KYIV – Ukraine commemorated Donetsk Airport Remembrance Day on January 16 and honored the soldiers who – outnumbered, and for eight months – withstood superior Russian-led forces in the Donbas War.
Known as the second battle of the now-destroyed airport – named after Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev – the siege lasted 242 days from May 26, 2014, to January 20, 2015.
Despite dogged efforts to defend the strategic site’s two terminals, including the Ukrainian air traffic control tower atop which steadfastly stood a Ukrainian flag, the airport soon became a symbol of Ukraine’s struggle to defend itself amid Russia’s unprovoked aggression.