents were even forbidden from burying the dead.

According to eyewitness accounts and historians’ research, Grigoriy Pipskyy, a 7th-grade student from the Starosambir region, was the first to start singing “Ukraine is not yet lost” before the execution. He was joined by the other students.

According to some historians, Ukrainian forces lost up to 100 soldiers in the Battle of Kruty, while the Bolsheviks lost up to 300. However, this issue remains disputed, as testimonies and research vary.

Incidentally, one of the participants in the Battle of Kruty was Ukrainian surgeon and transplantologist Yuriy Voronyy, the first in the world to perform a kidney transplant on a human in Kherson. Read more about him and this breakthrough in world medicine in the Vgoru media platform article.

We must always remember the Heroes

During the Soviet period, the Battle of Kruty was largely ignored. In some encyclopedias, it was mentioned in only a few lines. Only after Ukraine gained independence in 1991 did the young men’s feat become a symbol of patriotism. In 2003, Ukraine began commemorating this date at the state level. Three years later, the Memorial Complex “In Memory of the Heroes of Kruty” was opened. In 2013, the Verkhovna Rada issued a resolution “On Commemorating the Feat of the Heroes of the Battle of Kruty,” which established the annual honoring of the Heroes of Kruty.