[22] The new Ukrainian offensive outside Mariupol came as DPR and LPR forces were assaulting the strategic town of Debaltseve, 200 kilometres (120 mi) to the north.

Accordingly, the offensive was also intended to relieve pressure on Debaltseve by forcing the insurgents divert manpower and weaponry to the southern part of the line of contact.

After breaking through DPR lines, the Azov Regiment managed to quickly capture the towns of Shyrokyne, Pavlopil, and Kominternove, and began to advance toward Novoazovsk.

Due to the fighting in the area around Shyrokyne, local emergency authorities evacuated all civilians from the Ukrainian government-controlled parts of Novoazovsk Raion to Mariupol.

[30] NSDC spokesman Andriy Lysenko said that DPR forces were "conducting sabotage and intelligence operations round the clock to test government defences" in the area around Shyrokyne.

[32] Whilst Ukrainian troops continued to hold the line, DPR forces managed to gain control of about 30 percent of the village by 21 March.

[35] On 13 April, it was confirmed the separatists had captured the village of Vodyane, seven kilometers east of Mariupol, after it was in the middle of a no man's land for almost a month following a retreat by government troops.

[37] In late April, Deutsche Welle reported that pro-Russian militants had set up positions in the centre of Shyrokyne and that the OSCE and Red Cross were not always granted access.

[8] On 5 May, 12 hours of sustained separatist attacks in Shyrokyne against Ukrainian positions near the beach took place, after a one-hour tank assault was launched, followed by constant firefights.

[40] In mid-June, as Ukrainian president Poroshenko visited government lines at Mariupol, more fighting near Shyrokyne left one soldier dead and two wounded.

Denis Pushilin, the self-declared Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Donetsk People's Republic, stated that the decision to withdraw forces from Shyrokyne was made "as an act of good will and the demonstration of peaceful intentions.

[46] On 29 July, the volunteer battalions Azov and Donbas left their positions at the village and were replaced with a unit of active duty marines.

The decision to pull out the Donbas battalion from Shyrokyne was met with protests from residents of Mariupol, who feared that the withdrawal would lead to Russian separatists quickly retaking the village and once again begin shelling the city.

[51] As of mid-September, Shyrokyne had become a demilitarized zone and Ukrainian forces were preventing civilians from returning to their homes due to a large number of explosive devices remaining in the area.

According to the military, the retreating separatists extensively mined and booby trapped the area, with Ukrainian bomb squads still neutralizing these threats as of March 2016.