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Mala Tokmachka

Мала Токмачка
Mala Tokmachka Мала Токмачка
Village
	World War II monument in Mala Tokmachka
	Flag Coat of arms
	Coordinates: 47°31′58″N 35°53′49″E / 47.53278°N 35.89694°E
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Zaporizhzhia Oblast
Raion	Polohy Raion
Hromada	Mala Tokmachka rural hromada
Founded	1783
Area
• Total	8.04 km2 (3.10 sq mi)
Elevation	68 m (223 ft)
Population (2023)
• Total	200
• Density	25/km2 (64/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	70550
Area code	+380 6141
KOATUU code	2323982501
KATOTTH code	UA23100130010093963

Mala Tokmachka (Ukrainian: Мала Токмачка; Russian: Малая Токмачка, romanized: Malaya Tokmachka; both names literally meaning "Little Tokmak") is a village in Polohy Raion, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine, and the administrative center of Mala Tokmachka rural hromada. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the village has dropped significantly in population due to its proximity to the active frontline, with the land outside of the village remaining an active battleground during the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Geography

Mala Tokmachka is located on the Konka river that flows through Zaporizhzhia Oblast. It is located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from Orikhiv.^[3]

History

Mala Tokmachka was founded in 1783 under the Russian Empire on the site of a former Nogai settlement by migrants from Chernihiv Governorate, Poltava Governorate, and Kyiv Governorate. In 1802, Mala Tokmachka was assigned to Tavria Governorate, and in 1842, it specifically became part of Berdyansky Uyezd (county) within the governorate. By 1886, Mala Tokmachka had a population of 3,534 people, an Eastern Orthodox church, and a school.^[1]

During World War I and the Russian Civil War, the settlement changed hands between warring factions several times. As a result of the Holodomor, a manmade famine across the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic from 1932 to 1933, a documented 281 people in Mala Tokmachka died. During World War II, Mala Tokmachka was occupied by Nazi Germany between October 1941 and September 1943. There was a memorial installed in honor of the Red Army soldiers who died liberating the village and to the people from the village who died elsewhere on the frontline.^[1]

In late 2016, Mala Tokmachka became part of Mala Tokmachka rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine established in administrative reforms in the 2010s.^[1]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

At the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Mala Tokmachka became a frontline settlement during Russia's initial advance into the nation. The population would drop to only around 200 people by May 2023 due to the proximity of the fighting to the village and consistent Russian shelling which destroyed much of the local infrastructure and utilities.^[4] The settlement would remain as part of the minor Mala Tokmachka–Novofedorivka,^[5] Mala Tokmachka–Ocheretuvate,^[6] Mala Tokmachka–Polohy,^[7] and Kamianske–Mali Shcherbaky [uk]–Mala Tokmachka,^[8] frontlines until 7 June 2023, when Ukrainian forces would first attempt to push the fighting away from the settlement during the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive in the south.^[7] Armed with new western equipment,^[7] the initial attack by Ukraine's 47th Assault Brigade and 33rd Mechanized Brigade went poorly. A Ukrainian tank column came under anti-tank missile fire while attempting to cross a minefield outside of the village.^[9] The failed attack would result in up to 25 Ukrainian vehicles becoming damaged or destroyed, including at least one Leopard 2, which would result in a good deal of negative coverage about the effectiveness of the new counteroffensive among multiple news and social media outlets.^[9]^[10] The total number of vehicles lost would be lessened by the later retrieval and repair of some of the damaged vehicles.^[11]

Despite the original set-back, Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov would claim that Ukrainian forces had advanced up to 3 km (1.9 mi) near the settlement since beginning their counteroffensive on 15 June.^[12] A lack of a major breakthrough on this part of the frontline for Ukrainian forces would lead to largely positional fighting being taken up by late June.^[6] As of May 2024, fighting was still ongoing in Robotyne, southwest of Mala Tokmachka, with only relatively minor positional fighting occurring up to this point.

Economy

There is a brick factory in Mala Tokmachka.^[1]^[3]

Demographics

Population history
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1886	3,534^[1]	—
1970	4,406^[3]	+0.26%
2001	3,037^[1]	−1.19%
2016	3,005^[1]	−0.07%
2023	200^[4]	−32.10%

As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, Mala Tokmachka had a population of 3,037 people. By 2016, the number had slightly dropped to 3,005. The population is mostly ethnic Ukrainians.^[1]

Notable people

Ivan Proskurov (1907–1941), Soviet pilot^[1]
Serhiy Kulynych (born 1995), Ukrainian footballer

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j Малахатка, А. М. (1 February 2017). "Мала Токмачка". Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Vol. 18. Інститут енциклопедичних досліджень НАН України. ISBN 978-966-02-2074-4.
^ "Малотокмачанська територіальна громада" [Mala Tokmachka rural hromada] (in Ukrainian). Decentralisation in Ukraine. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Мала Токмачка, Оріхівський район, Запорізька область". Історія міст і сіл Української РСР (in Ukrainian).
^ ^a ^b Walsh, Nick Paton; Gallón, Natalie; Gak, Kosta; Rudden, Peter (9 May 2023). "Russian forces lash out indiscriminately as Ukraine increases military pressure on frontline towns". CNN. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
^ Hird, Karolina; Bailey, Riley; Mappes, Grace; Evans, Angelica; Clark, Mason (23 June 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 23, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 8 August 2023. Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast on June 23. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian troops had partial success on […] the Mala Tokmachka-Novofedorivka line
^ ^a ^b Bailey, Riley; Mappes, Grace; Stepanenko, Kateryna; Evans, Angelica; Barros, George; Kagan, Frederick W. (30 June 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 30, 2023". Retrieved 8 August 2023. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces achieved partial success along the Mala Tokmachka-Ocheretuvate line […] and consolidated on newly reached lines. […] Russian milbloggers claimed that […] there are mainly positional battles along this sector of the front.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hird, Karolina; Barros, George; Mappes, Grace; Wolkov, Nicole; Clark, Mason; Kagan, Frederick W. (8 June 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 8, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 8 August 2023. Russian sources began reporting late at night on June 7 that elements of Ukrainian brigades that have recently been equipped with Western kit launched an attack southwest of Orikhiv in western Zaporizhia Oblast. Several Russian milbloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked along the Mala Tokmachka-Polohy line with the aim of breaking through the Russian defensive line
^ Hird, Karolina; Bailey, Riley; Stepanenko, Kateryna; Philipson, Layne; Mappes, Grace; Kagan, Frederick W. (25 January 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 25, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 8 August 2023. Russian forces have re-initiated offensive operations […] along [the] Kamianske-Mali Shcherbaky-Mala Tokmachka line. […] Ukrainian officials have noted that these attacks are conducted by small squad-sized assault groups of 10 to 15 people and are aimed at dispersing Ukrainian defensive lines.
^ ^a ^b Axe, David (27 June 2023). "25 Tanks And Fighting Vehicles, Gone In A Blink: The Ukrainian Defeat Near Mala Tokmachka Was Worse Than We Thought". Columbia, South Carolina: Forbes. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
^ Beaumont, Peter; Wintour, Patrick (14 June 2023). "Ukraine's failed Mala Tokmachka assault lays bare counteroffensive challenges". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
^ Axe, David (29 July 2023). "Ukrainian Tank Losses Diminish As Polish Technicians Save More And More Damaged Leopard 2s". Columbia, South Carolina: Forbes. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
^ Hird, Karolina; Bailey, Riley; Mappes, Grace; Clark, Mason (15 June 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 15, 2023". Institute for the Study of War. Retrieved 8 August 2023. Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the Ukrainian General Staff Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov reported that Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 3km near Mala Tokmachka