This is a list article about

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

s that have been used in areas of

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

controlled by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

or pro-Russian forces during the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

Donetsk People's Republic

The flag of the

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...

is claimed by the separatist authorities to be based on the flag of

Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic The Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic or Donetsk–Kryvyi Rih Soviet Republic (russian: Донецко-Криворожская советская республика , translit = Donetsko-Krivorozhskaya sovyetskaya respublika, ) was a se ...

. However, there is no evidence of any such flag in 1918, and it is most likely based on '' Interdvizheniye Donbasa'', an organisation started at Donetsk University in August 1989. This flag is a variant of the

flags of Russia Russia has used various flags throughout its history. Flags of the Russian Federation State flag Presidential flags Military flags Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, for a brief time, many Soviet era flags were stil ...

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

; sporting its

Pan-Slavic colors The pan-Slavic colours (or colors) — red, blue and white — were defined by the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848, based on the flag of Russia, which was introduced in the late 17th century. The tricolor flag of Russia was itself inspired by the ...

. The black is commonly thought to represent

the Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

or the coal industry in the Donbas region. The blue is thought to represent water and red is freedom. However, there is no proof that such flag was used by the DKSR, which used the red flag as symbol. The original DPR flag also featured a coat of arms of the republic that said "''Donetsk Rus'''" (Донецкая Русь) in the centre. It was identical to the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk Republic political party, while also retaining the words "''Donetsk Republic''" (Донецкая Республика) in Russian. A more simplified white double-headed eagle variant was used more commonly by initial pro-Russian protesters since 7 April 2014 and then by separatists of the

Donbas People's Militia The Donetsk People's Militia and Luhansk People's Militia (formerly also called Russian separatist forces in Donbas) are pro-Russian paramilitaries in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, which have been fighting the Armed Forces of Ukraine i ...

. By October 2014, a second main flag which carried the words "''Donetsk People's Republic''" (Донецкая Народная Республика) was created with an updated doubled-headed eagle that looked less similar to the

Russian coat of arms The coat of arms of Russia derives from the earlier coat of arms of the Russian Empire which was abolished with the Russian Revolution in 1917. Though modified more than once since the reign of Ivan III (1462–1505), the current coat of arms ...

. This flag appeared to be more prominently used by the state, even appearing on ballot boxes during the 2014 Donbas general elections. After 2017, the current flag is adopted by the state and military forces, which is a simplified black, blue and red tricolor. File:Flag_of_the_Donetsk_Republic_(Organisation).svg, First flag of the

, based on the political party Donetsk Republic File:Variant Flag of the Donetsk Republic Organisation.svg, First flag variant displayed on 7 April 2014 File:Flag of the Donetsk People's Republic.svg, Alternative state flag variant between April – June 2014 File:Flag of the Donetsk People's Republic (2014-2018).svg, Second flag of the Donetsk People's Republic (October 2014 – 2017) File:Flag of Donetsk People's Republic.svg, Current flag of the Donetsk People's Republic Colors

Luhansk People's Republic

There have been several flags used to represent the

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

. The first flag featured a similar design to the flag used by the Donetsk People's Republic, the main differences being that the top stripe was light blue or azure, a color used in 1950–1992 flag of Ukraine during Soviet rule, instead of black, it featured a different coat of arms, and it contained the words ''"Lugansk Republic''" (Луганская Республика) in

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. The original shade of light blue used for the top stripe may have been inspired by the shade of blue used in the flag of the city of Luhansk. The second was adopted at some point in October 2014, with an abbreviation of the state's local name replacing the aforementioned text. On 2 November 2014 the Republic adopted a new flag that resembled the previous flags but lacked the coat of arms. File:Flag of rastyazhka-Luganskoj.svg, First flag of the

displayed on 9 May 2014 File:Flag of the Lugansk People's Republic.svg, Variant of the first flag of the Luhansk People's Republic, used mostly by the state before October 2014 File:Flag of the Lugansk People's Republic (Late 2014).svg, Second flag of the Luhansk People's Republic (October 2014 – 2017) File:Nouveau drapeau Lougansk.svg, Third flag of the Luhansk People's Republic (2017) File:Flag of the Lugansk People's Republic (Official).svg, Current flag of the Luhansk People's Republic Colors The colors of the flag of the Luhansk People's Republic are determined by the "Law on the State Flag of the Luhansk People's Republic".

Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast

Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast ( uk, Херсо́нська о́бласть, translit=Khersónsʹka óblastʹ, ), also known as Khersonshchyna ( uk, Херсо́нщина, ), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine, currently claimed and partly occupied ...

is an entity which

claims to be one of its federal subjects. At the signing of the agreement on the accession of the Kherson Oblast to Russia, signed by Russian President

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

and the Russian-installed head of the region

Vladimir Saldo Volodymyr Vasylovych Saldo (, ; born 12 June 1956) is a Russian and former Ukrainian politician serving as the head of the collaborationist Kherson military–civilian administration in Russian-occupied Ukraine since 26 April 2022. Early l ...

, the flag of the Kherson region was seen, but in the middle of white stripe, there is the 1803 coat of arms of

Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...

supported by golden oak branches and blue ribbons, and surmounted by the

Imperial Crown An Imperial Crown is a crown used for the coronation of emperors. Design Crowns in Europe during the Middle Ages varied in design: During the Middle Ages the crowns worn by English kings had been described as both closed (or arched) and op ...

. Flag of Kherson Oblast (Russia).svg, Flag of Russian-administered Kherson Oblast Coat of Arms of the Kherson Military-Civil Administration (30 Sept Rendition).svg, Coat of arms of Russian-administered Kherson Oblast Coat of Arms of the Kherson Military-Civil Administration.svg, Coat of arms used in Russian-administered Kherson Oblast until 30 September 2022

Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Zaporozhye Oblast is an entity which

claims to be one of its federal subjects. In the early months of the occupation, the coat of arms used by the occupational forces was originally a re-worded version of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Though on 25 May 2022, it was replaced by the 1811 coat of arms of Aleksandrovsk, which was previously adopted by the city of Zaporizhzhia in 2003, with the magenta color associated with Cossacks replaced with red due to "historical" reasons. At the signing of the agreement on the accession of the Zaporizhzhia Oblast to Russia, signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian-installed head of the region

Yevgeny Balitsky Yevgeny Vitalyevich Balitsky (russian: Евгений Витальевич Бали́цкий, uk, Євген Віталійович Балицький, translit= Yevhen Vitaliiovych Balytskyi; born 10 December 1969) is a Russian and Ukrainia ...

, the flag of the Zaporizhzhia region was presented as a bi-color field in green and red, and the 1811 coat of arms of Aleksandrovsk (

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zapor ...

at the time) in the middle. Flag of the Russian administered Zaporizhzhia Oblast.svg, Flag of Russian-administered Zaporizhzhia Oblast File:Coat of arms of Aleksandrovsk (1811).svg, Coat of arms of Russian-administered Zaporizhzhia Oblast File:Coat of Arms of the Zaporozhye Military-Civil Administration.svg, Coat of arms used in Russian-administered Zaporizhzhia Oblast until 25 May 2022

Historical separatist movements

Kharkov People's Republic

The Kharkov People's Republic (

: Харьковская Народная Республика) was a short-lived

self-proclaimed Self-proclaimed describes a legal title that is recognized by the declaring person but not necessarily by any recognized legal authority. It can be the status of a noble title or the status of a nation. The term is used informally for anyone declari ...

state in

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. It was declared by

separatist Separatism is the advocacy of cultural, ethnic, tribal, religious, racial, governmental or gender separation from the larger group. As with secession, separatism conventionally refers to full political separation. Groups simply seeking greate ...

s during the

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the Eastern Ukraine, eastern and Southern Ukraine, southern regions of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dig ...

. The separatists were led by Yevhen Zhylin. It was created on 7 April 2014 when pro-Russian protesters stormed government buildings in Kharkiv and declared the Kharkov People's Republic. It was dissolved when Ukrainian authorities regained control of Kharkiv several days later. File:Flag of the Kharkov People's Republic.svg, Unofficial flag of the Kharkov People's Republic File:Flag of Kharkov People's Republic.svg, Unofficial variant of the Kharkov People's Republic Flag of Russian occupied Kharkiv Oblast.svg, Flag used in Russian-occupied Kharkiv Oblast File:Coat of Arms of Russian Administration of Kharkov Oblast.svg, Coat of arms used in Russian-occupied Kharkiv Oblast

References

External links

{{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Military Flags of states with limited recognition Russian occupation of Ukraine