“On January 29, Ukraine celebrates the Day of Remembrance of the Heroes of Krut, young defenders of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, who stood in the way of the Bolshevik offensive on Kyiv in 1918. The battle took place near the Kruty railway station, about 130 kilometers from the capital, during the advance of Soviet Russian troops under the command of Colonel Mikhail Muravyov. The event went down in history as one”, — write on: ua.news
On January 29, Ukraine celebrates the Day of Remembrance of the Heroes of Krut, young defenders of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, who stood in the way of the Bolshevik offensive on Kyiv in 1918.
The battle took place near the Kruty railway station, about 130 kilometers from the capital, during the advance of Soviet Russian troops under the command of Colonel Mikhail Muravyov.
The event went down in history as one of the most tragic and at the same time the most symbolic episodes of the struggle for Ukrainian statehood.
At the end of December 1917, Soviet Russia launched an open aggression against the Ukrainian People’s Republic, simultaneously creating a puppet “Ukrainian Red Government” in Kharkiv, which declared war on the independent part of Ukraine.
Against the background of a lack of regular forces, the defense of key railway junctions was held by small Ukrainian units.
In particular, the Bakhmach station was guarded by a detachment of the First Kyiv Youth School named after B. Khmelnytsky under the command of Captain Honcharenko.
On January 27, 1918, reinforcements arrived from Kyiv to the defenders – the first hundred student kuren, formed from volunteers: students of the Ukrainian National University, St. Volodymyr University, and high school students.
They took up positions near the Kruty station between Nizhyn and Bakhmach, preparing to receive a blow from a numerically superior enemy.
Already in the morning of January 29, the offensive began – a 4,000-strong Bolshevik detachment of Red Guards advanced against the Ukrainians.
According to the data provided in the material, there were up to 520 Ukrainian soldiers — young men and students — on the platform in Kruty, who had 16 machine guns and one cannon.
The enemy, who had artillery and an armored train, prevailed several times, but the Ukrainians managed to hold out until the evening and inflict significant losses.
After that, the main forces retreated in an organized manner to the echelons, retreating towards Kyiv and destroying tracks behind them in order to slow down the pursuit.
We will remind you what a holiday January 29 is.
Also, how Ukrainians will work and celebrate in January 2026.
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