The city lay in a "wedge" of Ukrainian-held territory bordered by the DPR on one side, and the LPR on the other, and is a vital road and railway junction.

It was the last major battle during the 2014–2015 phase of the war in Donbas, as the Minsk II ceasefire took effect on 15 February 2015, although fighting continued in Debaltseve for several days after.

[42][43] As the "LPR" and "DPR" forces commanded by Igor Girkin (who had FSB background) were largely formed of ex-soldiers and people with little military experience, they were losing to Ukrainian army counter-offensive.

In response, Russian command made decision to send GRU military intelligence units to change balance of forces.

According to him, an artillery counterattack by government forces had caused heavy losses amongst separatists that had been trying to cut off Ukrainian troops from Ukrainian-controlled territory.

[56] Despite this, separatists captured Vuhlehirsk, a town 13 kilometres (8 mi) west of Debaltseve on the highway to DPR-controlled Horlivka.

The separatists broke through Ukrainian lines, overran a government checkpoint, entered the town, and then proceeded into its centre.

[59] During the day on 30 January, shells hit a bus, and also a cultural centre in Kyibishevskiy district that was being used to distribute humanitarian aid.

[60] Spokesman for the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Andriy Lysenko [uk] said that reinforcements had arrived to relieve Ukrainian troops at Vuhlehirsk, and that the front line was holding.

[61] Over the course of the day, Ukrainian supply lines were nearly cut off, as Grad rocket fire made it difficult for armoured personnel carriers and lorries to travel on the 50-kilometre (31 mi) north–south highway between Bakhmut and Debaltseve.

[74] Russian forces gained control of Vuhlehirsk on 4 February, allowing the separatists to increase shelling of the Bakhmut highway and Debaltseve.

[74][75] DPR and Ukrainian forces agreed to establish a humanitarian corridor on 6 February, in another attempt to allow the remaining civilians to escape from Debaltseve.

[77] Russian forces said that they had fully encircled the town by capturing the village of Lohvynove on 9 February, thus "closing the kettle".

Russian forces attempted an offensive on Debaltseve proper in an effort to push out government troops before the start of the ceasefire, which was to come into effect at 0:00 EET on 15 February 2015.

[87] Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko ordered his forces to observe the ceasefire as it came into effect at 0:00 EET on 15 February, and insurgent commanders did the same.

OSCE monitors, meant to observe the implementation of Minsk II, were denied access to Debaltseve by the separatist authorities.

Sinkovskiy said that he risked being court-martialed for disclosing this information, and that he simply wanted to save the men that were trapped in Debaltseve.

[99][100] DPR commander Eduard Basurin said that he would provide a corridor to allow Ukrainian troops to lay down their weapons and leave Debaltseve.

[101] Armed Forces spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said that this was unacceptable, and that Debaltseve was Ukrainian territory according to the Minsk agreements.

[102] One member of the Donbas Battalion said that the situation for Ukrainian soldiers in the city was dire, and resembled the "Ilovaisk kettle", but on a much larger scale.

[106] A statement issued by the Ukrainian Defence Ministry confirmed that part of the city had fallen to "bandits", and that some soldiers had been taken prisoner.

[107] Ukrainian soldiers in the village of Komuna, just west of Debaltseve, told reporters that they could maintain their positions only for twelve more hours or they would be overrun and killed by Russian forces.

[113] In order to find a usable route out of Debaltseve, ambulances were sent through "farmers' fields and down back roads", ensuring that such movements would not attract the notice of the separatists.

[110] The withdrawal was complicated by the fact that government forces had not gained control of Lohvynove, as had been claimed a day earlier.

[117] Ukrainian officials told AFP that during the evacuation "Full-scale street fighting continues and there was also a small tank battle.

[119] Commander Semenchenko likewise said: "The problem was with the leadership and coordination of actions … What’s going on now is the result of incompetent management of our troops, even though they’re trying to cover this up with a propaganda storm".

[120] President Poroshenko said that about 2,500 men had withdrawn from Debaltseve by the end of the day on 18 February, and this number represented 80% of the Ukrainian troops that had been in the city.

[29] Separatist leaders also said that their forces had captured a significant amount of Ukrainian heavy weaponry that had been left behind during the retreat.

[131] Separatist forces removed the last pockets of Ukrainian resistance in the Debaltseve area on 20 February, when they captured the villages of Chornukhyne, Ridkodub, Nikishyne [uk] and Mius.

[3] According to a 27 February report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), DPR authorities found 500 civilian corpses in houses and cellars in Debaltseve after the battle.