Ukrainian Armed Forces in the context of "Russian people's militias in Ukraine"

The Battle of Kyiv was part of the Kyiv offensive in the Russian invasion of Ukraine for control of Kyiv, the capital city of Ukraine, and surrounding districts including Hostomel Airport. The combatants were elements of the Russian Armed Forces and Ukrainian Armed Forces. The battle lasted from 24 February 2022 to 2 April 2022 and ended with the withdrawal of Russian forces.

Initially, Russian forces captured key areas to the north and west of Kyiv, leading to international prediction of the city's imminent fall. However, stiff Ukrainian resistance sapped Russian momentum. Poor Russian logistics and tactical decisions helped the defenders to thwart efforts at encirclement, and, after a month of protracted fighting, Ukrainian forces began counterattacking.

Territorial defence battalions (Ukrainian: Батальйо́ни територіа́льної оборо́ни, romanized: Bataliony terytorialnoi oborony) were volunteer military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the auspices of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence in 2014–2015. They should not be confused with the volunteer units of Special Tasks Patrol Police of Ukraine created along with territorial defense battalions, but under the auspices of the Ministry of Interior. Together, they are both collectively known as the Ukrainian volunteer battalions. The battalions were established in mid-2014, during the early stages of the war in Donbas, to combat the pro-Russian separatists and the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic, and the United Armed Forces of Novorossiya. 32 volunteer territorial defence battalions were formed.

In autumn 2014, most of the territorial defence battalions were reorganized as motorized infantry battalions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In 2022, the Territorial Defense Forces were created as a successor of the old territorial defense battalions.

Sievierodonetsk Association "Azot" is a chemical producer based in Sievierodonetsk, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. It is the third largest producer of ammonia in the country and one of the largest in Europe; producing nitrogen fertilizers, methanol, acetic acid, vinyl acetate, and their derivatives; acetylene, formalin, catalysts, household chemicals, and other chemical products. The successor of the Lysychansk Nitrogen Fertilizer Plant built in 1934, "Azot" produced its first output of ammonium nitrate on 1 January 1951. Sometime after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the chemical plant was acquired by Ostchem Holding, part of Group DF run by Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash.

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, "Azot" became the last Ukrainian-held position in the Battle of Sievierodonetsk, having sheltered soldiers and civilians. It was heavily damaged during the battle, as the transport workshop of the plant was shelled, igniting fuel and lubricants.