Violence on the Steppes; July 1919

With the announcement of the Directorate of Ukraine being disbanded and the establishment of the Ukrainian Constitution, a collaborative effort among the various factions of Ukraine to formulate a document by Ukrainians for Ukrainians, the first National Parliament of Ukraine was established and the first elections of the fledgling republic were announced. Efforts were made to help the illiterate vote with speeches, with the Electoral Department establishing a colour-based system of voting with each party being assigned a colour. Still though, only 81% of the votes were valid, with a 67% voter turnout.

The Centrist Party of Ukraine and the Social Democracy Party, Blue and Pink respectively, formed a coalition government after winning the lions share of the votes, bringing aboard the Socialist Party (Light Red) to secure a healthy 64% majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives, much to the annoyance of the Communist Party of Ukraine (Dark Red). On the other side, the Market-Liberals (Yellow) aligned with the Agrarian Alliance (Green) and the United Ukraine Party (Blue) forming the Conservative Coalition, but have sidelined the Nationalist Ukrainian Workers Union (Orange) due to their hyper-nationalistic, anti-socialist and irredentist sentiments.

With the election season over, the first parliament assembled with the Centrist-Socialist Coalition (as it is called) with Maksym Leonidovych Sereda as President and Stefan Olehovych Tretyak as Prime Minister. There, in a ceremonial gesture, the Ukrainian Military High Command assembled to swear fealty to the constitution and to the new administration, and for both Tretyak and Sereda to promise to preserve and uphold the constitution.

However, as the ceremonies were coming to a close, a sudden attack occured; Nestor Makhno and his Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine, called locally as the Makhnovtsi, suddenly seized the local police stations of Kyiv in a violent clash with police officers, and rapidly sent units to close in on the Parliament Building in the heart of Kyiv. The military hastily deployed to organise a corridor to allow the Ukrainian Government to rapidly flee the city as the military forces across the country were signaled to come to high alert. Similar uprisings across the country occurred, but aside from several towns and villages across the country including the city of Dnipropetrovsk, the Makhnovtsi failed to seize control of any other substantial territories.

Makhno surrounded the Parliament building and, seemingly not knowing that the Government was en route to Khakiv, announced the "genesis" of the "Free Territory", the establishment of the "Anarchist Defence Council" and the dissolution of the Ukrainian State. However when he launched his attack on the Parliament, he was surprised and shocked that the building was empty.

The Military, despite having the Government in their grasp, safely transported them to the new building in Khakiv and deployed a task force of their most equipped units to the city of Kyiv, surrounding the city and preventing Makhno's escape. The Government asserted their control over the Federal Republic of Ukraine and denounced Nestor Makhno and his "Cabal of Anarchistic Terrorists" as traitors. With military units rapidly closing in on the other anarchistic cells, and the Government remaining in authority, Makhno was delivered an ultimatum; surrender and face life imprisonment, or die.

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The besieged Anarchist forces occupying Kyiv have ignored the ultimatum provided by the Ukrainians. Many operations were organised by the military to try and evacuate civilians, and many civilians took those matters into their own hands leaving Kyiv a ghost town save for the Anarchist fighters. Fleeing civilians attested to atrocities committed against anyone who resisted Makhno's forced call to arms, and mass executions of anyone from wealthy aristocrats to paupers were held as a message to would-be government informants, or anti-Makhno resistance cells.

Early in the crisp July morning, the Ukrainian government green-lit the operation to retake the city, and artillery rained down from the Ukrainian army onto the Anarchist defenders. Makhno was declared a traitor, and a reward was announced to the first soldier who took his head to the general.

Known anarchist defences were shattered, and Makhnovtsi fled to shelter in historical and cultural sights that the Ukrainian Army was ordered not to shell. The artillery continued to thunder down as the Ukrainian infantry was ordered to rapidly advance on the defences. Only when the artillery was a metaphorical hairs breath from the infantry did it stop, and then the Ukrainians leapt into a sudden bayonet charge against the shellshocked Makhnovtsi fighters.

The outer defences were swiftly taken, but the victories became more bloody the further into the city the Government Forces advanced. Brutal and bloody house-to-house fighting was fought, and Makhnovtsi utilised the vast sewer network to outflank and harass Government troops and supply lines. Sniper duels were had in silent streets mere blocks away from violent clashes, and firefights were often exchanged from houses opposite streets. Furthermore, Ukrainians discovered the presence of mass graves left behind by the Makhnovtsi.

The conclusion was agreed upon by all parties; no quarter and no conditions were to be offered to the Makhnovtsi.

While casualties were high on both sides, the Government Forces managed to slowly but surely push the Makhnovtsi back towards the government quarter, where Makhnov was believed to be organising the defence. Attempts were made to make an ironclad cordon with troops, hopefully to ensure no escape for the anarchists. Makhnovtsi that were captured were officially ordered to be treated as any other POW, however soon the back alleys of Kyiv were adorned with the corpses of Anarchist corpses, hands sometimes bound, slumped against blood-stained walls.

After almost two weeks of brutal fighting the first Ukrainian soldiers came in sight of the new Parliament Building, damaged from shellfire and adorned with all manner of anarchist banners and graffiti. With a final push, the Ukrainian soldiers broke the last remnant of defenders and stormed the building, where fierce resistance was met. It took three days to finally wrest control of the building from the Anarchists, and all the defenders were arbitrarily executed. Mahkno was not among them, having seemingly fled the city under the Government's nose despite their best efforts.

The victory was pyrrhic; while the city was retaken, it was mauled by fighting; the buildings were littered with rubble, damage from shells, corpses and bullet holes. The streets ran red with blood from civilian casualties and the Makhnovtsi that were executed or killed, while the army units assigned to the operation had an average casualty rate of 19%, higher than the average of The Great War. Likewise, they had failed to cripple the Makhnovtsi, who were still at large harassing the countryside with their warped dreams of a blood-stained anarchist state.

Irrespective, the Government had rallied behind the Centrist-Socialist coalition, and as clean up operations were being held in the city, the Government returned and announced that they would unite against the Anarchist threat to preserve the dreams of a Ukrainian state.

Ukraine was not yet lost.