Davydiv Brid ( ; ) is a village in

Beryslav Raion Beryslav Raion () is one of the five administrative raions (a ''district'') of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine. Its administrative center is located in the city of Beryslav. Its population was 55,976 as of the 2001 Ukrainian Census. Current ...

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...

, southern

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, about northeast of the centre of

Kherson Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...

city. It belongs to the Velyka Oleksandrivka settlement hromada, one of the

hromadas In Ukraine, a hromada () is the main type of municipality and the third level local self-government in Ukraine. The current hromadas were established by the Government of Ukraine on 12 June 2020. A municipality is designated ''urban hromada' ...

of Ukraine. The village lies besides the

Inhulets The Inhulets () or Ingulets () is a river, a right tributary of the Dnieper, that flows through Ukraine. It has a length of and a drainage basin of . The Inhulets has its source in the Dnieper Upland in a ravine (balka) to the west of Topylo ...

river. The border of Kherson Oblast with

Mykolaiv Oblast Mykolaiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Mykolaivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Mykolaiv. At the most recent estimate, the population ...

runs on the north-west side of the village. On March 12–13, 2022, the village was captured by Russian forces during the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

. It was later the center of fighting in May and June, being captured by Ukrainian forces by 31 May but retaken by Russian forces on 17 June. The village was ultimately retaken by Ukrainian forces of the 35th Marine Brigade on 4 October, during the 2022 Ukrainian southern counteroffensive.

History

During the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, Davydiv Brid was the administrative center of the Davydobrodska Volost, one of the volosts of Khersonskiy Uyezd. In 1886, the village had a population of 683.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Davydiv Brid was captured on March 12–13, 2022 by Russian forces during the

. On the afternoon of 27 May, Ukraine launched a counterattack in Kherson Oblast near Davydiv Brid. Ukrainian formations, with the support of American-made

M777 howitzer The M777 howitzer is a British towed 155 mm artillery piece in the howitzer class. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, Colombia, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and the United States. It was first used in combat during the Wa ...

s, crossed the

River during the night of 27–28 May around Davydiv Brid, 50 miles northeast of Kherson. The Russians retreated from Davydiv Brid to three towns a few miles southwest. The following day new reports confirmed that Ukrainian forces carried out a successful limited counterattack, forcing Russian forces on the defensive. This Ukrainian counterattack was probably aimed at disrupting Russia's efforts to establish strong defensive positions along the southern axis and to further slow Russia's efforts to consolidate administrative control over occupied southern Ukraine. On 31 May, satellite imagery showed that Russian troops had withdrawn from Davydiv Brid and set up positions at locations around the town in the previous few days. It was not clear at the time whether Ukrainian troops had entered the town or had positions near Andriivka and Bilohirka. However, in the evening of the same day, the fighting between the Russian and Ukrainian forces escalated. On the night between May 31 and 1 June, Ukrainian sources announced that Ukrainian forces had captured the town of Davydiv Brid. Fierce battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces for Davydiv Brid continued in the first half of June with neither side able to assume full control. Artillery strikes became commonplace on both sides. On 6 June, Russian sources reported the Ukrainian bridgehead at Davydiv Brid had been destroyed and Ukrainian forces pushed back over the Inhulets River, which was confirmed by the

Institute for the Study of War The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is an American nonprofit research group and advocacy think tank founded in 2007 by military historian Kimberly Kagan and headquartered in Washington, D.C. ISW provides research and analysis of modern arm ...

(ISW) two weeks later, affirming Russian forces had retaken the eastern bank of the river. On 13 June, Ukrainian forces were still reported to be engaged in heavy fighting with Russian forces near Davydiv Brid. Ukrainian commanders claimed their forces gradually forced Russian troops back and were testing their second and third lines of defense. Artillery duels over the river continued between 17 and 21 June, with the ISW reporting Russian forces had pushed back Ukrainian troops sometime before 17 June. Still, on 5 July, ISW reported that Ukrainian forces retained control of some territory in the area, although precise boundaries were unclear. From the end of August, Ukrainian forces again pushed towards Davydiv Brid during a counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast. From 2 to 3 October, Ukrainian forces attacked the town, but were repelled twice. Still, by 4 October, Russian forces withdrew and the town was captured by Ukrainian forces of the 35th Marine Brigade.

Demographics

According to the

2001 Ukrainian Census The 2001 Ukrainian census is to date the only census of the population of independent Ukraine. It was conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989.Villages in Beryslav Raion