Once and For All: 80 Years Since Soviet Troops Liberated Lugansk From Nazis

Donbass had been suffering under Nazi occupation for more than half a year, and yet Russian people knew that the enemy would be defeated, and the liberation of Lugansk on 18 February marked when the tide began to turn.

The battles between Soviet and German forces in the region were exhausting, and it took the Red Army until September 1943 to liberate Donbass. However, the people of Donetsk, Lugansk and other cities showed their resilience - just as the Donbass was to 70 years later, refusing to surrender to neo-Nazis and fighting until the region was reunited with Russia once more.

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Alexei Yeremenko, junior political officer of the 18th Army's 220th regiment, rousing his soldiers to join the attack at the village of Khorosheye near Lugansk. Yeremenko died in that very battle but this picture of him was to become one of the Second World War's most iconic images.

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Soviet artillery attack retreating German troops during the offensive in Donbass.

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Soviet troops defuse shells near Lugansk as part of the offensive in Donbass.

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Miners laying down a road for Soviet forces near Lugansk.

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Soviet troops redeploying after a successful offensive in Donbass.

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An artillery unit of the South-eastern Front holds a party meeting during a calm period between the battles.

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Paramon Kurkin, squadron commander of the 15th cossack militia division, and his son Mihkail Kurkin, who took part in the battle for Donbass.

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Troops of the Southern Front return to their unit after a scouting mission.

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People in the village of Donets greet soviet servicemen liberating the land from the Nazis, as the Red Army moves towards Kharkov.

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