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BATTLE // January 1, 1918

Battle of Kyiv

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Overview

The Battle of Kiev of February 1918 was a Bolshevik military operation of Petrograd and Moscow Red Guard formations directed to capture the capital of Ukraine. The operation was led by Red Guards commander Mikhail Artemyevich Muravyov as part of the Soviet expeditionary force against Kaledin and the Central Council of Ukraine. The storming of Kiev took place during the ongoing peace negotiations at Brest-Litovsk on 5–8 February 1918. The operation resulted in the occupation of the city by Bolshevik troops on 9 February and the evacuation of the Ukrainian government to Zhytomyr.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Forces & casualties

Troop strength

  • Ukrainian People's Republic2,000
    medium
  • Russian SFSR7,000
    medium

Russian SFSR fielded a 3.5 : 1 numerical advantage

Casualties

  • Ukrainian People's Republic1,286
    medium64% loss rate

Commanders (2)

Russian SFSR

Ukrainian People's Republic

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6 sibling battles · 4 factions

Last verified May 2026
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