War In Donbas (2014–2022)
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The War in Donbas, russian: Война на Донбассе was an armed conflict in the Donbas region 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 ...
, part of the broader
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 ...
. In March 2014, immediately following the Euromaidan protest movement and subsequent
Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,
, protests by pro-Russian, anti-government separatist groups arose in the
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...
and
Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...
oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...
s of Ukraine, collectively called the Donbas. These demonstrations began around the same time as Russia's annexation of Crimea, and were part of wider pro-Russian protests across southern and eastern Ukraine. Declaring the
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...
and
Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...
People's Republics (DPR and LPR, respectively), armed Russian-backed separatist groups seized government buildings throughout the Donbas, leading to armed conflict with Ukrainian government forces. Ukraine launched a military counter-offensive against pro-Russian forces in April 2014, called the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (ATO) from 2014 until it was renamed the "Joint Forces Operation" (JFO) in 2018. By late August 2014, this operation vastly shrank the territory under the control of pro-Russian forces and came close to regaining control of the
Russia–Ukraine border The Russia–Ukraine border is the international state border between the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Over land, the border outlines five oblasts (regions) of Ukraine and five oblasts of the Russian Federation. The modern border issue has be ...
. In response, Russian artillery, personnel, and what Russia called a "humanitarian convoy" crossed the border. Russian crossings reportedly occurred both in areas that were controlled by pro-Russian forces and those that were not, such as the south-eastern part of Donetsk Oblast, near
Novoazovsk Novoazovsk (, ; rus, Новоазовск}) is a border town on the south-eastern tip of Ukraine (near the border with Russia), The
Head of the Security Service of Ukraine The Head of the Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Голова Служби безпеки України) serves as the director of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the internal security agency of the Ukrainian government. The head of the Se ...
,
Valentyn Nalyvaichenko Valentyn Oleksandrovych Nalyvaichenko ( uk, Валенти́н Олекса́ндрович Налива́йченко; born 8 June 1966; Zaporizhia) is a Ukrainian diplomat and politician. On 24 February 2014, the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parl ...
, called the events of 22 August a "direct invasion by Russia of Ukraine", while other Western and Ukrainian officials called it a Russian "stealth invasion". Russia's official position on the presence of Russian forces in the Donbas has been vague; official bodies have denied the presence of armed forces in Ukraine, though some have confirmed the presence of "military specialists", accompanied by the argument that Russia "was forced" to deploy them to "defend the Russian-speaking population." As a result of the incursion by the Russian military in August, pro-Russian forces regained much of the territory they had lost during the Ukrainian government's preceding
military offensive An offensive is a military operation that seeks through an aggressive projection of armed forces to occupy territory, gain an objective or achieve some larger strategic, operational, or tactical goal. Another term for an offensive often used b ...
. Ukraine, Russia, the DPR and the LPR signed a ceasefire agreement, the
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
, on 5 September 2014. Violations of the ceasefire on both sides became common. Amidst the solidification of the line between insurgent and government-controlled territory during the ceasefire,
warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
s took control of swaths of land on the insurgent side, leading to further destabilisation. The ceasefire collapsed in January 2015, with renewed heavy fighting across the conflict zone, including at
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
and at
Debaltseve Debaltseve or Debaltsevo ( uk, Деба́льцеве ''Debálʼtseve'', ; russian: Деба́льцево ''Debálʼtsevo'') is a city of regional significance in the ''de facto'' Donetsk People's Republic; ''de jure'' Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. T ...
. Involved parties agreed to a new ceasefire, called
Minsk II The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, know ...
, on 12 February 2015. Immediately following the signing of the agreement, separatist forces launched an offensive on Debaltseve and forced Ukrainian forces to withdraw from it. In the months after the fall of Debaltseve, minor skirmishes continued along the line of contact, but no territorial changes occurred. Both sides began fortifying their position by building networks of
trenches A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from erosi ...
, bunkers and
tunnels A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A Pipeline transport, pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used ...
, turning the conflict into static
trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became ar ...
. The stalemate led to the war being labelled a "
frozen conflict In international relations, a frozen conflict is a situation in which active armed conflict has been brought to an end, but no peace treaty or other political framework resolves the conflict to the satisfaction of the combatants. Therefore, lega ...
". Despite this, the area remained a war zone, with dozens of soldiers and civilians killed each month. In 2017, on average one Ukrainian soldier died in combat every three days, with an estimated 6,000 Russian and 40,000 separatist troops in the region. By the end of 2017, the
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
observatory mission had counted around 30,000 individuals in military gear crossing from Russia to the Donbas at the two border checkpoints it was allowed to
monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, West ...
, out of the eleven total checkpoints on the border between Russia and DPR/LPR-controlled territory. The OSCE has also documented many cases of military convoys crossing from Russia into the occupied Donbas on dirt roads, away from official border crossings and usually at night. Aleksandr Borodai, former Prime Minister of the DPR (and himself a Russian citizen), stated that "50,000 Russian volunteers" had fought in the Donbas by August 2015, contending that Russia should grant them the same benefits as its other war veterans. Since the start of the conflict there have been 29
ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
s, each intended to remain in force indefinitely, but none of them have stopped the violence. The most successful attempt to halt the fighting was in 2016, when a ceasefire was held for six weeks. Ukraine, Russia, the DPR, the LPR and the OSCE agreed to a roadmap for ending the conflict on 1 October 2019. However, the conflict remained unresolved. On 27 July 2020, the latest ceasefire came into force, which led to no Ukrainian combat losses for more than a month. According to Ukrainian authorities, from 27 July until 7 November 2020, only 3 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and the number of attacks dropped five-fold. 2021 saw a large rise in Ukrainian fatalities and a large build-up of Russian forces near the border with Ukraine from late March to early April 2021 and from late October 2021 and onwards. Russia officially recognized the DPR and LPR as independent states on 21 February 2022 and deployed troops to those territories. The next day, Russia declared the Minsk agreements to be no longer valid, and on 24 February, Russian forces began a large-scale invasion of Ukraine.


Background

Despite being recognized as an independent country since 1991, as a former USSR constituent republic, Ukraine was perceived by the leadership of Russia as part of its
sphere of influence In the field of international relations, a sphere of influence (SOI) is a spatial region or concept division over which a state or organization has a level of cultural, economic, military or political exclusivity. While there may be a formal a ...
. In a 2002 paper
Taras Kuzio Taras Kuzio (born 1958) is a British academic and expert in Ukrainian political, economic and security affairs. He is Professor of Political Science at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( Kyiv, Ukraine). Education Taras Kuzio received a ...
stated "While accepting Ukrainian independence, Putin has sought to draw Ukraine into a closer relationship. This approach has been acceptable to eastern Ukrainian oligarchs, who do not harbour anti-Russian feelings and see it as perfectly natural to cooperate closely with Russia on foreign policy issues. In the 1998-2002 parliament, this translated into the creation of an inter-faction group entitled ‘To Europe with Russia’. In 2008, 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 ...
spoke out against Ukraine's membership in
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
. In 2011
Taras Kuzio Taras Kuzio (born 1958) is a British academic and expert in Ukrainian political, economic and security affairs. He is Professor of Political Science at National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy ( Kyiv, Ukraine). Education Taras Kuzio received a ...
stated "The traditional Soviet policy of dividing eastern against western Ukrainians, then "bourgeois nationalists" and now "crazy Galicians," remains in place. This tactic was deliberately employed by the Yanukovych administration is promoting a strategy of regional divide-and-rule through polarization, using May 9-style provocations, to maintain its eastern Ukrainian electorate permanently mobilized. the Party of Regions has integrated left-populist paternalistic state capitalism and is perceived as supporting oligarchs. Yanukovych administration and the Party of Regions signed cooperation agreements with Vladimir Putin's Unified Russia party, the Chinese Communist Party and the Socialist group in the European Parliament" In Feb 2014 analysts stated that Russia is able to: *Control gas shipments to Ukraine, (in the past few years, it has twice turned off the flow of gas to the country to force the hands of Ukrainian leaders); *Manipulate the price of gas to Ukraine’s fiscal disadvantage; *Arbitrarily impose trade restrictions on Ukrainian exports; *Flood Ukraine with television propaganda highlighting alleged Western interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs and the threat of fascism; *Infiltrate Ukrainian security forces to stage provocations that would discredit the opposition (there have been persistent but unsubstantiated reports of Russian special forces being involved in kidnappings, beatings, and even sniping against the Ukrainian opposition); *Stir up secessionist sentiment in ethnic Russian areas such as Crimea and Donetsk. And that by all signs, the Kremlin also maintains a tight hold on Yanukovych. While the initial protests were largely native expressions of discontent with the new Ukrainian government, Russia took advantage of them to launch a coordinated political and military campaign against Ukraine. Russian citizens led the separatist movement in Donetsk from April until August 2014, and were supported by volunteers and
materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...
from Russia.Strelkov/Girkin Demoted, Transnistrian Siloviki Strengthened in 'Donetsk People's Republic'
Vladimir Socor Vladimir Socor (born 3 August 1945 in BucharestVladimir Socor - Curriculum Vitae
...
,
Jamestown Foundation The Jamestown Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative defense policy think tank. Founded in 1984 as a platform to support Soviet defectors, its stated mission today is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends, which ...
, 15 August 2014 As the conflict escalated in May 2014, Russia employed a "
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
approach", deploying a combination of disinformation, irregular fighters, regular Russian troops, and conventional military support to destabilize the Donbas.


Donetsk Oblast

Attempts to seize the Donetsk regional state administration (RSA) building began after pro-Russian protests erupted in the
eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...
and southern regions of Ukraine, in the wake of the
Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,
. Pro-Russian protesters occupied the Donetsk RSA from 1 to 6 March 2014, before being removed by the
Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...
(SBU). On 6 April, 1,000–2,000 people gathered at a rally in Donetsk to demand a status
referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
similar to the one held in Crimea in March. The demonstrators stormed the RSA building, and took control of its first two floors. They said that if an extraordinary legislative session was not held by regional officials to implement a status referendum, they would take control of the regional government with a "people's mandate", and dismiss all elected regional councillors and members of parliament. As these demands were not met, the activists held a meeting in the RSA building, and voted in favour of independence from Ukraine. They proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) on 7 April 2014.Ukraine crisis: Protesters declare Donetsk 'republic'
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
(7 April 2014)


Luhansk Oblast

Unrest in Luhansk Oblast began on 6 April, when approximately 1,000 activists seized and occupied the SBU building in the city of
Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...
, following similar occupations in the cities of
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...
and
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. Protesters barricaded the building, and demanded that all arrested separatist leaders be released. Police were able to retake control of the building, but the demonstrators regathered for a 'people's assembly' outside the building and called for a 'people's government', demanding either federalisation or incorporation into the
Russian Federation 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 ...
. At this assembly, they elected
Valery Bolotov Valery Dmitrievitch Bolotov ( rus, Вале́рий Дми́триевич Бо́лотов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbolətəf; uk, Вале́рій Дми́трович Бо́лотов; 13 February 1970 – 27 January 20 ...
to the position of "People's Governor". Two referendums were announced, one on 11 May to determine whether the region should seek some form of autonomy, and a second scheduled for 18 May to determine whether the region should join the Russian Federation, or declare independence. 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 ...
(LPR) was declared on 27 April. Representatives of the Republic demanded that the Ukrainian government provide amnesty for all protesters, enshrine Russian as an official language, and hold a referendum on the status of the region. They issued an ultimatum that stated that if Kyiv did not meet their demands by 14:00 on 29 April, they would launch an insurgency in tandem with that of the Donetsk People's Republic.


History of the proxy war


April 2014: conflict begins

On 12 April, unmarked pro-Russian militants led by
Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...
seized the
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...
city office of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
and two other police offices in the oblast, although they were repelled after an assault on the general prosecutor's office and failed to take a police office in the city of
Shakhtarsk Shakhtarsk (, ) or Shakhtyorsk (russian: Шахтёрск) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Regionally, the city is an administrative urban enclave also consisting of cities Torez and Snizhne and surrounded by Shakhtarsk Raion. It serves ...
. Following negotiations between the militants and those in the building, the chief of the office resigned from his post. Officers from the Berkut special police force, which had been dissolved by the government following the February revolution, took part in the seizure on the separatists' side. After gaining control of the Donetsk RSA and declaring the Donetsk People's Republic, pro-Russian groups vowed to fan out and take control of strategic infrastructure across Donetsk Oblast, and demanded that public officials who wished to continue their work swear allegiance to the Republic. By 14 April, pro-Russian militants led by former
GRU The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...
operatives Igor Girkin and Igor Bezler had taken control of government buildings in many other cities within the
oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdom of ...
, including
Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...
,
Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast ( Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russia ...
,
Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...
,
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...
,
Yenakiieve Yenakiieve ( uk, Єна́кієве, ''Yenákiieve'', ; russian: Ена́киево, ''Yenákiyevo'') is a city in the Donetsk Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. It is incorporated as a city of oblast significance (a special status within t ...
,
Makiivka Makiivka ( uk, Макіївка, Makíyivka, ; russian: Макеевка, Makeyevka, ), formerly Dmytriivsk, is an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Located from the capital Donetsk, the two cities are practically a conurbati ...
,
Druzhkivka Druzhkivka ( uk, Дружківка, ; russian: Дружковка, Druzhkovka) is a City of regional significance (Ukraine), city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. Population: ; 64,557 (2001). The area of the ...
, and
Zhdanivka Zhdanivka or Zhdanovka (, ; ) is a city of regional significance in the ''de facto'' Donetsk People's Republic; ''de jure'' Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city has a population of History Starting Mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists cap ...
. Following this seizure of the Donetsk RSA, the militants began to expand their control across the city. The municipal administration building was stormed and occupied by the insurgents on 16 April. Further actions by the separatists resulted in the capture of the offices of the regional state television network on 27 April. After capturing the broadcasting centre, the militants began to broadcast Russian television channels. On 4 May, the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic was raised over the police headquarters in Donetsk city proper. A number of interviews given in 2019–2020 by participants on the Russian side (including Girkin, Bezler, Gubarev and others) revealed that the initial idea to take control of Donbas towns was passed on to Donetsk "People's Governor"
Pavel Gubarev Pavel Yuryevich Gubarev (russian: Па́вел Ю́рьевич Гу́барев, ; or Pavlo Yuriyovych Hubariev uk, Павло Юрійович Губарєв; born 10 February 1983) is a Russian activist who proclaimed himself the "People's ...
by
Sergey Glazyev Sergey Yurievich Glazyev (russian: Серге́й Юрьевич Глазьев) (born January 1, 1961, in Zaporozhye, Ukrainian SSR, USSR) is a Russian politician and economist, member of the National Financial Council of the Bank of Russia, ...
, an advisor to 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 ...
at that time. Gubarev's team met Girkin's as it entered Ukraine from Russia, and the original plan was to capture
Shakhtarsk Shakhtarsk (, ) or Shakhtyorsk (russian: Шахтёрск) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Regionally, the city is an administrative urban enclave also consisting of cities Torez and Snizhne and surrounded by Shakhtarsk Raion. It serves ...
first, as it was much closer to both the Russo-Ukrainian border and the Russian military base in
Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...
. The decision to attack Sloviansk instead was made after Girkin's group crossed the border, supposedly due to the presence of a larger group of pro-Russian activists ready to support their cause in the town. Military and financial support for the group was provided by
Sergey Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (russian: Сергей Валерьевич Аксёнов, uk, Сергій Валерійович Аксьонов, ro, Serghei Valerievici Aksionov; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving, since ...
and
Konstantin Malofeev Konstantin Valeryevich Malofeev (russian: link=no, Константин Валерьевич Малофеев) is a Russian businessman and chairman of non-government pro-monarchism organisation Society for the Development of Russian Historical ...
. '' Novaya Gazeta'' summarised the situation as "a group of poorly prepared mercenaries turning a whole region into a bloodbath" and concluded that Russia "will bear moral and political responsibility for its civilian casualties as long as its participants are not taken to court." In response to the widening unrest, the acting Ukrainian President,
Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov ( uk, Олександр Валентинович Турчинов; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National S ...
, vowed to launch an "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (ATO) against separatist movements in Donetsk Oblast. The Minister of Internal Affairs,
Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...
, said on 9 April that the unrest in Donetsk Oblast would be resolved within 48 hours, either through negotiations or the use of force. President Oleksandr Turchynov signed a decree to retake the Donetsk RSA building, and place it "under state protection", and offered amnesty to the demonstrators if they laid down their arms.


Expansion of separatist territorial control


Sloviansk

A group of masked pro-Russian militants under the command of retired FSB officer
Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...
took control of the city administration building, police offices, and SBU building in
Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...
, a city in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast, on 12 April. After militants took over the city, Sloviansk mayor
Nelya Shtepa Nelya Ihorivna Shtepa ( uk, Неля Ігорівна Штепа; russian: Не́ля И́горевна Ште́па, ''Nelia Igorevna Shtepa'') is a Ukrainian politician. She was mayor of Sloviansk from 2010 until 2014, when Russian paramil ...
briefly appeared at an occupied police station, and expressed support for the militants. Others gathered outside the building and similarly voiced their support for the militants. They told Ukrainian journalists who were reporting on the situation to "go back to
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...
". Nelya Shtepa was later detained by the insurgents, and replaced by the self-proclaimed "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomarev. The militants gained control of the city's police weapons cache and seized hundreds of firearms, which prompted the Ukrainian government to launch a "counter-terrorism" operation to retake the city. This government counter-offensive began on the morning of 13 April. An entrenched standoff between pro-Russian forces and the
Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...
ensued, marking the start of combat in the Donbas. The city remained under siege until 5 July, when Ukrainian forces recaptured it, with an estimated 15,000–20,000 people displaced by the fighting. Mayor Shtepa was arrested on 11 July 2014 for allegedly colluding with pro-Russian forces. Shortly after taking control over Sloviansk, Girkin's group executed a member of town council,
Volodymyr Ivanovych Rybak Volodymyr Rybak (30 November 1971 – c. 17 April 2014) was a Ukrainian politician, representative of the Horlivka city council, kidnapped and then murdered by the pro-Russian militia on 17 April 2014. It was one of the first war crimes alleged ...
, as well as four other citizens of Ukraine, including 25-year-old Yuri Dyakovsky and an unnamed 19-year-old man. Girkin took responsibility for these executions in 2020, even though in the preceding years he and other pro-Russian militants had claimed Rybak had been released from custody.


Kramatorsk

In
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...
, a city in northern Donetsk Oblast, separatists attacked a police station on 12 April, resulting in a shootout. The fighters, members 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 ...
, later captured the police station. They removed the police station's sign and raised the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic over the building. They then issued an ultimatum that stated that if the city's mayor and administration did not swear allegiance to the Republic by the following Monday, they would remove them from office. Concurrently, a crowd of demonstrators surrounded the city administration building, captured it, and raised the Donetsk People's Republic flag over it. A representative of the Republic addressed locals outside the occupied police station, but was received negatively and booed. After a government counter-offensive as part of the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" in Donetsk Oblast on 2–3 May, the insurgents were routed from Kramatorsk's occupied SBU building. Despite this, Ukrainian troops quickly withdrew from the city for unknown reasons, and the separatists quickly regained control. Sporadic fighting continued until 5 July, when the insurgents withdrew from Kramatorsk.


Horlivka

Militants attempted to seize the police headquarters in
Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...
on 12 April, but were halted. ''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...
'' reported that police said that the purpose of the attempted seizure was to gain access to a weapons cache. They said that they would use force if needed to defend the building from "criminals and terrorists". By 14 April militants had captured the building after a tense standoff with the police. Some members of the local police unit had defected to the Donetsk People's Republic earlier in the day, whilst the remaining officers were forced to retreat, allowing the insurgents to take control of the building. The local chief of police was captured and badly beaten by the insurgents. A Horlivka city council deputy, Volodymyr Rybak, was kidnapped by masked men believed to be pro-Russian militants on 17 April. His body was later found in a river in occupied Sloviansk on 22 April. The city administration building was seized on 30 April, solidifying separatist control over Horlivka. Self-proclaimed mayor of Horlivka Volodymyr Kolosniuk was arrested by the SBU on suspicion of participation in "terrorist activities" on 2 July.


Mariupol

Donetsk People's Republic activists took control of the city administration building in Mariupol on 13 April.Голос Севастополя (Voice of Sevastopol)
''Мариуполь поднялся против хунты. Захвачен городской совет, возводятся баррикады ariupol rose against the junta. Captured the city council and erected barricades', 13 April 2014. The Ukrainian government claimed to have liberated the building on 24 April, but this was denied by locals interviewed by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
near the building. Clashes between government forces and pro-Russian groups escalated in early May when the city administration building was briefly retaken by the
Ukrainian National Guard The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; uk, Націона́льна гва́рдія Украї́ни, Natsionalna hvardiia Ukrainy, , ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal A ...
. The pro-Russian forces quickly took the building back. Militants then launched an attack on a local police station, leading the Ukrainian government to send in military forces. Skirmishes between the troops and local demonstrators caused the city administration building to be set on fire. Government forces were unsuccessful in forcing out the pro-Russians, and only further inflamed tensions in Mariupol. On 16 May,
Metinvest Metinvest is an international group of steel and mining companies that owns operations in Ukraine, Italy, Bulgaria, the UK and the US, mines ore and coal, produces coke, smelts steel and produces rolled products, pipes and other steel products. T ...
steelworkers, along with local police and security forces, routed the insurgents from the city administration and other occupied government buildings in the city. Most insurgents left the city, and the few who remained were said to be unarmed. Despite this, the headquarters of the Donetsk People's Republic remained untouched, and pro-Russian demonstrators could still be seen outside the burnt city administration. Ukrainian troops gained control of the city on 13 June with assistance from the National Guard. The headquarters of the DPR was captured, and Mariupol was declared the provisional capital of Donetsk Oblast, instead of Donetsk city, which was occupied by separatists.


Other cities

Many smaller cities across the Donbas fell to the separatists. In Artemivsk on 12 April, separatists failed to capture the local Ministry of Internal Affairs office, but instead captured the city administration building and raised the DPR flag over it. The city administration buildings in
Yenakiieve Yenakiieve ( uk, Єна́кієве, ''Yenákiieve'', ; russian: Ена́киево, ''Yenákiyevo'') is a city in the Donetsk Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine. It is incorporated as a city of oblast significance (a special status within t ...
and
Druzhkivka Druzhkivka ( uk, Дружківка, ; russian: Дружковка, Druzhkovka) is a City of regional significance (Ukraine), city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. Population: ; 64,557 (2001). The area of the ...
were also captured.Ukrainska Pravda
''З Єнакієва зникли сепаратисти, які блокували міськраду he separatists that blocked Yenakiyevo city council have disappeared', 20 April 2014. Police repelled an attack by pro-Russian militants upon an office of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...
in Krasnyi Lyman on 12 April, but the building was later captured by the separatists after a skirmish. Insurgents affiliated with the Donbas People's Militia occupied a regional administration building in Khartsyzk on 13 April, followed by a local administration building in
Zhdanivka Zhdanivka or Zhdanovka (, ; ) is a city of regional significance in the ''de facto'' Donetsk People's Republic; ''de jure'' Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city has a population of History Starting Mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists cap ...
on 14 April. Demonstrators hoisted the DPR flag over the city administration buildings in
Krasnoarmiisk Pokrovsk ( uk, Покровськ, ; russian: Покровск; until 2016: Krasnoarmiisk uk, Красноармі́йськ, russian: Красноармейск; until 1938: Grishino russian: Гришино; uk, Гришине, translit. ''H ...
and
Novoazovsk Novoazovsk (, ; rus, Новоазовск}) is a border town on the south-eastern tip of Ukraine (near the border with Russia),Siversk Siversk ( uk, Сі́верськ, ; rus, Се́верск, r=Seversk; until 1973: Yama ́ма; Я́ма is a city in Bakhmut Raion of Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine situated 99 km north of Donetsk. Population: ; 12,608 (2010). ...
was similarly captured on 18 April. Following the takeover, local police announced that they would co-operate with the activists. On 20 April, separatists in Yenakiieve left the city administration building there, which they had occupied since 13 April. Despite this, by 27 May the city was still not under Ukrainian government control. On 22 April pro-Russian demonstrators in
Kostiantynivka Kostiantynivka ( uk, Костянтинівка, ; russian: Константиновка) is an industrial city in the Donetsk Oblast (province) of eastern Ukraine, on the river. Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast signifi ...
burned down the offices of a newspaper that had been critical of the DPR. 70 to 100 insurgents armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers attacked an armoury in Artemivsk on 24 April. The depot housed around 30
tanks A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...
. Ukrainian troops attempted to fight off the insurgents, but were forced to retreat after many men were wounded by insurgent fire. Minister of Internal Affairs
Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...
said that the insurgents were led by a man with "an extensive beard". Some 30 militants seized the police headquarters in Konstantinovka on 28 April. On 29 April, a city administration building in Pervomaisk was overrun by
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 ...
insurgents, who then raised their flag over it. The same day, militants seized control of the city administration building in
Alchevsk Alchevsk ( uk, Алчéвськ, translit. ''Alchevs'k''; russian: Алчéвск) is a city of significance in the Luhansk Oblast of Ukraine. It is located approximately from the oblast capital, Luhansk. Alchevsk is one of the largest indus ...
. In
Krasnyi Luch , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:Executive Committee building in Khrustalnyi.jpg , image_caption = Executive Committee building in Khrustalny , image_flag = , image_shield ...
, the city administration conceded to demands by separatist activists that it support the referendums on the status of Donetsk and Luhansk of 11 May, and followed by raising the Russian flag over the city administration building. Insurgents occupied the city administration building in Stakhanov on 1 May. Later in the week, they captured the local police station, business centre, and SBU building. Activists in
Rovenky Rovenky ( uk, Ровеньки, translit. ''Roven’ky'', russian: Ровеньки, translit. ''Rovenki'') is a coal mining city in Luhansk Oblast (region) of south-eastern Ukraine. Before 2020 it was incorporated as a city of oblast signifi ...
occupied a police building on 5 May, but quickly left it. On the same day, the police headquarters in Slovianoserbsk was seized by members of the Army of the South-East, affiliated with the Luhansk People's Republic. The town of
Antratsyt Antratsyt or Antratsit (; ) is a city in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. Until 1962 it was known as Bokove-Antratsyt. The city is located in the southern part of the Luhansk Oblast (region). Antratsyt is incorporated as a city of oblast significa ...
was occupied by a number of renegade Don Cossacks. Insurgents went on to seize the prosecutor's office in
Sievierodonetsk russian: Северодоне́цк , other_name = Severodonetsk , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = Severodoneck prapor.png , image_shield ...
on 7 May. On the next day, supporters of the Luhansk People's Republic captured government buildings in
Starobilsk Starobilsk ( uk, Старобільськ, russian: Старобельск) is a city in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Starobilsk Raion. The modern settlement was founded in 1686, and it was granted city stat ...
.


Government counter-offensive: "the Anti-Terrorist Operation"

Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...
, the Minister of Internal Affairs, said on 9 April that the separatist problem would be resolved within 48 hours through either negotiations or the use of force. According to the
Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...
state news agency, he said: "There are two opposite ways for resolving this conflict – a political dialogue and the heavy-handed approach. We are ready for both." Acting president
Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov ( uk, Олександр Валентинович Турчинов; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National S ...
had already signed a decree which called for the Donetsk regional state administration building, occupied by separatists, to be taken "under state protection". He offered amnesty to any separatists who laid down their arms and surrendered. By 11 April Prime Minister
Arseniy Yatsenyuk Arseniy Petrovych Yatsenyuk ( uk, Арсеній Петрович Яценюк ; born 22 May 1974) is a Ukrainian politician, economist and lawyer who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine twice – from 27 February 2014 to 27 November 2014 and f ...
said that he had been against the use of "law enforcement" at the time, but that "there was a limit" to how much the Ukrainian government would tolerate. In response to the spread of separatist control throughout Donetsk Oblast and the separatists' refusal to lay down their arms, Turchynov vowed to launch a military counter-offensive operation, called the "Anti-Terrorist Operation", against insurgents in the region on 15 April. As part of the counter-offensive, Ukrainian troops re-took the airfield in
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...
after a skirmish with members of the Donbas People's Militia. According to Russian media, at least four people died as a result. After the Armed Forces of Ukraine re-took the airfield, the commanding general of the unit that had retaken it, Vasyl Krutov, was surrounded by hostile protesters who demanded to know why the Ukrainian troops had fired upon local residents. Krutov was then dragged back to the airbase along with his unit. They were then blocked by the protesters, who vowed not to let the troops leave the base. Krutov later told reporters that "if they he separatistsdo not lay down their arms, they will be destroyed". Donbas People's Militia insurgents entered
Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...
on 16 April, along with six armoured personnel carriers they claimed to have obtained from the Ukrainian
25th Airborne Brigade The 25th Separate Airbone Sicheslav Brigade ( uk, 25-та окрема повітрянодесантна Січеславська бригада) is an airborne formation of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces. It is the only airborne unit of Ukrai ...
, which had surrendered in the city of
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...
. Reports say members of the brigade were disarmed after the vehicles were blocked from passing by angry locals. In another incident, several hundred residents of the village of Pchyolkino, south of Sloviansk, surrounded another column of 14 Ukrainian armoured vehicles. Following negotiations, the troops were allowed to drive their vehicles away, but only after agreeing to surrender the magazines from their assault rifles. These incidents led President Turchynov to say he would disband the
25th Airborne Brigade The 25th Separate Airbone Sicheslav Brigade ( uk, 25-та окрема повітрянодесантна Січеславська бригада) is an airborne formation of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces. It is the only airborne unit of Ukrai ...
, although this was later cancelled. Three members of the Donbas People's Militia were killed, 11 wounded, and 63 were arrested after they attempted and failed to storm a
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
base in
Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast ( Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russia ...
. Turchynov relaunched the stalled counter-offensive against pro-Russian insurgents on 22 April, after two men, one a local politician, were found "tortured to death". The politician, Volodymyr Rybak, was found dead near
Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...
after having been abducted by pro-Russian insurgents. Turchynov said that "the terrorists who effectively took the whole Donetsk Oblast hostage have now gone too far". The Internal Affairs Ministry reported that the city of Sviatogorsk, near Sloviansk, was retaken by Ukrainian troops on 23 April.The Globe and Mail
''Ukraine has 'freed' eastern city, Kiev says as crackdown resumes'', 23 April 2014. In addition, the Defence Ministry said it had taken control over all points of strategic importance in the area around
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...
. The Internal Affairs Minister,
Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...
, said on 24 April that Ukrainian troops had captured the city administration in Mariupol, after a clash with pro-Russian demonstrators there. Despite this, a report by the BBC said that whilst it appeared that Ukrainian troops and the mayor of Mariupol did enter the building in the early morning, Ukrainian troops had abandoned it by the afternoon. Local pro-Russian activists blamed Ukrainian nationalists for the attack upon the building but said that the DPR had regained control. A representative of the Republic, Irina Voropoyeva, said, "We, the Donetsk People's Republic, still control the building. There was an attempted provocation but now it's over." On the same day, Ukrainian government officials said that the Armed Forces had intended to retake the city of Sloviansk, but that an increased threat of "Russian invasion" halted these operations. Russian forces had mobilised within of the Ukrainian border. The officials said that seven troops were killed during the day's operations. President Turchynov issued a statement later in the day, and said that the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" would be resumed, citing the ongoing
hostage crisis A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...
in
Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...
as a reason. By 6 May, 14 Ukrainian troops had died and 66 had been injured in the fighting. Early in the morning on 7 May, the National Guard retook the city administration in Mariupol after heavy fighting with insurgents overnight. Anti-government demonstrators said that government forces had used tear gas during the operation, resulting in injuries when the demonstrators tried to re-occupy the building after the National Guard withdrew. By the morning of 7 May, the flag of the DPR was once again flying over the building. Ukrainian troops launched another attack on insurgents in Mariupol on 9 May. During an assault on an occupied police building, that building was set alight by government forces, causing the insurgents to flee. Arsen Avakov said that 60 insurgents attacked the police building, not Ukrainian troops and that the police and other government forces had managed to repel the insurgents. Between six and twenty militants were killed, along with one police officer. Four militants were captured, and five policemen were wounded. One armoured personnel carrier was captured by pro-Russian protesters during the fighting. After the clashes, pro-Russian forces built barricades across the city centre. Concurrently, ''Ukrainian National News'' said that separatists attempted to disarm Ukrainian troops near Donetsk. The troops resisted by firing warning shots, and arresting 100 of the separatists. Also, an unnamed
Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church ( uk, Українська православна церква, Ukrainska pravoslavna tserkva; russian: Украинская православная церковь, Ukrainskaya pravoslavnaya tserkov', UOC), common ...
priest attempted to negotiate with separatists near
Druzhkivka Druzhkivka ( uk, Дружківка, ; russian: Дружковка, Druzhkovka) is a City of regional significance (Ukraine), city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. Population: ; 64,557 (2001). The area of the ...
, but was later killed after being shot eight times. This was confirmed by the Church and the Prosecutor's Office.


May 2014: post-referendum fighting

It was reported on 12 May that, following the local autonomy referendum, 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 ...
leader
Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...
declared himself "Supreme Commander" of the Donetsk People's Republic. In his decree, he demanded that all military stationed in the region swear an oath of allegiance to him within 48 hours, and said that all remaining Ukrainian military in the region would be "destroyed on the spot". He then petitioned the
Russian Federation 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 ...
for military support to protect against "the threat of intervention by NATO" and "genocide".
Pavel Gubarev Pavel Yuryevich Gubarev (russian: Па́вел Ю́рьевич Гу́барев, ; or Pavlo Yuriyovych Hubariev uk, Павло Юрійович Губарєв; born 10 February 1983) is a Russian activist who proclaimed himself the "People's ...
, president of Donetsk People's Republic, instituted martial law on 15 May, and vowed for "total annihilation" of Ukrainian forces if they did not pull out of the Donbas by 21:00. Similarly, the president of the Luhansk People's Republic,
Valery Bolotov Valery Dmitrievitch Bolotov ( rus, Вале́рий Дми́триевич Бо́лотов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈdmʲitrʲɪjɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbolətəf; uk, Вале́рій Дми́трович Бо́лотов; 13 February 1970 – 27 January 20 ...
, declared martial law on 22 May. The Donetsk-based steel magnate
Rinat Akhmetov Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov, ; russian: Ринат Леонидович Ахметов, ; tt-Cyrl, Ринат Леонид улы Әхмәтов, translit=Rinat Leonid uly Äkhmätov (born on 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian billionaire and b ...
called on his 300,000 employees within the Donetsk region to "rally against separatists" on 20 May. Sirens sounded at noon at his factories to signal the beginning of the rally. A so-called "Peace March" was held in the
Donbas Arena Donbass Arena ( uk, Донба́с Аре́на ; is a stadium with a natural grass pitch in Donetsk, Ukraine, that opened on 29 August 2009. The facility is located in the center of the city, in the Lenin Comsomol park. With a capacity of 52,187 ...
in
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...
city, accompanied by cars sounding their horns at noon.Akhmetov called a strike at the enterprises in protest
Ukrainian Media Group (20 May 2014)
Ukrainian tycoon Rinat Akhmetov confronts rebellion
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
(20 May 2014)
Akhmetov's "Peace March" in Donetsk took 20 minutes
Interfax-Ukraine (20 May 2014)
Businessman Akhmetov condemns 'genocide of Donbas,' calls for peaceful rally against 'Donetsk People's Republic'
Interfax-Ukraine (20 May 2014)
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
and ''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...
'' reported that some vehicles were attacked by separatists, and that gunmen had warned the offices of several city taxi services not to take part. In response to Akhmetov's refusal to pay taxes to the Donetsk People's Republic, on 20 May the chairman of the State Council of the DPR,
Denis Pushilin Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin (russian: Дени́с Влади́мирович Пуши́лин, ; uk, Денис Володимирович Пушилін, Denys Volodymyrovych Pushylin; born 9 May 1981) is a Russian and Ukrainian politician ...
, announced that the Republic would attempt to nationalise Akhmetov's assets. On 25 May, between 2,000 and 5,000 protesters marched to Akhmetov's mansion in Donetsk city, and demanded the nationalisation of Akhmetov's property, while chanting "Akhmetov is an enemy of the people!". 18 soldiers were killed during an insurgent attack upon an army checkpoint near the city of
Volnovakha Volnovakha ( uk, Волнова́ха, ; russian: Волнова́ха) is a town in Ukraine. It served as the administrative center of Volnovakha Raion, one of the 18 districts of the Donetsk Oblast. Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, ...
, on 22 May. Three armoured personnel carriers and several lorries were destroyed in the attack, whilst one insurgent was killed. On the same day, a convoy consisting of 100 soldiers attempted to cross a bridge at
Rubizhne Rubizhne ( uk, Рубі́жне, Rubížne, ; rus, Рубе́жное, Rubéžnoye, links=1, rʊˈbʲeʐnəjə) is a city located in Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Situated on the left bank of the Donets river near the cities of Sievierod ...
, Luhansk Oblast, and advance into insurgent-held territory.Kyiv Post
''Burned houses, military vehicles remain after a fierce fight in Luhansk Oblast that killed at least nine people on 22 May'', by Anastasia Vlasova and Oksana Grytsenko, 26 May 2014. This article is currently 9 June 2014entitled: ''Reconstructing the deadly 22 May firefight near the Siversky Donets River in Luhansk Oblast'' on the newspaper website. They were ambushed by a group of between 300 and 500 insurgents. After fighting that lasted throughout the day, the soldiers were forced to retreat. Between two and fourteen soldiers and between seven and twenty insurgents were killed during the fighting. Three army infantry combat vehicles and one lorry were destroyed, and another three armoured vehicles were captured by the insurgents. The Internal Affairs Ministry stated that some insurgents had attempted to enter Luhansk Oblast from Russia, but had been repelled by border guards. Following a declaration by Pavel Gubarev establishing the "
New Russia Party The New Russia Party ( rus, Партия Новороссия, Partiya Novorossiya), or Novorossiya Party, is a political party operating in Ukraine, and in particular regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia The organization was founded by pro-R ...
" on 22 May, representatives of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics signed an agreement creating the confederative state of
New Russia Novorossiya, literally "New Russia", is a historical name, used during the era of the Russian Empire for an administrative area that would later become the southern mainland of Ukraine: the region immediately north of the Black Sea and Crimea. ...
. Separatists planned to incorporate most of Ukraine's southern and eastern regions into the new confederation, including the key cities of
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.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 ...
, Dnipropetrovsk,
Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a city and municipality in Southern Ukraine, the administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides Ukraine with access to the Black Sea, is the location of the most downriver brid ...
,
Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a populat ...
and
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
.In Donetsk, created the party "New Russia"
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...
(23 May 2014) The declaration signed established the position of Russian Orthodoxy as the state religion and an intention to nationalise key industries. A unit of the pro-government
Donbas Battalion , image = Emblem of the Donbas Battalion.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = Donbas Battalion emblem , start_date = , country = , alle ...
volunteer paramilitary attempted to advance on a separatist checkpoint near the village of
Karlivka Karlivka ( ; ) is a city and the administrative center of Karlivka Raion, Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. Population: Gallery File:Karlivka2.jpg, Central part of Karlivka File:Karlivka3.jpg, A typical street in Karlivka File:Мотокросс - p ...
, northwest of Donetsk city, on 23 May. They were ambushed by a group of between 150 and 200 separatists, supported by one of the captured armoured personnel carriers. The pro-government paramilitary was surrounded by the separatists, and outnumbered six to one until fighters affiliated with the nationalist
Right Sector Right Sector ( uk, Пра́вий се́ктор, ''Pravyi sektor'') is a right-wing to far-right, Ukrainian nationalist organization. It originated in November 2013 as a right-wing, paramilitary confederation of several radical nationalist org ...
broke through the separatist lines to allow some members of the group to escape. Five members of the Donbas Battalion were killed, along with four separatists. Twenty members of the pro-government paramilitaries were wounded, and at least four were captured. The involvement of Right Sector was disputed by the leadership of the Donbas Battalion. Pro-Russian leader Igor Bezler said that he executed all of the captured paramilitaries. Another separatist leader confirmed four of their fighters were killed, and also said that ten pro-government paramilitaries and two civilians died. During the same day, two pro-Russian separatists were killed during an assault by the pro-government "Ukraine Battalion" paramilitary on an occupied local government building in
Torez Chystiakove ( uk, Чистякове, ), formerly Torez ( uk, Торез), is a city of regional significance in the Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine. The city is a center of the regional coal industry and much of its economy relies on mining industr ...
.


Airport battle and fighting in Luhansk

On the morning of 26 May 200 pro-Russian insurgents, including members of the Vostok Battalion, captured the main terminal of the
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
, erected roadblocks around it, and demanded that government forces withdraw. Soon after these demands were issued, the Ukrainian National Guard issued an ultimatum to the separatists, asking them to surrender. This was subsequently rejected. Government forces then launched an assault on separatist positions at the airport with paratroopers and airstrikes. Attack helicopters were used by government forces. They targeted a separatist-operated anti-aircraft gun. An estimated 40 insurgents died in the fighting, with some civilians caught in the crossfire. Between 15 and 35 insurgents were killed in a single friendly-fire incident, when two lorries carrying wounded fighters away from the airport were ambushed by insurgents mistaking them for Ukrainian forces. During the fighting at the airport,
Druzhba Arena Druzhba Arena was an indoor arena in Donetsk, Ukraine. It was built to develop hockey in the region. It was destroyed in May 2014. History Druzhba was built in 1975 as Druzhba Palace of Sports, by a standard design (dated 1956), with a seati ...
in Donetsk city was ransacked by pro-Russian insurgents, who looted the building and destroyed surveillance equipment, and set it ablaze. Concurrently, Donetsk police said the insurgents had killed two policemen in the nearby town of Horlivka. ''The Moscow Times'' reported that the two men had been executed for "breaking their oath to the Donetsk People's Republic". Luhansk People's Republic-affiliated insurgents attacked a
Ukrainian National Guard The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU; uk, Націона́льна гва́рдія Украї́ни, Natsionalna hvardiia Ukrainy, , ) is the Ukrainian national gendarmerie and internal military force. It is part of the Ministry of Internal A ...
unit in the early hours of 28 May.


Escalation in May and June 2014

Mykhailo Koval Mykhailo Koval ( uk, Михайло Володимирович Коваль; 26 February 1956) is a Colonel General of Ukraine who until 2014 worked in the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. During the 2014 Crimea crisis he was appointed a ...
, the Minister of Defence, said on 30 May that Ukrainian government forces had "completely cleared" the insurgents from the southern and western parts of Donetsk Oblast and the northern part of Luhansk Oblast. Meanwhile, an internal coup replaced the leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic, and some bodies of Russian fighters killed in the airport battle were repatriated to Russia.


Luhansk border post siege

Two separatists were killed in a skirmish with Ukrainian border guards on 31 May. Two days later, five separatists were killed when 500 separatists attacked a border post in Luhansk Oblast. Eleven border guards and eight separatists were wounded during the fighting, which also killed one civilian.


2 June Luhansk airstrike

On 2 June, eight people were killed and more than 20 wounded by a series of explosions hitting the occupied RSA building in Luhansk city. Separatists blamed the incident on a government airstrike, while Ukrainian officials denied this, and claimed that the explosions were caused by a stray surface-to-air missile fired by insurgents. The
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
(OSCE) published a report on the next day, stating that based on "limited observation", they believed that the explosion was caused by an airstrike, supporting separatist claims. A CNN investigation found clear evidence that the attack came from the air and the pattern of the craters suggested use of standard equipment on the Su-25, a ground-attack fighter, and the Su-27 – both combat aircraft operated by Ukraine.
Radio Liberty Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
also concluded that "Despite Denials, All Evidence For Deadly Explosion Points To Kyiv". CNN said that it was the first time that civilians had been killed in an attack by the Ukrainian air force during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in the Donbas. The next day,
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 ...
declared a three-day mourning in the city.


Continued fighting

Government forces destroyed a separatist stronghold in Semenivka, and regained control of Krasnyi Lyman on 3 June. Two soldiers were killed in the fighting, and forty-five were wounded. A spokesman for the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that 300 insurgents were killed during the operation and that 500 were wounded. Insurgents said they lost between 10 and 50 men. They said that at least 25 were killed while in hospital at Krasnyi Lyman. None of these reports were independently confirmed, and both sides denied the other's accounts of the battle. On the next day, insurgents captured the besieged Luhansk border post, as well as a National Guard base near Luhansk city. The fighting in these areas left six insurgents dead, and three government soldiers wounded. Another border post was captured by the insurgents in Sverdlovsk. The National Guard base fell after guardsmen ran out of ammunition. Separatists had earlier seized vast quantities of munitions from the captured border post. Another border post was attacked on 5 June, in the village of Marynivka. Government officials said that between 15 and 16 insurgents were killed and that five soldiers were injured as well. A shootout between rival separatist groups in Donetsk city took place on 7 June, near the Donetsk RSA. The vice-president of the Donetsk People's Republic, Maxim Petrukhin, was killed in the fighting, and president
Denis Pushilin Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin (russian: Дени́с Влади́мирович Пуши́лин, ; uk, Денис Володимирович Пушилін, Denys Volodymyrovych Pushylin; born 9 May 1981) is a Russian and Ukrainian politician ...
was wounded.


Russian tank incursion

Ukrainian officials said that Russia had allowed tanks to cross the Russo-Ukrainian border into Donetsk Oblast on 11 June. Internal Affairs Minister
Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...
said "we have observed columns passing with armoured personnel carriers, other armoured vehicles and artillery pieces, and tanks which, according to our information, came across the border and this morning were in
Snizhne Snizhne or Snezhnoye ( uk, Сніжне́, ; russian: Снежное; until 1864 — Vasylivka — uk, Василівка) is a city in Horlivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The eastern edge of Snizhne is adjacent to administrative border ...
". He continued by saying Ukrainian forces had destroyed part of the column, and that fighting was still under way.
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
correspondents confirmed the presence of three tanks in Donetsk city, and the US State Department's
Bureau of Intelligence and Research The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is an intelligence agency in the United States Department of State. Its central mission is to provide all-source intelligence and analysis in support of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy. INR is ...
also said that Russia had indeed sent tanks, along with other heavy weapons, to the separatists in Ukraine. The weapons sent are said to have included: a column of three
T-64 The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, whil ...
tanks, several
BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first com ...
multiple rocket launchers, and other military vehicles. "Russia will claim these tanks were taken from Ukrainian forces, but no Ukrainian tank units have been operating in that area," the State Department said in a statement. "We are confident that these tanks came from Russia." The newly elected Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
said that it was "unacceptable" for tanks to cross into Ukraine. Russia called the reports "another fake piece of information." Nevertheless, the three tanks were later spotted moving through
Makiivka Makiivka ( uk, Макіївка, Makíyivka, ; russian: Макеевка, Makeyevka, ), formerly Dmytriivsk, is an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Located from the capital Donetsk, the two cities are practically a conurbati ...
and
Torez Chystiakove ( uk, Чистякове, ), formerly Torez ( uk, Торез), is a city of regional significance in the Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine. The city is a center of the regional coal industry and much of its economy relies on mining industr ...
, flying the flag of the Russian Federation. Insurgents confirmed that they had obtained three tanks, but leaders refused to elaborate on how they acquired them; one militant told reporters that they originated "from a military warehouse". The president of the DPR,
Denis Pushilin Denis Vladimirovich Pushilin (russian: Дени́с Влади́мирович Пуши́лин, ; uk, Денис Володимирович Пушилін, Denys Volodymyrovych Pushylin; born 9 May 1981) is a Russian and Ukrainian politician ...
, stated that the three tanks would be stationed in Donetsk city and that they gave his forces "at least some hope of defending onetskbecause heavy weapons are already being used against us."Ukraine crisis: Kiev forces win back Mariupol
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
(13 June 2014) Konstantin Mashovets, a former Ukrainian Defence Ministry official, said the tanks had likely been seized by Russian forces in Crimea before making their way into mainland Ukraine. Anton Heraschenko, an advisor to Arsen Avakov, confirmed at a briefing in Kyiv that the tanks were once in the possession of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
, and that they had been transferred by sea to Russia before crossing the border into Ukraine. On the day after the tank incursion, three soldiers were killed when they were ambushed by insurgents in
Stepanivka Stepanivka ( uk, Степанівка), sometimes transcribed as Stepanovka (russian: Степановка), in Ukraine, is the site of an ancient settlement dating to 5000 - 4300 B.C. belonging to the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture. The settle ...
. Heavy fighting resumed during the morning of 13 June, when the government launched a new attack against insurgents in Mariupol. Ukrainian troops managed to recapture the city, and declared it the "provisional capital" of Donetsk Oblast until the government regains control over Donetsk city. Meanwhile, an agreement between the Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov, and the president of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, meant to create a ceasefire and allow civilians to escape the violence in Sloviansk, failed with both sides blaming each other for launching new attacks. During the next morning, a convoy of border guardsmen was attacked by insurgents while passing Mariupol, leaving at least five of the guardsmen dead.


Ilyushin Il-76 shoot-down

A
Ukrainian Air Force The Ukrainian Air Force ( uk, Пові́тряні си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни) is the air force of Ukraine and one of the five branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Its headquarters are in the city of Vinnytsia. W ...
Ilyushin Il-76MD was shot down by forces aligned with 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 ...
on 14 June. The aircraft was preparing to land at
Luhansk International Airport Luhansk International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Луганськ") was an airport in Luhansk, Ukraine . The airport was located 20 km (12 miles) south of the city center, 9 km to the city limit. Since 11 Ju ...
, and was carrying troops and equipment from an undisclosed location. All 49 people on board died. Meanwhile, two T-72 tanks entered Donetsk, and a skirmish erupted at a military checkpoint in Luhansk, lasting two days.


Battle of Yampil

Late on 19 June, a battle fought with tanks and armoured vehicles broke out in the town of Yampil, near government-held Krasnyi Lyman. Up to 4,000 insurgents were present for the fighting, which started, according to the insurgents, after the Armed Forces attempted to capture insurgent-held Yampil, with the goal of breaking through to
Siversk Siversk ( uk, Сі́верськ, ; rus, Се́верск, r=Seversk; until 1973: Yama ́ма; Я́ма is a city in Bakhmut Raion of Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine situated 99 km north of Donetsk. Population: ; 12,608 (2010). ...
. According to the Armed Forces, it started after insurgents attempted to break through a cordon of government troops around government-held Krasny Lyman. The battle was described as exceeding "in terms of force and scale anything there has been" during the conflict in the Donbas. The Armed Forces deployed both air and artillery strikes in their attempts to rout the insurgents. The battle continued into the next day. Overnight, between 7 and 12 soldiers were killed and between 25 and 30 were wounded. The Armed Forces said they killed 300 insurgents, but this was not independently verified, the separatists confirmed only two deaths and seven wounded on their side. The insurgents also said they destroyed one tank, several
BMD-1 The BMD-1 is a Soviet airborne amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle, which was introduced in 1969 and first seen by the West in 1970. BMD stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Desanta'' (Боевая Машина Десанта, which literally ...
s, and also shot down a Su-25 bomber. The Ukrainian military said that they had gained control of Yampil and Siversk on 20 June 20 hours before a unilateral ceasefire by Ukrainian forces, as part of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko's 15-point peace plan. They also acknowledged that there was still heavy fighting in the area around Yampil, and the village of Zakitne. By this point, the number of soldiers killed in the battle had reached 13. During the continued fighting, militants blew up a bridge over a river in the village of Zakitne.


July 2014: post-ceasefire government offensive

After a week-long ceasefire unilaterally declared by Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
ended, the Armed Forces renewed their operations against the insurgents on 1 July. Shelling occurred in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and government forces retook a border crossing in
Dolzhansk Sverdlovsk ( uk, Свердловськ, translit. ''Sverdlovs’k''; russian: Свердловск) is a city in Luhansk Oblast (region) of south-eastern Ukraine on the border with the Russian Federation. Serving as the administrative center of ...
, one of the three major border crossings occupied by the separatists. Government forces also recaptured the villages of Brusivka and
Stary Karavan Stary is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Rob Stary Robert Stary is a former Australian criminal defence lawyer and current Magistrate at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court. He is well known for defending Julian Assange, as we ...
. On the same day, insurgents in Luhansk said that they had taken control of
Luhansk International Airport Luhansk International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Луганськ") was an airport in Luhansk, Ukraine . The airport was located 20 km (12 miles) south of the city center, 9 km to the city limit. Since 11 Ju ...
. On 1 July 2014 in Donetsk a street gunfight broke between rival factions of pro-Russian militants, which resulted in one person being fatally wounded and two others in critical conditions. Internal Affairs Ministry spokesman Zoryan Shkyriakuk said that over 1,000 pro-Russian insurgents were killed in the first day following the resumption of hostilities. ''Liga.net'', citing a source involved with the government military operation, reported that over 400 insurgents were killed in action, but that the higher figures reported earlier could not be confirmed. Separatists themselves reported only two deaths in fighting at Mykolaivka. Insurgents attacked a border post in
Novoazovsk Novoazovsk (, ; rus, Новоазовск}) is a border town on the south-eastern tip of Ukraine (near the border with Russia),mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
were fired upon the post, and clashes broke out. One border guard was killed in the fighting, and another eight guardsmen were injured. Government forces recaptured the town of Mykolaivka, near Sloviansk, on 4 July. A group of DPR-affiliated militants defected as a result, and joined the Ukrainian army. In a further blow to the insurgents, government forces retook the stronghold of
Sloviansk Sloviansk ( uk, Слов'янськ, Sloviansk ; russian: Славянск, Slavyansk or ; prior to 1784 – Tor) is a city in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region of Ukraine, the administrative center of the Slovyansk urban commun ...
on 5 July. Commander of the DPR insurgents,
Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...
, took the decision "due to the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy", according to DPR prime minister Alexander Borodai. He said that DPR forces had retreated to
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...
, but
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
reported that they were seen abandoning their checkpoints in Kramatorsk. Later that day, Borodai confirmed that the insurgents had abandoned "the entire northern sector", including Kramatorsk, and had retreated to
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...
city. After the retreat of Girkin's forces to Donetsk, he assumed control of the DPR, replacing the previous authorities there in what was described as a "
coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
". Subsequently, Ukraine's Armed Forces recaptured
Druzhkivka Druzhkivka ( uk, Дружківка, ; russian: Дружковка, Druzhkovka) is a City of regional significance (Ukraine), city of oblast significance in Donetsk Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. Population: ; 64,557 (2001). The area of the ...
, Kostyantynivka, and Artemivsk. Amidst the insurgent retreat, Donetsk city mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko said that at least 30,000 people had left the city since April. In a separate development, Ukrainian forces said they spotted two aerial drones in Mariupol, and shot one of them down. Ahead of a planned government offensive on the insurgent-occupied city of Donetsk, key roads leading into the city were blocked on 7 July. Insurgents destroyed railway bridges over the roads, causing them to collapse and block the roads. Defence Minister
Valeriy Heletey Valeriy Viktorovych Heletey ( uk, Валерій Вікторович Гелетей) (born on 28 August 1967) is a Ukrainian Colonel General who served as Minister of Defense from 3 July to 14 October 2014.Luhansk International Airport Luhansk International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Луганськ") was an airport in Luhansk, Ukraine . The airport was located 20 km (12 miles) south of the city center, 9 km to the city limit. Since 11 Ju ...
on 9 July. LPR-affiliated insurgents said that they had captured the airport on 1 July, but the Ukrainian army managed to maintain control over it. More than 10,000 households in Luhansk Oblast were without gas service due to damage to gas lines, according to a statement on the same day by the regional gas supplier. Clashes at the Donetsk International Airport continued on 10 July. Insurgents fired mortars at the airport, and attempted to recapture it, but were repelled by the Armed Forces. Ukrainian forces also retook the city of
Siversk Siversk ( uk, Сі́верськ, ; rus, Се́верск, r=Seversk; until 1973: Yama ́ма; Я́ма is a city in Bakhmut Raion of Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine situated 99 km north of Donetsk. Population: ; 12,608 (2010). ...
, which was confirmed by the insurgents. On the same day, the Luhansk city administration reported that six civilians had been injured due to ongoing hostilities across the city. There were also reports of factionalism among the separatists, with some desertions. According to these reports, the Vostok Battalion had rejected the authority of Igor Girkin. Alexander Borodai, prime minister of the DPR, denied these reports, however, and said that they were lies. Heavy fighting continued in Luhansk Oblast on 11 July. On that day, an Armed Forces column travelling near
Rovenky Rovenky ( uk, Ровеньки, translit. ''Roven’ky'', russian: Ровеньки, translit. ''Rovenki'') is a coal mining city in Luhansk Oblast (region) of south-eastern Ukraine. Before 2020 it was incorporated as a city of oblast signifi ...
was attacked by an insurgent-operated
Grad rocket The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first comb ...
lorry. An air strike launched by the Armed Forces eventually managed to destroy the rocket launcher, but only after 23 soldiers were killed. In response to the attack, Ukrainian president Poroshenko said that "For every life of our soldiers, the militants will pay with tens and hundreds of their own". On the next day, the Ukrainian Air Force launched air strikes targeting insurgent positions across Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The Ukrainian government said that 500 insurgents were killed in these strikes, which they said were
retaliation Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...
s for the separatist rocket attack on the previous day. Four people were killed at Marinka, a western suburb of Donetsk city, after rockets struck an insurgent-held area of the city. The Ukrainian government and separatists blamed each other for the attack.


Fighting worsens in eastern Donetsk Oblast

After a brief lull following the insurgent withdrawal from the northern part of Donetsk Oblast, fighting continued to escalate sharply in the eastern parts of Donetsk Oblast. Shells landed on the border town of
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...
in Rostov Oblast, a part of Russia, on 13 July. One civilian was killed in the shelling. Russian officials blamed the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the shelling, whilst Ukraine denied responsibility and accused insurgents in the Donbas of having staged a
false flag A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...
attack. Russia said it was considering launching airstrikes against government targets in Ukraine as retaliation for the shelling. Ukrainian forces went on to make gains around Luhansk, ending an insurgent blockade of Luhansk International Airport. LPR officials acknowledged that they lost 30 men during fighting in the village of Oleksandrivka. The insurgent-occupied town of Snizhne was hit by rockets fired from an aeroplane on 15 July, leaving at least 11 people dead, and destroying multiple homes. The insurgents blamed the Air Force of Ukraine, but the Ukrainian government denied any involvement in the attack. Clashes broke out between insurgents and the Armed Forces along the border with Russia in
Shakhtarsk Raion Shakhtarsk Raion ( uk, Шахтарський район) was one of the raions of Donetsk Oblast, located in eastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion was the city of Shakhtarsk, which was incorporated separately as a city of obla ...
on 16 July. Insurgents who had been holed up in the town of
Stepanivka Stepanivka ( uk, Степанівка), sometimes transcribed as Stepanovka (russian: Степановка), in Ukraine, is the site of an ancient settlement dating to 5000 - 4300 B.C. belonging to the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture. The settle ...
made an attempt to escape encirclement by government forces at 05:00. According to a report by the
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
, a roadblock near the border village of Marynivka was attacked by the insurgents with tanks, mortar fire, and anti-tank missiles. The checkpoint was shelled for over an hour, causing significant damage to infrastructure in Marynivka. Guardsmen managed to repel the attack, and forced the insurgents back to Stepanivka, where fighting continued. The battle then moved to the nearby village of
Tarany Tarany ( sl, Taran) is a village in Somogy county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast ...
. At least 11 Ukrainian soldiers died in the fighting. Attempts to form a "contact group" between the insurgents and the Ukrainian government, part of President Poroshenko's " 15-point peace plan", failed, leaving little hope of a renewed
ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce or armistice), also spelled cease fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a temporary stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions. Ceasefires may be between state act ...
. The insurgents later said that they successfully retook Marynivka from the Armed Forces.


Downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

A civilian passenger jet,
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...
, was shot down over Hrabove (a village in the Donetsk Oblask) on 17 July 2014, killing all 298 people on board. DPR-affiliated insurgents blamed the Ukrainian government for the disaster, whereas the government, Netherlands, and Australia blamed Russia and the insurgents. The responsibility for investigation was delegated to the
Dutch Safety Board The Dutch Safety Board (DSB; nl, Onderzoeksraad voor Veiligheid, OVV, literally "Investigation Council for Safety") is an organisation based in The Hague, Netherlands.joint investigation team (JIT), who concluded that the airliner was downed by a Buk
surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-aircraft syst ...
launched from pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine. According to the JIT, the Buk that was used originated from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the
Russian Federation 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 ...
, and had been transported from Russia on the day of the crash, fired from a field in a separatist-controlled area, and the launcher returned to Russia after it was used to shoot down MH17. On the basis of the JIT's conclusions, the governments of the Netherlands and Australia held Russia responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation and took steps to hold Russia formally accountable. This disaster followed two similar incidents earlier in the week, when two Ukrainian Air Force planes were shot down. Meanwhile, fighting in Luhansk resulted in the loss of electrical power and water services across the city. Shelling damaged an electrical substation in the Kamennobrodskiy district, causing the power loss. An oil refinery in
Lysychansk Lysychansk ( uk, Лисича́нськ ; russian: Лисича́нск ) is a city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion of the Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine. Prior to 2020 municipal classification reforms, it was incorporated as a city of oblast significa ...
was also set alight. At least 20 civilians were killed in the shelling of Luhansk, according to a statement by the city administration. The statement said that a barrage of rockets hit "virtually every district". The shelling forced OSCE monitors to flee from their office in Luhansk, and move to
Starobilsk Starobilsk ( uk, Старобільськ, russian: Старобельск) is a city in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Starobilsk Raion. The modern settlement was founded in 1686, and it was granted city stat ...
. Government forces went on to capture the south-eastern section of the city. Another 16 people died overnight, and at least 60 were wounded. According to a government report, Luhansk airport was secured by government forces amidst the battle.


Government push into Donetsk and Luhansk cities

Heavy fighting also resumed around Donetsk airport overnight, and explosions were heard in all districts of the city. The city fell quiet by 09:00 on 19 July. By 21 July, heavy fighting in Donetsk had begun again. Donetsk was rocked by explosions, and heavy weapons fire caused smoke to rise over the city. Fighting was concentrated in the northwestern districts of Kyivskyi and Kuibyshevskyi, and also near the central railway station and airport, leading local residents to seek refuge in bomb shelters, or to flee the city. The city's water supply was cut off during the fighting, and all railway and bus service was stopped. The streets emptied, and insurgents erected barricades across the city to control traffic. The cities of Dzerzhynsk,
Soledar Soledar ( uk, Соледа́р, ; ), formerly known as Karlo-Libknekhtovsk ( uk, Карло-Лібкнехтівськ, Karlo-Libknekhtivs'k, 1965–1991), is a city in the Bakhmut Raion, which is located in what is internationally recognised as ...
, and
Rubizhne Rubizhne ( uk, Рубі́жне, Rubížne, ; rus, Рубе́жное, Rubéžnoye, links=1, rʊˈbʲeʐnəjə) is a city located in Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Situated on the left bank of the Donets river near the cities of Sievierod ...
were also recaptured by government forces. The suburb of Mayorsk, just outside
Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...
, and the city of
Sievierodonetsk russian: Северодоне́цк , other_name = Severodonetsk , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = Severodoneck prapor.png , image_shield ...
, in Luhansk Oblast, were recaptured by the Armed Forces on 22 July. OSCE monitors visiting Donetsk following the previous day's fighting there said that the city was "practically deserted", and that the fighting had stopped. On the same day, DPR prime minister Alexander Borodai said that he wanted to resume ceasefire talks. DPR commander
Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...
also said "The time has come when Russia must take a final decision – to really support Donbas's Russians or abandon them forever". Also, the pro-Ukrainian paramilitary
Donbas Battalion , image = Emblem of the Donbas Battalion.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = Donbas Battalion emblem , start_date = , country = , alle ...
captured
Popasna Popasna (, rus, Попасная, r=Popasnaya) is a ruined city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2013, it had almost 22,000 inhabitants. Prior to 2020, it was the administrative center of the former Popasna Raion. In 20 ...
. After having retaken
Sievierodonetsk russian: Северодоне́цк , other_name = Severodonetsk , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = Severodoneck prapor.png , image_shield ...
, government forces fought insurgents around the neighbouring city of
Lysychansk Lysychansk ( uk, Лисича́нськ ; russian: Лисича́нск ) is a city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion of the Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine. Prior to 2020 municipal classification reforms, it was incorporated as a city of oblast significa ...
. An insurgent car bomb killed three soldiers during the fighting there. Grad rocket attacks were launched against government forces garrisoned at Vesela Hora, Kamysheve, and also Luhansk airport. The press centre for the government military operation said that situation remained "most complex" in the areas around "Donetsk city, Luhansk city,
Krasnodon Krasnodon (Ukrainian, Russian: Краснодон) is a city in Luhansk Oblast (region) of eastern Ukraine. It is incorporated as a city of oblast significance and serves as the administrative center of Krasnodon Raion (district), though it d ...
and
Popasna Popasna (, rus, Попасная, r=Popasnaya) is a ruined city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2013, it had almost 22,000 inhabitants. Prior to 2020, it was the administrative center of the former Popasna Raion. In 20 ...
". Government forces broke through the insurgent blockade around Donetsk airport on 23 July and then advanced into the northwestern corner of Donetsk city. Subsequently, the insurgents withdrew from many areas on the outskirts of the city, including
Karlivka Karlivka ( ; ) is a city and the administrative center of Karlivka Raion, Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. Population: Gallery File:Karlivka2.jpg, Central part of Karlivka File:Karlivka3.jpg, A typical street in Karlivka File:Мотокросс - p ...
, , , and the area around Donetsk airport. Insurgent commander Igor Girkin said that this was done to fortify Donetsk city centre, and also to avoid being encircled by government forces. He also said that he did not expect a government incursion into Donetsk city centre. Meanwhile, clashes continued in
Shakhtarsk Raion Shakhtarsk Raion ( uk, Шахтарський район) was one of the raions of Donetsk Oblast, located in eastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion was the city of Shakhtarsk, which was incorporated separately as a city of obla ...
, along the border with Russia. Amidst the fighting, two Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jets that had been providing air support to ground forces near Dmytrivka were shot down by the insurgents. On July 24 government forces recaptured
Lysychansk Lysychansk ( uk, Лисича́нськ ; russian: Лисича́нск ) is a city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion of the Luhansk Oblast in Ukraine. Prior to 2020 municipal classification reforms, it was incorporated as a city of oblast significa ...
. On the same day, fighting raged around
Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...
. Government forces launched air and artillery strikes on insurgents within the city, and clashes were fought all around it. One important bridge collapsed in the fighting, severing a critical route out of the city. People fled the violence in cars and on foot. Despite these advances by the Armed Forces, the border with Russia was not secured. Izvaryne border post in Luhansk Oblast, which is controlled by the Army of the South-East, was reported to be the main entry point for weapons and reinforcements from Russia. Shelling began again in the Kyivskyi, Kirovskyi and Petrovskyi districts of Donetsk city. According to Donetsk city administration, 11 houses were damaged in Petrovsky, and at least one man was injured. The fighting continued overnight into 26 July, with explosions, shelling, and shooting heard across the city. During the third day of the government's offensive on the insurgent-stronghold of
Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...
, between 20 and 30 civilians were killed on 27 July. Horlivka was virtually abandoned, with electric power and water cut off. Shelling damaged or destroyed many buildings, including a hospital, greengrocer's, and energy company office. Ukrainian troops also entered the town of
Shakhtarsk Shakhtarsk (, ) or Shakhtyorsk (russian: Шахтёрск) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Regionally, the city is an administrative urban enclave also consisting of cities Torez and Snizhne and surrounded by Shakhtarsk Raion. It serves ...
, fought the insurgents that had been occupying it, and captured it around 14:30. This cut off the supply corridor between the territories held by the DPR and LPR, isolating insurgents in Donetsk city. Skirmishes also broke out in the nearby towns of
Snizhne Snizhne or Snezhnoye ( uk, Сніжне́, ; russian: Снежное; until 1864 — Vasylivka — uk, Василівка) is a city in Horlivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The eastern edge of Snizhne is adjacent to administrative border ...
and
Torez Chystiakove ( uk, Чистякове, ), formerly Torez ( uk, Торез), is a city of regional significance in the Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine. The city is a center of the regional coal industry and much of its economy relies on mining industr ...
. The intense combat across
Shakhtarsk Raion Shakhtarsk Raion ( uk, Шахтарський район) was one of the raions of Donetsk Oblast, located in eastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion was the city of Shakhtarsk, which was incorporated separately as a city of obla ...
forced a party of Dutch and Australian policemen to call off an attempt to investigate the crash site of
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...
. 41 Ukrainian soldiers deserted their posts and went to the insurgent-controlled Izvaryne border crossing, where they told insurgents that they refused to fight against their "own people". The insurgents allowed them to flee Ukraine, and cross into Russia. By 28 July, the strategic heights of
Savur-Mohyla Savur-Mohyla ( uk, Савур-могила), often transliterated using the Russian spelling Saur-Mogila (russian: Саур-Могила), is a strategic height in the Donets ridge near the city of Snizhne, in occupied Ukraine. The tall hill is ...
were under Ukrainian control, along with the town of
Debaltseve Debaltseve or Debaltsevo ( uk, Деба́льцеве ''Debálʼtseve'', ; russian: Деба́льцево ''Debálʼtsevo'') is a city of regional significance in the ''de facto'' Donetsk People's Republic; ''de jure'' Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. T ...
. Insurgents had previously used Savur-Mohyla to shell Ukrainian troops around the town of Marynivka. By 29 July, a further 17 civilians had been killed in the fighting, along with an additional 43 people injured. Shelling continued in the Leninskyi and Kyivskyi districts of Donetsk city. According to the city administration, these districts were heavily damaged. According to a report by National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, crossing points on the border with Russia were attacked from Russian territory at least 153 times since 5 June. 27 border guardsmen were killed in these attacks, and 185 were injured. Government forces made a further advance on 30 July, when they evicted insurgents from
Avdiivka Avdiivka (, , is a city of regional significance in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast. The city is in the center of the region, just north of the city of Donetsk. The large Avdiivka Coke Plant is located in Avdiivka. The city's population is officiall ...
, near Donetsk airport. Military operations were paused on 31 July. This was meant to allow international experts to examine the crash site of
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...
, which is located in
Shakhtarsk Raion Shakhtarsk Raion ( uk, Шахтарський район) was one of the raions of Donetsk Oblast, located in eastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion was the city of Shakhtarsk, which was incorporated separately as a city of obla ...
, where the fiercest battles had been taking place on the previous few days. Monitors were escorted to the site by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After fighting severed various transmission lines, Luhansk city lost all access to electrical power. Little fuel remained to power emergency generators. Minor skirmishes occurred in Vasylivka and Zhovtneve. Meanwhile, talks between the separatists, Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE were held in
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
. Fighting continued in
Shakhtarsk Shakhtarsk (, ) or Shakhtyorsk (russian: Шахтёрск) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Regionally, the city is an administrative urban enclave also consisting of cities Torez and Snizhne and surrounded by Shakhtarsk Raion. It serves ...
. An ambush by the insurgents on government forces there resulted in the deaths of ten soldiers. 11 went missing, and 13 were wounded. A government offensive on the city of Pervomaisk in Luhansk Oblast continued. Following a series of military defeats, Igor Girkin, insurgent commander for the DPR, urged Russian military intervention, and said that the combat inexperience of his irregular forces, along with recruitment difficulties amongst the local population in Donetsk Oblast had caused the setbacks. He addressed 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 ...
, saying that "Losing this war on the territory that President Vladimir Putin personally named New Russia would threaten the Kremlin's power and, personally, the power of the president". Government forces closed in on Luhansk and Donetsk cities on 3 August. A number of civilians were killed in fighting in both cities. Luhansk was reported to be "virtually surrounded", with little electrical power or water supply available. The situation in the city of Donetsk was less dire, as trains to Russia were still running, but fighting and shelling did not relent. According to the Armed Forces, three-quarters of the territory once held by the insurgents had been recaptured. They also said that they had completely cut off supply lines between the DPR and LPR, after more than a week of fighting in
Shakhtarsk Raion Shakhtarsk Raion ( uk, Шахтарський район) was one of the raions of Donetsk Oblast, located in eastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion was the city of Shakhtarsk, which was incorporated separately as a city of obla ...
. After a prolonged battle, the Armed Forces recaptured the vital town of
Yasynuvata Yasynuvata ( uk, Ясинува́та, ; russian: Ясиноватая — Yasinovataya) is a city in Donetsk Oblast (province) of south-eastern Ukraine. Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast significance. It also serves as th ...
on 4 August. At least five soldiers died in the fighting to capture the town, which is a strategic railway junction on the main road between Donetsk and Luhansk cities. The pro-government paramilitary
Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mout ...
and Shakhtarsk battalions said that they had advanced into Donetsk city, and had begun to "liberate" it. The Ukrainian government said that all civilians should evacuate from Donetsk, and issued statements asking DPR and LPR forces to help establish "humanitarian corridors" to allow civilians in Donetsk, Luhansk and Horlivka to flee. Commenting on the situation in Luhansk, mayor Sergei Kravchenko said "As a result of the blockade and ceaseless rocket attacks, the city is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe". As government troops pushed into Donetsk on 5 August, heavy fighting erupted at 17:00 in the Petrovskyi district of the city. Elsewhere, insurgents recaptured the town of Yasynuvata after a retreat by government forces. A spokesman from the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine said that the Armed Forces left the town to avoid harming the "peaceful population", and that the city was being evacuated so that it could be "completely liberated". He also said that the railway station remained under government control, and that all railway traffic had been blocked. Fighting between insurgents and government forces across the Donbas region continued "constantly" over the course of the day. Fighting and shelling continued around Donetsk on 8 August, with several civilians killed or injured. By 9 August, insurgent commander Igor Girkin said that Donetsk had been "completely encircled" by government forces. This followed the capture of the vital town of
Krasnyi Luch , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = File:Executive Committee building in Khrustalnyi.jpg , image_caption = Executive Committee building in Khrustalny , image_flag = , image_shield ...
by the government, after insurgent-aligned Cossacks stationed there fled. Further skirmishes between insurgents and the Armed Forces took place in Mnohopillia,
Stepanivka Stepanivka ( uk, Степанівка), sometimes transcribed as Stepanovka (russian: Степановка), in Ukraine, is the site of an ancient settlement dating to 5000 - 4300 B.C. belonging to the Cucuteni-Trypillian culture. The settle ...
, Hryhorivka, Krasny Yar, Pobeda, Shyshkove, Komyshna, Komyshne, Novohannivka, Krasna Talivka, Dmytrivka, Sabivka, and Luhansk airport. Overnight and into 10 August, government forces launched an artillery barrage on Donetsk city, causing "massive damage" across it. According to a spokesman for the Armed Forces, insurgents began to flee the city during the barrage, and were in a state of "panic and chaos". Hospitals and residential buildings were heavily damaged, and many remaining residents took shelter in basements. The cities of Pervomaisk, Kalynove, Komyshuvakha, in western Luhansk Oblast near
Popasna Popasna (, rus, Попасная, r=Popasnaya) is a ruined city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2013, it had almost 22,000 inhabitants. Prior to 2020, it was the administrative center of the former Popasna Raion. In 20 ...
, were captured by government forces on 12 August after heavy fighting. Heavy shelling of Donetsk continued into 14 August. During this artillery barrage, Igor Girkin resigned from his post as commander of the insurgent forces of the Donetsk People's Republic. He was replaced by Vladimir Kononov (military), Vladimir Kononov, who is known by the nom de guerre ''Tsar''. Girkin's resignation, along with the 7 August resignation of DPR prime minister Alexander Borodai (who was replaced by Alexander Zakharchenko), represented a shift in the nature of the conflict. Given the recent military failings of the DPR and the LPR, Russia decided that it could no longer rely on a patchwork of irregular fighters in the Donbas, and ordered a change in leadership. It abandoned the separatist project, and replaced it with the idea of federalisation of Donbas within Ukraine. To effect this change, it would soon switch gears from hybrid warfare to conventional warfare.


History as an open war between Russia and Ukraine


August 2014 invasion by Russian forces

On 14 August, a convoy of some two dozen armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles with official Russian military plates crossed into Ukraine near the insurgent-controlled Izvaryne border crossing. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen confirmed that a "Russian incursion" into Ukraine had occurred. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said that Ukrainian artillery engaged and destroyed a "significant" portion of the armoured column. The Ministry of Defence (Russia), Russian Defence Ministry denied the existence of any such convoy. Following this incident, the newly appointed prime minister of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko said that his forces included 1,200 Russian-trained combatants. A Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jet was shot down by the insurgents in Luhansk Oblast on 17 August. Ten civilians were killed during continued shelling in Donetsk. The insurgent-occupied city of Horlivka was encircled by the Armed Forces on 18 August. Government forces also advanced into the edges of Luhansk city. A convoy of refugees from Luhansk Luhansk refugee convoy attack, was hit by Grad rockets near the village of Novosvitlivka, Luhansk Oblast, Novosvitlivka. Dozens of civilians died in the attack, which the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine blamed on the insurgents. Insurgents denied attacking any refugee convoys. DPR prime minister Aleksandr Zakharchenko stated that if the Ukrainian government made "reasonable proposals to lay down arms, close borders, we will talk on equal terms as equal partners". He added, however, that the government "must recognise us as a state, now it is already impossible to ask for a certain degree of autonomy".Donetsk Republic prime minister says militia ready for reasonable talks with Kiev
Information Telegraph Agency of Russia (19 August 2014) After having edged into Luhansk city on 18 August, government forces began to advance through the city "block by block" on 19 August. Fighting was heard in streets across the city, and shelling of many insurgent-occupied districts continued. There was also fighting
Makiivka Makiivka ( uk, Макіївка, Makíyivka, ; russian: Макеевка, Makeyevka, ), formerly Dmytriivsk, is an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Located from the capital Donetsk, the two cities are practically a conurbati ...
and Ilovaisk, two cities just outside Donetsk city. A spokesman for the Internal Affairs Ministry said that government forces were "clearing" Ilovaisk of insurgents, and later captured most of the city. The headquarters of the DPR in Donetsk city were also shelled. Fighting across Donetsk Oblast on 19 August resulted in the deaths of 34 civilians. By early evening on 20 August, government forces said that they had recaptured "significant parts" of the city of Luhansk, after a series of running battles in streets throughout the day. By 25 August, an insurgent counter-offensive had stalled the government's offensive on Donetsk and Luhansk cities. Insurgents attacked government positions in Shchastia, and along the Siverskyi Donets River in Luhansk Oblast. As this attack occurred, insurgents in Luhansk received reinforcements. Government forces near Ilovaisk and Amvrosiivka in Donetsk Oblast became surrounded by insurgents, after their attempt to take Ilovaisk was halted by heavy shelling. The pro-government volunteer
Donbas Battalion , image = Emblem of the Donbas Battalion.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = Donbas Battalion emblem , start_date = , country = , alle ...
, trapped in the city for days by the insurgents, accused the Ukrainian government and Armed Forces of "abandoning" them. Other volunteer battalions, such as the
Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mout ...
and Dnipro Battalion, Dnipro, left Ilovaisk after encountering heavy resistance. Donbas Battalion leader Semen Semenchenko said "I think it is profitable for the defence ministry not to send help, but to achieve a situation where volunteer battalions start blaming each other about who helped who". DPR forces stated their intention to "fight their way to the Azov Sea" on 23 August. In line with this statement, an artillery barrage rained down on the coastal city of
Novoazovsk Novoazovsk (, ; rus, Новоазовск}) is a border town on the south-eastern tip of Ukraine (near the border with Russia), A column of armoured vehicles crossed into Ukraine from Russia near
Novoazovsk Novoazovsk (, ; rus, Новоазовск}) is a border town on the south-eastern tip of Ukraine (near the border with Russia), There were no insurgent formations within of this area for many weeks. Heavy fighting took place in the village of Markyne, from Novoazovsk. Insurgents used the village as a base to shell Novoazovsk. A spokesman for the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine said that the entrance of the column into Ukraine was an attempt "by the Russian military in the guise of Donbas fighters to open a new area of military confrontation". According to the Mariupol city website, the Dnipro Battalion, Dnipro and Donbas Battalion, Donbas battalions repelled the attack, and the "invaders" retreated to the border. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had no knowledge of the incident, and suggested that reports of the incident being an incursion by Russian forces were "disinformation." Directly prior to the appearance of the column, the area was heavily shelled. The nearest insurgent artillery positions were beyond the range of this area. Villagers from Kolosky in Starobesheve Raion told
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
that military men with Russian accents and no identifying insignias had appeared in the village at the weekend of 23–24 August. They set up a roadblock near the village. The men wore distinctive white armbands. The villagers referred to them as "Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War), little green men", a term that was used to refer to the irregular Russian forces that took 2014 Crimean crisis, control of Crimea from February 2014. Following the appearance of these men, ten soldiers in green military uniforms with white armbands were detained by Ukrainian forces at Dzerkalne. This village is north of Novoazovosk, from Kolosky, and about from the Russian border. The Russian military confirmed that these men were Russian paratroopers and that they had been captured. The Russian Defence Ministry said the men had entered Ukraine "by mistake during an exercise". The
Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...
(SBU) released videos that they said were interviews with the captive Russian soldiers. In one of the videos, a soldier said that their commanders had sent them on a march "without explaining its purpose or warning that they would be in Ukrainian territory, where they were apprehended by Ukrainian forces and surrendered without a fight". Insurgents pushed into
Novoazovsk Novoazovsk (, ; rus, Новоазовск}) is a border town on the south-eastern tip of Ukraine (near the border with Russia), Whilst the Ukrainian government said they were in "total control" of Novoazovsk, town mayor Oleg Sidorkin confirmed that the insurgents had captured it. He also said that "dozens" of tanks and armoured vehicles had been used by the insurgents in their assault on the town. At least four civilians were injured by insurgent shelling. To the north, close to Starobesheve, Ukrainian forces said that they spotted a column of 100 armoured vehicles, tanks, and Grad rocket lorries that was heading south, toward Novoazovsk. They said these vehicles were marked with "white circles or triangles", similar to the white armbands seen on the captured Russian paratroopers earlier in the week. Amidst pressure on this new third front, government forces retreated westward toward
Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast ( Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russia ...
. They evacuated the town of Starobesheve, among other areas in the stretch of borderland from the Sea of Azov to the existing insurgent-held territories. A report by ''The New York Times'' described the retreating soldiers as "exhausted, filthy and dismayed". Western officials described the new insurgent actions as a "stealth invasion" by the Russian Federation, with tanks, artillery and infantry said to have crossed into Ukraine from Russian territory. US State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said that "these incursions indicate a Russian-directed counteroffensive is likely underway", and Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
said "An invasion of Russian forces has taken place". A statement by the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) later said that Novoazovsk had been captured by "Russian troops", despite earlier denials by the Ukrainian government. According to the NSDC, Ukrainian troops withdrew from Novoazovsk to save lives, and were instead preparing defences in
Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast ( Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russia ...
. Meanwhile, fighting continued in and around Donetsk city. Shells fell on the Kalininskyi District, Donetsk, Kalininskyi district of Donetsk, and the
Donbas Battalion , image = Emblem of the Donbas Battalion.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = Donbas Battalion emblem , start_date = , country = , alle ...
continued to fight against the insurgents that had trapped them in Ilovaisk for days. NATO commander Brig. Gen. Nico Tak said on 28 August that "well over" 1,000 Russian soldiers were operating in the Donbas conflict zone. Amidst what ''The New York Times'' described as "chaos" in the conflict zone, the insurgents re-captured
Savur-Mohyla Savur-Mohyla ( uk, Савур-могила), often transliterated using the Russian spelling Saur-Mogila (russian: Саур-Могила), is a strategic height in the Donets ridge near the city of Snizhne, in occupied Ukraine. The tall hill is ...
. Despite these advances by pro-Russian forces, the National Guard of Ukraine temporarily retook the city of Komsomolske, Donetsk Oblast, Komsomolske in Starobesheve Raion of Donetsk Oblast on 29 August. However, two days later, Ukrainian forces retreated from the city, and Komsomolske was once again taken by the DPR forces. Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces retreated from Novosvitlivka, Luhansk Oblast, Novosvitlivka after being attacked by what they said were "Russian tanks". They said that every house in the village was destroyed. The trapped
Donbas Battalion , image = Emblem of the Donbas Battalion.svg , image_size = 200 , caption = Donbas Battalion emblem , start_date = , country = , alle ...
withdrew from Ilovaisk on 30 August after negotiating an agreement with pro-Russian forces. According to some of the troops who withdrew from Ilovaisk, DPR forces violated the agreement and fired on them whilst they retreated under white flags, killing as many as several dozen. A Ukrainian patrol boat in the Sea of Azov was hit by shore-based artillery fire on 31 August. Eight sailors were rescued from the sinking boat, whilst two crew-members were missing. Former insurgent commander
Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...
said that the insurgents had "dealt the enemy their first naval defeat". Government forces withdrew from
Luhansk International Airport Luhansk International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Луганськ") was an airport in Luhansk, Ukraine . The airport was located 20 km (12 miles) south of the city center, 9 km to the city limit. Since 11 Ju ...
on 1 September, despite having held the airport from insurgent attacks for weeks prior. The airport saw fierce fighting on the night before the withdrawal, and Ukrainian officials said that their forces at the airport had been attacked by a column of Russian tanks. Clashes also continued at
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
. Heavy fighting was observed by OSCE monitors near the villages of Shyrokyne and Bezimenne, Novoazovsk Raion, Bezimenne on 4 September. Respectively, these villages are and east of Mariupol. Ukrainian officials in Mariupol said that the situation there "was worsening by the hour", and that there was an imminent danger of an attack on the city. DPR forces came within of the city on 4 September, but their advance was repulsed by an overnight counter-attack launched by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Armed Forces and the Azov Battalion. They were driven back about east of the city. Constant shelling was heard on the outskirts of Mariupol.


September 2014 ceasefire

After days of peace talks in
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
under the auspices of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
(OSCE), Ukraine, Russia, the DPR, and the LPR Minsk Protocol, agreed to a ceasefire on 5 September. OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, OSCE monitors said they would observe the ceasefire, and assist the Ukrainian government in implementing it. According to ''The New York Times'', the agreement was an "almost verbatim" replication of Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
's failed June " 15-point peace plan". It was agreed that there would be an Prisoner exchange, exchange of all prisoners taken by both sides, and that heavy weaponry should be removed from the combat zone. Humanitarian corridors were meant to be maintained so that civilians could leave affected areas. President Poroshenko said that Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts would be granted "special status", and that use of the Russian language in these areas would be protected by law. Russia started a more robust train and equip operation to strengthen separatists forces. DPR and LPR leaders said that they retained their desire for full independence from Ukraine, despite these concessions. 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 Ukrainian president Poroshenko discussed the ceasefire on 6 September. Both parties said that they were satisfied with the ceasefire, and that it was generally holding. The ceasefire was broken multiple times on the night of 6–7 September, and into the day on 7 September. These violations resulted in the deaths of four Ukrainian soldiers, whilst 29 were injured. Heavy shelling by the insurgents was reported on the eastern outskirts of Mariupol, and OSCE monitors said that the Ukrainian government had fired rockets from
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
. The OSCE said that these breaches of the agreement would not cause the ceasefire to collapse. Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
said on 10 September that "70% of Russian troops have been moved back across the border", and also added that this action gave him "hope that the Minsk Agreement (2014), peace initiatives have good prospects". Ceasefire violations continued, however. In line with the Minsk Protocol, OSCE monitors said that they observed a prisoner exchange near
Avdiivka Avdiivka (, , is a city of regional significance in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast. The city is in the center of the region, just north of the city of Donetsk. The large Avdiivka Coke Plant is located in Avdiivka. The city's population is officiall ...
at 03:40 on 12 September. Ukrainian forces released 31 DPR insurgents, whilst DPR forces released 37 Ukrainian soldiers. OSCE monitors documented violations of the Minsk Protocol in numerous areas of Donetsk Oblast from 13 to 15 September. These areas included
Makiivka Makiivka ( uk, Макіївка, Makíyivka, ; russian: Макеевка, Makeyevka, ), formerly Dmytriivsk, is an industrial city in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Located from the capital Donetsk, the two cities are practically a conurbati ...
, Telmanove,
Debaltseve Debaltseve or Debaltsevo ( uk, Деба́льцеве ''Debálʼtseve'', ; russian: Деба́льцево ''Debálʼtsevo'') is a city of regional significance in the ''de facto'' Donetsk People's Republic; ''de jure'' Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. T ...
, Petrovske, near
Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast ( Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russia ...
,
Yasynuvata Yasynuvata ( uk, Ясинува́та, ; russian: Ясиноватая — Yasinovataya) is a city in Donetsk Oblast (province) of south-eastern Ukraine. Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast significance. It also serves as th ...
, and
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
, all of which saw intense fighting. Two of the armoured vehicles that the monitors were travelling in were struck by shrapnel, rendering one of the vehicles inoperable and forcing the monitors to retreat. According to the monitors, troop and equipment movements were being carried out by both DPR and Ukrainian forces. They also said that there were "command and control issues" amongst both parties to the conflict. A visit by the monitors to
Luhansk International Airport Luhansk International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Луганськ") was an airport in Luhansk, Ukraine . The airport was located 20 km (12 miles) south of the city center, 9 km to the city limit. Since 11 Ju ...
took place on 20 September. They said that the airport was "completely destroyed", and entirely unusable. Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
said on 21 September that the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost between 60% and 65% of its total active equipment over the course of the war. Members of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, Trilateral Contact Group and the DPR took part in a video conference on 25 September 2014. According to a statement released by the OSCE on the day after the conference, all parties agreed that the fighting had "subsided in recent days", and that the "situation along 70%" of the buffer zone was "calm". They also said that they would "spare no efforts" to strengthen the ceasefire. Scattered violations of the ceasefire continued. In the most significant incident since the start of the ceasefire, seven Ukrainian soldiers died on 29 September when a tank shell struck the armoured personnel carrier that they were travelling in near Donetsk International Airport. A skirmish ensued, leaving many soldiers wounded. Over the next few days, Second Battle of Donetsk Airport, fighting continued around Donetsk International Airport, whilst Donetsk city itself came under heavy shelling. Amidst this renewed violence, OSCE chairman Didier Burkhalter issued a statement that "urged all sides to immediately stop fighting", and also said that putting the ceasefire at risk of collapse would be "irresponsible and deplorable". According to a report released by the UN Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on 8 October, the ceasefire implemented by the Minsk Protocol was becoming "increasingly fragile". The statement that announced the release of the report said that at least 331 people had been killed since the start of ceasefire, and that the most fierce fighting took place around
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
,
Debaltseve Debaltseve or Debaltsevo ( uk, Деба́льцеве ''Debálʼtseve'', ; russian: Деба́льцево ''Debálʼtsevo'') is a city of regional significance in the ''de facto'' Donetsk People's Republic; ''de jure'' Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. T ...
, and Shchastia. The report said that the majority of civilian deaths were caused by both insurgent and Ukrainian shelling. Several hundred
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
troops protested outside the Ukrainian Presidential Administration Building (Kyiv), presidential administration building in Kyiv on 13 October. They demanded the end of conscription, and their own demobilisation. According to ''Kyiv Post'', many of the protesters stated that they had clashed with Euromaidan protesters, and that they were not in favour of that movement.


November 2014 separatist elections and aftermath

Heavy fighting continued across the Donbas through October, despite the ceasefire. In violation of the procedure agreed to as part of the
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
, DPR and LPR authorities 2014 Donbas general elections, held parliamentary and executive elections on 2 November. In response to the elections, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko asked parliament to revoke the "special status" that was granted to DPR and LPR-controlled areas as part of the Minsk Protocol. DPR deputy prime minister Andrei Purgin said that Ukrainian forces had launched "all-out war" against the DPR and LPR on 6 November. Ukrainian officials denied any offensive and said that they would adhere to the Minsk Protocol. Despite this, battles continued across the Donbas, leaving many soldiers dead. Concurrently, separatist representatives requested a redraughting of the Minsk Protocol, as a result of recurrent violations. Intermittent shelling of Donetsk renewed on 5 November. OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine, OSCE monitors reported on 8 November that there were large movements of unmarked heavy equipment in separatist-held territory. These movements included armoured personnel carriers, lorries, petrol tankers, and tanks, which were being manned and escorted by men in dark green uniforms without insignias. Ukrainian government spokesmen said that these were movements of Russian troops, but this could not be independently verified. Overnight into 9 November, intense shelling from both government and insurgent positions rocked Donetsk. OSCE chairman Didier Burkhalter said that he was "very concerned" about the "resurgence of violence", and stressed the importance of adhering to the
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
. OSCE monitors observed more munitions convoys in separatist-held territory on 9 November. These included 17 unmarked green ZiL lorries loaded with ammunition at Sverdlovsk, and 17 similar Kamaz lorries towing howitzers at Zuhres. Another convoy of 43 green military lories, some towing howitzers and rocket launchers, was observed by OSCE monitors in Donetsk on 11 November. Following the reports of these troop and equipment movements, NATO Philip Breedlove, General Philip Breedlove said on 12 November that he could confirm that Russian troops and heavy equipment had crossed into Ukraine during the preceding week. In response, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry said that it was preparing for a renewed offensive by pro-Russian forces. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said "there was and is no evidence" to support NATO's statement. By 2 December, at least 1,000 people had died during fighting in the Donbas, since the signing of the Minsk Protocol in early September. A BBC report said that the ceasefire had been "a fiction". In light of this continued fighting, Ukrainian and separatist forces agreed to cease all military operations for a "Day of Silence" on 9 December. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said that he hoped that the "Day of Silence" would encourage the signing of a new peace deal. Whilst no new peace talks took place following the "Day of Silence", fighting between Ukrainian and separatist forces lessened significantly over the course of December. A report by the International Crisis Group stated that the late 2014 2014 Russian financial crisis, financial crisis in Russia, in tandem with International sanctions during the 2013–15 Ukrainian Crisis, American and European economic sanctions, deterred further advances by pro-Russian forces. The report also raised concerns about the potential for "humanitarian catastrophe" in separatist-controlled Donbas during the cold winter months, saying that the separatists were unable "to provide basic services for the population". In line with the
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
, more prisoner exchanges took place during the week of 21–27 December. More OSCE-organised talks were held in
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
during that week, but they reached no result. In a press conference on 29 December, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the Minsk Protocol was becoming effective "point by point", and also said that "progress" was being made. Since the signing of the Protocol, over 1,500 people held by the separatists had been released as part of the prisoner exchanges. Whereas Ukrainian forces had been losing about 100 men per day prior to the Protocol, only about 200 had been killed in the four months since its signing. Poroshenko also said that he believed that conflict would only end if Russian troops were to leave Donbas.


Escalation in January 2015

OSCE monitors reported a "rise in tensions" following New Year's Day. Numerous ceasefire violations were recorded, with most occurring near
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
. Infighting amongst insurgent groups broke out in Luhansk Oblast. In one incident, LPR militants said that they had killed Alexander Bednov, the leader of the pro-Russian "Batman Battalion", on 2 January 2015. LPR officials said that Bednov had been running an "illegal prison", and that he had engaged in torturing prisoners. In another incident, the leader of an
Antratsyt Antratsyt or Antratsit (; ) is a city in the Luhansk region of Ukraine. Until 1962 it was known as Bokove-Antratsyt. The city is located in the southern part of the Luhansk Oblast (region). Antratsyt is incorporated as a city of oblast significa ...
-based Don Cossack militant group, Nikolai Kozitsyn, said that the territory controlled by his group, claimed by the Luhansk People's Republic, had become part of the "Russian empire", and that Russian president Vladimir Putin was its "emperor". An intercity bus stopped at a government checkpoint in Buhas Volnovakha bus attack, was hit by a
Grad rocket The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first comb ...
on 13 January, killing 12 civilians. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko declared a day of national mourning. Buhas is south-west of Donetsk city. The new terminal building at
Donetsk International Airport Donetsk Sergei Prokofiev International Airport ( uk, Міжнародний аеропорт "Донецьк", Russian: Международный аэропорт "Донецк") is a former airport located northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, that ...
, which had been a site of fighting between Ukrainian and separatist troops since May 2014, was captured by the DPR forces on 15 January. In the days prior to the capturing, the airport was heavily barraged by separatist rocket fire. DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko stated that the capture of the airport was the first step toward regaining territory lost to Ukrainian forces during the middle of 2014. He said "Let our countrymen hear this: We will not just give up our land. We will either take it back peacefully, or like that", referring to the capture of the airport. Such an offensive by separatist forces would signal the complete breakdown of the frequently ignored
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
, which established a buffer zone between Ukrainian-controlled and separatist-controlled territories. Ukrainian forces said that there had been "no order to retreat" from the airport, and DPR parliament chairman Andrey Purgin said that while DPR forces had gained control of the terminal buildings, fighting was ongoing because "the Ukrainians have lots of places to hide". Concurrently, a new round of Minsk talks, scheduled for 16 January by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, was called off after DPR and LPR leaders Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky refused to attend. A government military operation at the weekend of 17–18 January resulted in Ukrainian forces recapturing most of Donetsk International Airport. According to National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian NSDC representative Andriy Lysenko, the operation restored the lines of control established by the
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
, and therefore did not constitute a violation of it. The operation caused fighting to move toward Donetsk proper, resulting in heavy shelling of residential areas of the city that border the airport. DPR authorities said that they halted government forces at Putylivskiy bridge, which connects the airport and the city proper. The bridge, which is strategically important, was destroyed during the fighting. OSCE monitors reported that shelling had caused heavy damage in the Donetsk residential districts of Kyivskyi, Kirovskyi, Petrovskyi, and Voroshylovskyi District, Donetsk, Voroshilovskyi. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on 21 January that Russia had deployed more than 9,000 soldiers and 500 tanks, artillery units, and armoured personnel carriers in the Donbas. An article that appeared in ''The Daily Telegraph'' said that deployment appeared to be "a response to Kyiv's success" in retaining control of Donetsk International Airport. On the same day, Ukrainian forces attempted to surround the airport in an attempt to push back the insurgents. As Ukrainian and DPR forces fought away from the airport, a group of insurgents stormed the first and third floors of the new terminal building. Ukrainian troops held out on the second floor of the building until the ceiling collapsed, killing several soldiers. The remaining Ukrainian forces were either captured, killed, or were forced to withdraw from the airport, allowing DPR forces to overrun it. According to one volunteer, 37 Ukrainian troops died. ''The Daily Telegraph'' called the Ukrainian defeat at the airport "devastating". Following this victory, separatist forces began to attack Ukrainian forces along the line of control in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Particularly heavy fighting broke out along the Siverskyi Donets River, to the north-west of
Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...
city. Separatist forces captured a Ukrainian checkpoint at Krymske, attacked other checkpoints in the area, and shelled villages near Shchastia. Separatist forces began Battle of Debaltseve, an assault on the government-controlled town of
Debaltseve Debaltseve or Debaltsevo ( uk, Деба́льцеве ''Debálʼtseve'', ; russian: Деба́льцево ''Debálʼtsevo'') is a city of regional significance in the ''de facto'' Donetsk People's Republic; ''de jure'' Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. T ...
in north-eastern Donetsk Oblast, barraging it with artillery fire. The DPR launched January 2015 Mariupol attack, an attack on Mariupol from Shyrokyne during the morning of 24 January. A hail of Grad rockets killed at least 30 people, and wounded another 83. Heavy fighting Battle of Debaltseve#Closing the "kettle", continued in Debaltseve over the next week, resulting in many civilian and combatant casualties. French president François Hollande and German chancellor Angela Merkel put forth a new peace plan on 7 February. The Franco-German plan, drawn up after talks with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and Russian president Vladimir Putin, was seen as a revival of the
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
. President Hollande said that the plan was the "last chance" for resolution of the conflict. The plan was put forth in response to American proposals to send armaments to the Ukrainian government, something that Chancellor Merkel said would only result in a worsening of the crisis. Fighting worsened in the run-up to the scheduled 11 February talks to discuss the Franco-German peace plan. DPR forces shelled the city of
Kramatorsk Kramatorsk ( uk, Краматорськ, translit=Kramatorsk ) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in the northern portion of Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significan ...
on 10 February, which had last seen fighting in July 2014. The shelling targeted the city's Armed Forces headquarters, but also hit a nearby residential area. Seven people were killed, while 26 were wounded. The pro-government Azov Battalion launched Shyrokyne standoff (February–July 2015), an offensive to recapture separatist-controlled areas on the outskirts of Mariupol, centred on the village of Shyrokyne. Battalion commander Andriy Biletsky (politician), Andriy Biletsky said his forces were moving toward
Novoazovsk Novoazovsk (, ; rus, Новоазовск}) is a border town on the south-eastern tip of Ukraine (near the border with Russia), In October 2015 a member of the monitoring mission Maksim Udovichenko, delegated to OSCE by Russia, was suspended for "misbehavior" involving alcohol while in Severodonetsk and admitted he is actually a GRU officer.


Minsk II ceasefire and denouement

The scheduled summit at
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
on 11 February 2015 resulted in the signing of a new package of peacemaking measures, called
Minsk II The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, know ...
, on 12 February. The plan, similar in content to the failed
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
, called for an unconditional ceasefire, to begin on 15 February, amongst many other measures. Despite the signing of Minsk II, fighting Battle of Debaltseve, continued around Debaltseve. DPR forces said that ceasefire did not apply to Debaltseve, and continued their offensive. Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw from the Debaltseve area on 18 February, leaving separatist forces in control of it. In the week after the fall of Debaltseve to pro-Russian forces, fighting in the conflict zone abated. DPR and LPR forces began to withdraw artillery from the front lines as specified by Minsk II on 24 February, and Ukraine did so on 26 February. Ukraine reported that it had suffered no casualties during 24–26 February, something that had not occurred since early January 2015. Minor skirmishes continued into March, but the ceasefire was largely observed across the combat zone. Ukrainian and separatist forces had withdrawn most of the heavy weaponry specified in Minsk II by 10 March. Minor violations of the ceasefire continued throughout March and into April, though it continued to hold, and the numbers of casualties reported by both sides were greatly reduced. To open the ASHX file, change file type extension from .ashx to .pdf. Fighting flared up on 3 June 2015, when Battle of Marinka (2015), DPR insurgents launched an attack on government-controlled Marinka. Artillery and tanks were utilised in the battle there, which was described as the heaviest fighting since the signing of Minsk II. An anti-war protest took place in Donetsk city on 15 June. The protest, the first of its kind in pro-Russian separatist-controlled territory, called for an end to the fighting in the Donbas. About 500 people, who had gathered outside the RSA building, shouted, "Stop the war!", "Give us back our houses, our homes are broken!", and "Get out of here!" Specifically, protesters demanded that the separatists cease firing rocket attacks from residential areas on the outskirts of Donetsk. Whilst all parties to the conflict continued to support implementation of the measures specified by Minsk II, minor skirmishes continued on a daily basis through June and July 2015. Ukrainian troops suffered losses on a daily basis, and the ceasefire was labelled "unworkable" and "impossible to implement". Despite constant fighting and shelling along the line of contact, no territorial changes occurred. This state of stalemate led the war to be labelled a "
frozen conflict In international relations, a frozen conflict is a situation in which active armed conflict has been brought to an end, but no peace treaty or other political framework resolves the conflict to the satisfaction of the combatants. Therefore, lega ...
". Following months of ceasefire violations, the Government of Ukraine, Ukrainian government, the Donetsk People's Republic, DPR and the Luhansk People's Republic, LPR jointly agreed to halt all fighting, starting on 1 September 2015. This agreement coincided with the start of the school year in Ukraine, and was intended to allow for another attempt at implementing the points of
Minsk II The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, know ...
. By 12 September, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that the ceasefire had been holding, and that the parties to the conflict were "very close" to reaching an agreement to withdraw heavy weaponry from the line of contact, as specified by Minsk II. The area around Mariupol, including Shyrokyne, saw no fighting. According to Ukrainian Defence Minister Stepan Poltorak, violence in the Donbas had reached its lowest level since the start of the war. Whilst the ceasefire continued to hold into November, no final settlement to the conflict was agreed. ''The New York Times'' described this result as part of "a common arc of Post-Soviet conflicts, post-Soviet conflict, visible in the Georgian enclaves of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan and in Transnistria", and said that separatist-controlled areas had become a "frozen zone", where people "live in ruins, amid a ruined ideology, in the ruins of the old empire." This state of affairs continued into 2016, with a 15 April report by the BBC labelling the conflict as "Europe's forgotten war". Minor outbreaks of fighting continued along the line of contact, though no major territorial changes occurred. A new ceasefire came into effect on 1 September 2016, described at the time by BBC correspondent Tom Burridge as "the first time there has been a true halt to fighting in 11 months", and in 2018 described by TASS as the most successful ceasefire over the course of the conflict. Within days both sides accused each other of breaching the ceasefire, although they also stated that the ceasefire was widely observed. Nevertheless, on 6 September (2016), Ukrainian authorities reported the death of yet another soldier. On 24 December 2016, the tenth indefinite ceasefire since the start of the conflict came into effect; according to the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government, and the separatists, the ceasefire was not observed.Ukraine rebels agree to new indefinite truce
SBS Australia (24 December 2016)
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30, 4 January 2017
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
(5 January 2017)
Militants shell Ukrainian army positions 32 times in past 24 hours
Interfax-Ukraine (6 January 2017)
Kiev forces violate ceasefire three times over past 24 hours — news agency
TASS news agency (3 January 2017)


January 2017 eruption of heavy fighting and failed ceasefires

2016 was the first full calendar year of the conflict in which Ukraine lost no territories to pro-Russian forces. In addition, both the Ukrainian Armed Forces (211 combat losses and 256 non-combat losses) and the local populace (13 in Ukrainian government-controlled areas) suffered many fewer casualties than in 2015.The Best of the Worst: What 2016 Was Like for Donbas
Hromadske TV, Hromadske International (9 January 2017) The new year, however, brought a new eruption of heavy fighting, starting on 29 January 2017, Battle of Avdiivka, centred on the Ukrainian-controlled city of Avdiivka. On 18 February 2017, 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 ...
signed a decree whereby the Russian authorities would recognise personal and vehicle-registration documents issued by the DPR and LPR. The presidential decree referred to "permanent residents of certain areas of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts", without any mention of the self-proclaimed People's Republics. Ukrainian authorities decried the decree as being directly contradictory to the Minsk II agreement and that it "legally recognised the quasi-state terrorist groups which cover Russia's occupation of part of Donbas." Secretary General of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, pro ...
(OSCE) Lamberto Zannier stated on 19 February the decree "implies...recognition of those who issue the documents, of course" and that it would make it more difficult to hold a ceasefire. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, after meeting with his Ukrainian, German and French counterparts in Munich on 18 February, said that a ceasefire between Ukraine and the separatists had been agreed effective from 20 February 2017. But according to a Ukrainian Armed Forces spokesman on 20 February 2017 separatists attacks continued, although he did state there was a "significant reduction in military activity."

 On 21 February OSCE's Secretary General Zannier stated there were still a significant number of violations of the cease-fire and "no evidence of the withdrawal of weapons".Monitor Says Ukraine Cease-Fire, Weapons Withdrawal Not Being Honored
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (22 February 2017) According to both parties to the conflict, the fourth truce attempt of 2017 collapsed within a few hours on 24 June 2017.Ukraine Says Two Soldiers Killed Despite Cease-Fire
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (24 June 2017) A "back to school ceasefire" to begin on 25 August 2017 also immediately collapsed when, on that very day, both combatants claimed that the other side had violated it.Ukraine's Back to School "Ceasefire"
Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (29 August 2017)
Ukrainian military violate back-to-school ceasefire, one civilian injured – command
TASS news agency (16 September 2017) A further "Christmas ceasefire" that was to be upheld starting 00:00 (Eastern European Time) on 23 December 2017 was immediately broken by DPR and LPR forces according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (reporting nine violations including the death of a Ukrainian soldier killed by an enemy sniper and claiming the Ukrainians had not fired back). In turn, the DPR stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had broken the truce, while the LPR ''Luganskinformcenter'' news agency said the same, but also that, the "ceasefire is generally observed." On 27 December 2017, as part of the Minsk deal, a prisoner swap was conducted with 73 Ukrainian soldiers exchanged for over 200 separatists. On 18 January 2018, the Ukrainian parliament passed a bill to regain control over separatist-held areas. The bill was adopted with support from 280 lawmakers in the 450-seat Verkhovna Rada (due to the war in the Donbas and the Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, 2014 Russian annexation of
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
, only 423 of the parliament's 450 seats were elected in the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, previous electionParliamentary elections not to be held at nine constituencies in Donetsk region and six constituencies in Luhansk region – CEC
Interfax-Ukraine (25 October 2014)Ukraine crisis: President calls snap vote amid fighting
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
(25 August 2014)). The Russian government denounced the bill, calling it "preparations for a new war", and accused the Ukrainian government of violating the Minsk II, Minsk agreement. The law on the reintegration of Donbas labeled the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk as "Temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, temporarily-occupied territories", while Russia was labeled as an "aggressor". The legislation granted President Petro Poroshenko, Poroshenko "the right to use military force inside the country, without consent from the Ukrainian parliament", which would include the reclaiming of Donbas. The bill supports a ban on trade and a transport blockade of the east that has been in place since 2017. Under the legislation, the only separatist-issued documents that Ukraine would recognize are birth and death certificates. A new ceasefire agreed by all parties to the conflict went into force on 5 March 2018. By 9 March, the Ukrainian military claimed it was not being observed by the DPR and LPR forces, who in turn claimed the same of the Ukrainian military.
 On 26 March 2018, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine agreed on a "comprehensive, sustainable and unlimited ceasefire" that was to start on 30 March 2018."Easter ceasefire" in Donbas fails on its first day with attacks on Ukrainian positions
UNIAN (30 March 2018)
In the DNR, Kyiv was accused of disrupting the "Easter" truce
RIA Novosti (31 March 2018)

In LNR they have accused siloviki of infringement of "Easter" truce
RIA Novosti (30 March 2018) It collapsed on its first day. Ukraine officially ended the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (Timeline of the war in Donbas (April–June 2014)#ATO, ATO), and replaced it with "Joint Forces Operation" (JFO) on 30 April 2018. According to Lieutenant-General Serhiy Nayev, the commander of the Joint Forces Operation, the renaming was intended to signify that Ukraine was not fighting against indigenous "terrorists" or "separatist militants" in the Donbas, but against the Russian military. On the same day, the United States confirmed that it had delivered FGM-148 Javelin, Javelin anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. According to ''The Washington Post'', the missiles will be kept away from the front line, and would be used only in the case of an all-out separatist assault. On 28 June 2018, a new "harvest" "comprehensive and indefinite ceasefire regime" was agreed set to start on 1 July 2018.
 Within hours after its start both pro-Russian and Ukrainian sides accused each other of violating this truce.New truce in Donbas fails as Russian-controlled troops mount two attacks on Ukrainian army
UNIAN (1 July 2018)
ДНР has accused the Ukrainian siloviki of violating the "grain ceasefire"
TASS (1 July 2018)
In ЛНР have declared, that the Kyiv siloviki have thrown to a contact line tanks and mortars
TASS (1 July 2018)
JFO: Ukraine reports 25 enemy attacks in last day
UNIAN (2 July 2018) The 29 August 2018 ceasefire also failed.OSCE's Apakan: Political will needed for long-term sustainable solution to conflict in eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (28 September 2018) On 31 August 2018, Donetsk People's Republic, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko was killed in an explosion at a restaurant. As reported on 27 December 2018, Yuriy Biriukov, an advisor to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, claimed that almost the entire "grey zone" between the warring sides had been liberated from Russian-led forces without breaching the Minsk peace agreements, and came under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was confirmed the following day by Chief of the General Staff (Ukraine), Chief of the General Staff of the
Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...
Viktor Muzhenko. On the same day, a new (and the 22ndNew Year ceasefire enters into force in Donbass
TASS (29 December 2018) attempt at an) indefinite truce starting midnight 29 December was agreed. Both the Ukrainians and the separatists accused each other of violating the ceasefire on the day it came into effect.Invaders use grenade launchers in first hours of New Year truce in Donbas
Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...
(29 December 2018)In the LPR, Kyiv was accused of violating the "New Year" truce
RIA Novosti (29 December 2018) On 7 March 2019, the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine agreed on a new truce to start on 8 March 2019.New truce in Donbas announced from March 8
Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (7 March 2019) Although Ukraine claimed that "Russian proxies" (the separatists) had violated it on the same day, fighting did die down, with the Ukrainian side stating that the ceasefire was fully observed from 10 March 2019.Donbas sees full ceasefire in past day
Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (11 March 2019) In June, Russia began distributing Russian passports to Ukrainians living in the regions of Donbas. Which was considered by Ukrainian government as a step towards annexation of the region.


October 2019 Steinmeier formula agreement and July 2020 ceasefire

Following extensive negotiations, Ukraine, Russia, the DPR, LPR, and the OSCE signed an agreement to try to end the conflict in the Donbas on 1 October 2019. Called the "Steinmeier formula", after its proposer, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the agreement envisages free elections in DPR and LPR territories, observed and verified by the OSCE, and the subsequent reintegration of those territories into Ukraine with special status. Russia demanded the agreement's signing before any continuation of the "Normandy format" peace talks. A survey of public opinion in DPR and LPR-controlled Donbas conducted by the Centre for East European and International Studies in March 2019 found that 55% of those polled favoured reintegration with Ukraine. 24% of those in favour of reintegration supported a return to the pre-war administrative system for Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, while 33% percent supported special status for the region. In line with the Steinmeier formula, Ukrainian and separatist troops began withdrawing from the town of Zolote on 29 October. Attempts to withdraw earlier in the month had been prevented by protests from Ukrainian war veterans. A further withdrawal was successfully completed in Petrovske during November. Following the withdrawals, and a successful Russian–Ukrainian prisoner swap, Russian president Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel met in Paris on 9 December 2019 in a resumption of the Normandy format talks. The two sides agreed to exchange all remaining prisoners of war by the end of 2019, work toward new elections in the Donbas, and schedule further talks. The COVID-19 pandemic deteriorated the Humanitarian situation during the war in Donbas#Living conditions in the conflict zone, living conditions in the conflict zone. Particularly, quarantine measures imposed by Ukraine, the DPR, and the LPR prevented those in the occupied territories from crossing the line of contact, negating access to critical resources. Fighting increased in March 2020, with nineteen civilians killed, more than in the previous five months combined. While some crossings opened to small numbers of people in June 2020, the DPR introduced new regulations, ostensibly to prevent the spread of coronavirus, which made it nigh impossible for most people to cross the line of contact. In contrast, the Russian border completely reopened. The 29th attemptThe longest truce in Donbas. Does it really exist
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...
(7 September 2020) at a "full and comprehensive" ceasefire came into effect on 27 July 2020.Two Ukrainian soldiers injured in booby-trap blast in Donbas
Ukrainian Independent Information Agency (25 August 2020) During his 24 August 2020 Independence Day of Ukraine, Ukrainian Independence Day speech, President Zelenskyy announced the ceasefire had held, leading to 29 days without combat losses.President: Ukraine suffers no combat casualties for 29 days in a row
Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...
(24 August 2020) Zelenskyy also admitted, however, that despite the prisoner exchange and de-mining operations that had taken place, the peace process did not move as fast as he had expected when he signed the 9 December 2019 summit.Volodymyr Zelenskyy: 'high chance' of ending war in Ukraine 'this year'.
Euronews (25 August 2020) On 6 September 2020, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported its first combat loss since the 27 July 2020 truce, when a soldier was killed by shelling.The militants violated the truce for the second time – a soldier was killed
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...
(6 September 2020) Despite this, President Zelenskyy stated on 7 November 2020 that since the July 2020 ceasefire was established, deaths of Ukrainian soldiers in combat had decreased tenfold, and the number of attacks on soldiers decreased by five-and-a-half-fold. From 27 July 2020 until 7 November 2020, only three Ukrainian soldiers were killed.Number of Ukrainian soldiers killed in Donbas decreases tenfold over 103 days of ceasefire
Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...
(7 November 2020)


2021–2022 escalation

According to Ukrainian authorities, in the first three months of 2021, 25 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the conflict zone, compared to a total of 50 that had died in all of 2020.Ukraine conflict: Moscow could 'defend' Russia-backed rebels
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
(9 April 2021) According to the Ombudsman of the DPR, 85 soldiers and 30 civilians were killed in January–October 2021 as a consequence of military action. In late March–early April 2021, the Russian military moved large quantities of arms and equipment from western and central Russia, and as far away as Siberia, into occupied Crimea and the Voronezh Oblast, Voronezh and Rostov Oblast, Rostov oblasts of Russia. A Jane's Information Group, Janes intelligence specialist identified fourteen Russian military units from the Central Military District that had moved into the vicinity of the Russo-Ukrainian border, and called it the largest unannounced military movement since the 2014 invasion of Crimea. Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Ruslan Khomchak said that Russia had stationed twenty-eight battalion tactical groups along the border, and that it was expected that twenty-five more were to be brought in, including in Bryansk Oblast, Bryansk and Voronezh oblasts in Russia's Western Military District. The following day, Russian state news agency TASS reported that fifty of its battalion tactical group, BTGs consisting of 15,000 soldiers were massed for drills in the Southern Military District, which includes occupied Crimea and also borders the Donbas conflict zone. By April 9, the head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Ukrainian border guard estimated that 85,000 Russian soldiers were already in Crimea or within of the Ukrainian border. A Russian government spokesman said that the Russian military movements posed no threat, but Russian official Dmitry Kozak warned that Russian forces could act to "defend" Russian citizens in Ukraine, and any escalation of the Donbas conflict would mean "the beginning of the end of Ukraine" – "not a shot in the leg, but in the face". By this time, some half a million people in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and
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 ...
had been issued Russian passports since fighting broke out in 2014.Why Russia may not be planning the invasion that Ukraine fears
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
(15 April 2021) Russia refused to participate when Ukraine requested a Vienna Document meeting with France, Germany, and the
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
. German chancellor Angela Merkel telephoned 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 ...
to demand a reversal of the buildup. United States White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced in early April 2021 that a buildup of Russian troops on Ukrainian border was the largest since 2014. In April 2021, Ukraine performed the first operational rollout of Turkey, Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 military drones in the region. In November, a Bayraktar drone on the Ukrainian-government-controlled side of the line of contact was used to destroy a separatist artillery piece on the other side, which was conducting a strike that levelled homes and wounded and killed Ukrainian soldiers. In November, DNR leader Denis Pushilin said Ukrainian troops regained control of the village of Staromarivka in the grey zone. The use of Ukrainian and Russian drones was criticised by France and Germany, while the United States pointed out that the Russia-led side has repeatedly violated agreements by the use of drones and howitzer artillery. Russian agencies reported unease from the development, warning that further usage of the Bayraktar TB2 in the Donbas could "destabilize the situation" in the region. In December 2021, Ukrainian authorities said that Russia was sending snipers and tanks to the region. On 21 January 2022, the Chairman of the State Duma, Chairman of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, called for a discussion in the parliamentary body to recognize the independence of the Donbas region and its separation from Ukraine. By February 2022, fighting had escalated. There was a sharp increase in artillery shelling by the Russian-led militants in Donbas, which was considered by Ukraine and its allies to be an attempt to provoke the Ukrainian army or create a pretext for invasion. For example, the Ukrainian military reported enduring 60 attacks along the line of contact on 17 February alone, including "one shell that struck a kindergarten near the front line, injuring three staff. There were two to five attacks per day over the first six weeks of this year". 2021–2022 Russo-Ukrainian crisis, Amid increased tensions between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced on 21 February that Russia would recognise the International recognition of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. This announcement was followed by an order to deploy Russian troops to the Donbas as "peacekeepers". A number of western countries, including the US, UK, and the EU, announced that they would impose new sanctions on Russian-connected organisations in response.


2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a new, full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The DPR and LPR joined the offensive; the separatists stated that Eastern Ukraine offensive, an operation to capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast had begun. By 25 March 2022, Russian forces claimed control over 93 percent of Luhansk oblast and 54 percent of Donetsk oblast. Having encountered heavy resistance to its operations in other parts of Ukraine, Russia announced on the same day that it would shift its focus to the complete "liberation" of the Donbas.


Combatants


List of combatants

Diverse forces of both foreign and domestic origin have participated in the war in the Donbas.


Russian involvement

Russian involvement in the Donbas war has taken a variety of forms since the beginning of the conflict in 2014. The initial protests across southern and eastern Ukraine were largely native expressions of discontent with the new Ukrainian government. Russian involvement at this stage was limited to voicing support for the demonstrations, and the emergence of the separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk began as a small fringe group of the protesters, independent of Russian control. Russia would go on to take advantage of this, however, to launch a co-ordinated political and military campaign against Ukraine, as part of the broader
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 ...
. 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 ...
gave legitimacy to the nascent separatist movement when he described the Donbas as part of the historic "New Russia" (''Novorossiya'') region, and said he didn't understand how the region had ever become part of Ukraine in 1922, when the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was founded. When the Ukrainian authorities cracked down on the pro-Russian protests and arrested local separatist leaders in early March, these were replaced by people with ties to the Russian security services and interests in Russian businesses, probably by order of Russian intelligence. By April 2014, Russians citizens had taken control of the separatist movement, and were supported by volunteers and materiel from Russia, including Chechen and Cossack militants. According to DPR insurgent commander
Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...
, without this support in April, the movement would have fizzled out, as in it did 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.Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
. As conflict between the separatists and the Ukrainian government escalated in May 2014, Russia began to employ a "
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
approach", deploying a combination of disinformation tactics, irregular fighters, regular Russian troops, and conventional military support to support the separatists and destabilise the Donbas region. The First Battle of Donetsk Airport in late May 2014 marked a turning point in conflict; it was the first battle between the separatists and the Ukrainian government that involved large amounts of Russian volunteers. According to the Ukrainian government, at the height of the conflict in the summer of 2014, Russian paramilitaries were reported to make up between 15% to 80% of the combatants. According to the RAND Corporation, "Russia has armed, trained, and led the separatist forces. But even by Kyiv's ow
estimates
the vast majority of rebel forces consist of locals—not soldiers of the regular Russian military." By August 2014, the Ukrainian "Anti-Terrorist Operation" was able to vastly shrink the territory under the control of the pro-Russian forces, and came close to regaining control of the Russo-Ukrainian border. Igor Girkin urged Russian military intervention, and said that the combat inexperience of his irregular forces, along with recruitment difficulties amongst the local population in Donetsk Oblast had caused the setbacks. He addressed 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 ...
, saying that: "Losing this war on the territory that President Vladimir Putin personally named New Russia would threaten the Kremlin's power and, personally, the power of the president". In response to the deteriorating situation in the Donbas, Russia abandoned its hybrid approach, and began a conventional invasion of the region. The first sign of this invasion was the 25 August 2014 capture of a group of Russian paratroopers on active service in Ukrainian territory by the Security Service of Ukraine, Ukrainian security service (SBU). The SBU released photographs of them, and their names. On the following day, the Russian Defence Ministry said these soldiers had crossed the border "by accident". According to 's estimates, by mid-August 2014 during the Battle of Ilovaisk, there were between 20,000 and 25,000 troops fighting in the Donbas on the separatist side, and only between 40% and 45% were "locals". Beginning on 27 August 2014, vast amounts of military equipment and troops crossed the border from Russia into southern Donetsk Oblast, an area previously controlled by the Ukrainian government. Western officials described this new offensive as a "stealth invasion" by the Russian Federation. US State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said that "these incursions indicate a Russian-directed counteroffensive is likely underway", and Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
said "An invasion of Russian forces has taken place". NATO commander Brig. Gen. Nico Tak said on 28 August 2014 that "well over" 1,000 Russian soldiers were operating in the Donbas conflict zone. During the week prior to the invasion, Russia shelled Ukrainian units from across the border. Russian cross-border artillery shelling of Ukraine (2014), Cross-border shelling from Russia had been reported for six weeks from mid-July, during which the Russians launched 53 strikes at 40 different locations, severely impacting the Ukrainian military operation. At the time, Russian government spokesmen denied Russian intervention in the Donbas. These denials have been viewed as implausible, to the point where it seemed that the Russian government no longer cared about the appearance of propriety. There was limited support for separatism in the Donbas before the outbreak of the war, and little evidence of support for an armed uprising. Only Russian intervention prevented an immediate Ukrainian resolution to the conflict. As a result, in the run up to the August 2014 invasion, Russia had also decided to replace many of the hardline leaders of the separatist movement, including Igor Girkin and DPR prime minister Alexander Borodai. These replacements, taken together with the subsequent invasion, represented another turning point in the nature of the conflict. Given the recent military failings of the DPR and the LPR, Russia decided that it could no longer rely on a patchwork of irregular fighters in the Donbas, and ordered a change in leadership. It abandoned the hardline Russian citizen-led separatist project, which it had been unable to fully control, and replaced it with the idea of special status for Donbas within Ukraine, and a more obedient local-based DPR/LPR command. This represented a Russian attempt at "indigenisation" of the conflict, using the militarily insignificant local pro-Russian political activists as political cover for the advancement of Russian interests in Ukraine. Russian forces and equipment participated in the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport and the Battle of Debaltseve. A report released by the Royal United Services Institute in March 2015 said that "the presence of large numbers of Russian troops on Ukrainian sovereign territory" had become a "permanent feature" of the war in the Donbas since the August 2014 invasion. Following the Ukrainian defeat at Battle of Debaltseve, Debaltseve, the parties to the conflict signed the
Minsk II The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, know ...
agreement to end the fighting on 15 February 2015. These terms were highly favourable to Russia, in that they required Ukraine to grant "special status" to the separatist-held areas, and reintegrate them into Ukraine, similar to the federalisation espoused by pro-Russian protesters in early 2014. This would establish a Russian "strategic hook" within Ukraine that could be used to prevent future integration of that country with the European Union or
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
. In a press conference on 17 December 2015, Russian president Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time that there had been a Russian military presence in the Donbas region, though he said that this did not mean that there were "Russian troops" there. As of February 2018, the number of separatist forces were estimated at 31,000 out of which 80% (25,000) were Donbas residents, 15% (≈5,000) were military contractors from Russia and other countries and 3% (900–1,000) were regular Russian armed forces personnel. On 24 April 2019, President Putin issued an executive order fast-tracking the process for obtaining Russian citizenship for residents of the territories held by the DPR and the LPR. This "passportisation" is similar to what Russia has done in other pro-Russian protectorates established following post-Soviet conflicts, including in Transnistria, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. Russia recognised the DPR and LPR as independent states on 21 February 2022, and subsequently ordered Russian troops into the Donbas conflict zone as "peacekeepers". This was followed by the launch of 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.


Military aid to Ukraine

In December 2017, the United States provided Ukraine with lethal aid for the first time, in the form of FGM-148 Javelin, Javelin antitank missiles. Initially, these were to be kept away from the front, but after a second delivery of similar weapon systems they were cleared for use anywhere. In September 2021, Kyiv commanded military forces drill in a common exercise with US and NATO partners. The use of Javelins on the front line was reported in November 2021.


Casualties

Estimated number of fatalities caused by the war was 14,200–14,400 as of the end of December 2021, including non-combat military deaths. By this point, the UN confirmed 3,404 civilians had been killed in the conflict. Of the civilian deaths, 312 were foreigners: 298 passengers and crew of
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian forces on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Cont ...
, 11 Russian journalists, an Italian journalist, one Russian civilian killed in Shelling of Donetsk, Russia, cross-border shelling and a Lithuanian diplomat. Most civilian deaths occurred in 2014 and 2015. From 2016 to 2021 there were 365 civilians deaths, and in 2021 there were 25.


Ukrainian forces

Ukrainian government forces lost a confirmed total of 4,641 killed servicemen by late February 2022, including 233 foreign-born Ukrainian citizens and 19 foreigners.The Museum of Military History also lists separately 139 currently unidentified soldiers who were killed: 66 at Krasnopolye cemeter

63 at Kushugum cemeter

and 10 at Starobilsk cemeter

/ref> Another 70 Ukrainian soldiers were missing. Pro-Russian sources claimed Ukrainian forces had: 10,000 killed, 20,000 wounded and 13,500 deserted or missing, by late June 2015.


Separatist forces

The separatists reported that they had lost 1,400 men at most as of the beginning of February 2015. The United Nations reported 6,500 separatists were killed by the end of June 2021. Ukraine claimed 7,577–14,600 separatists had been killed and 12,000 missing during the fighting as of early 2015. They claimed an additional 103 Russian servicemen were killed between January and April 2016. An image of a reported separatist graveyard in Donetsk in late February 2015, showed number plates running up to at least 2,213. In late August 2015, according to a reported ''leak'' by a Russian news site, Business Life (Delovaya Zhizn), 2,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in Ukraine by 1 February 2015. The US Department of State reported that by early March 2015, 400–500 Russian soldiers had died. By mid-February 2022, DPR separatist authorities reported that a total of 5,042 separatists and civilians had been killed in DPR-controlled territory, while the LPR reported 1,328 people had died in the LPR by January 2018.


Humanitarian concerns

The United Nations observed an "alarming deterioration" in human rights in territory held by insurgents affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic and
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 UN reported growing lawlessness in the region, documenting cases of targeted killings, torture, and abduction, primarily carried out by the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic. The UN also reported threats against, attacks on, and abductions of journalists and international observers, as well as beatings and attacks on supporters of Ukrainian unity. Russia criticised these reports, and said that they were "politically motivated". A report by Human Rights Watch said "Anti-Kyiv forces in eastern Ukraine are abducting, attacking, and harassing people they suspect of supporting the Ukrainian government or consider undesirable...anti-Kyiv insurgents are using beatings and kidnappings to send the message that anyone who doesn't support them had better shut up or leave". There were also multiple instances of beatings, abductions, and possible executions of local residents by Ukrainian troops, such as Oleh Lyashko's militia and the Aidar Battalion, Aidar Territorial defence battalion (Ukraine), territorial defence battalion. Amnesty International noted that pro-Kyiv volunteer battalions are increasingly Blockade, blocking humanitarian aid into eastern Ukraine. In August, Igor Druz, a senior advisor to pro-Russian insurgent commander
Igor Girkin Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin ( rus, И́горь Все́володович Ги́ркин, p=ˈiɡərʲ ˈfsʲevələdəvʲɪdʑ ˈɡʲirkʲɪn; born 17 December 1970), also known by the alias Igor Ivanovich Strelkov ( rus, И́горь Ива́ ...
, said that "On several occasions, in a state of emergency, we have carried out executions by shooting to prevent chaos. As a result, our troops, the ones who have pulled out of Sloviansk, are highly disciplined". By the end of 2015, there were 79 places in the combined DPR and LPR territory where abducted civilians and prisoners of war were held. A report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released on 28 July 2014 said that based on "conservative estimates", at least 1,129 civilians had been killed since mid-April during the fighting, and at least 3,442 had been wounded. The report found that at least 750 million US dollars worth of damage has been done to property and infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Human Rights Watch said that Ukrainian government forces, pro-government paramilitaries, and the insurgents had used unguided Grad rocket, Grad rockets in attacks on civilian areas, stating that "The use of indiscriminate rockets in populated areas violates international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, and may amount to war crimes". ''The New York Times'' reported that the high rate of civilian deaths had "left the population in eastern Ukraine embittered toward Ukraine's pro-Western government", and that this sentiment helped to "spur recruitment" for the insurgents. By early January 2015, the number of deaths caused by the war had risen to 4,707, despite the signing of the
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
in early September 2014. As consequence of the conflict, large swathes of the Donbas region, on both sides of the "contact line", have become contaminated with landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW). According to the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, in 2020 Ukraine was one of the most mine-affected countries in the world, with nearly 1,200 mine/ERW casualties since the beginning of the conflict in 2014. A report by UNICEF released in December 2019 said that 172 children had been injured or killed due to landmines and other explosives, over 750 educational facilities had been damaged or destroyed, and 430,000 children lived with psychological traumas associated with war.


Displaced population

By early August 2014, at least 730,000 had fled fighting in the Donbas and left for Russia. This number, much larger than earlier estimates, was given by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The number of internal refugees rose to 117,000. By the start of September, after a sharp escalation over the course of August, the number of people displaced from Donbas within Ukraine more than doubled to 260,000. The number of temporary asylum seekers and refugee applicants from Ukraine in Russia rose to 121,000. Despite two months of a shaky ceasefire established by the
Minsk Protocol The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part. The first, known ...
, the number of refugees displaced from Donbas in Ukraine escalated sharply to 466,829 in mid November. By April 2015, the war had caused at least 1.3 million people to become Internally displaced person, internally displaced within Ukraine. In addition, more than 800,000 Ukrainians had sought asylum, residence permits, or other forms of legal stay in neighbouring countries, with over 659,143 in Russia, 81,100 in Belarus, and thousands more elsewhere. According to another report by the UN OHCHR, over three million people continued to live in the Donbas conflict zone as of March 2016. This was said to include 2.7 million who lived in DPR and LPR-controlled areas, and 200,000 in Ukrainian-controlled areas adjacent to the line of contact. In addition, the Ukrainian government was said to have registered a total of 1.6 million internally displaced people within Ukraine who had fled the conflict. Over one million were reported to have sought asylum elsewhere, with most having gone to Russia. The report also said that people that lived in separatist-controlled areas were experiencing "complete absence of rule of law, reports of arbitrary detention, torture and incommunicado detention, and no access to real redress mechanisms". By November 2017, the UN had identified 1.8 million internally displaced and conflict-affected persons in Ukraine, while another 427,240 who had sought asylum or refugee status in the Russian Federation, plus 11,230 in Italy, 10,495 in Germany, 8,380 in Spain, and 4,595 in Poland.


Reactions


International reactions


Ukrainian public opinion

A September 2014 International Republican Institute poll of the Ukrainian public (excluding those in Russian-annexed
Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
) had 89% of respondents opposing 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine, Russian intervention in Ukraine.Press release:
Full text: As broken down by region, 78% of those polled from Eastern Ukraine (including Dnipropetrovsk Oblast) opposed the intervention, along with 89% in Southern Ukraine, 93% in Central Ukraine, and 99% in Western Ukraine. As broken down by native language, 79% of Russian speakers and 95% of Ukrainian speakers opposed the intervention. 80% of those polled said that Ukraine should remain a Unitary state, unitary country. 56% of those polled said that Russia should pay for the reconstruction of the Donbas, whereas 32% said Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts should pay. 59% of those polled said that they supported the government military operation in the Donbas, whereas 33% said that they opposed it. 73% of respondents said that the war in the Donbas was one of the three most important issues facing Ukraine. A poll conducted by the same institute in 2017 showed that 80% of Ukrainians nationally and 73% of people from the Ukrainian-controlled areas of Donbas believed the separatist republics should remain as part of Ukraine. Around 60% of the people polled did not believe Ukraine was doing enough to regain the lost territories because of the Minsk agreements. A joint poll done by Levada Center, Levada and the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology from September to October 2020 found that in the breakaway regions controlled by the DPR/LPR, over half of the respondents wanted to join Russia (either with or without some autonomous status) while less than one-tenth wanted independence and 12% wanted reintegration into Ukraine. It contrasted with respondents in Kyiv-controlled Donbas, where a vast majority felt the separatist regions should be returned to Ukraine. According to results from Levada in January 2022, roughly 70% of those in the breakaway regions said their territories should become part of Russia.


Labelling of the conflict

The understanding of the nature of the conflict in the Donbas has evolved over time. North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO said in July 2014 that it considered the conflict a war with Russian Irregular troops, irregulars, and others considered it to be a war between Russian proxies and Ukraine. The International Committee of the Red Cross described the events in the Donbas region as a "non-international armed conflict" in July 2014. Some news agencies, such as the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia and
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
, interpreted this statement as meaning that Ukraine was in a state of "civil war". Following the August 2014 invasion by Russian forces, in early September 2014, Amnesty International said that it considered the war to be "international", as opposed to "non-international". Secretary General of Amnesty International Salil Shetty said that "satellite images, coupled with reports of Russian troops captured inside Ukraine and eyewitness accounts of Russian troops and military vehicles rolling across the border leave no doubt that this is now an international armed conflict". The conflict has also been classified as part of a "Hybrid warfare, hybrid war" waged by Russia against Ukraine. Until early 2015, the European Union tended to label the participants of the conflict as "foreign armed formations" or Russian-supported separatists. After the delivery of an EU Intelligence and Situation Centre, IntCen classified report in January 2015, the official EU documents acknowledged the presence of the Russian military in the area and started openly referring to "Russian troops in Ukraine". A 2015 paper released by the Royal United Services Institute and a 2017 report by the RAND Corporation document how the conflict evolved from a localised proxy conflict in its early stages to a hybrid war between Russian and Ukraine, and then to a limited conventional war with the August 2014 direct invasion by Russian troops. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada
Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov ( uk, Олександр Валентинович Турчинов; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National S ...
said in June 2014 that he considered the conflict a direct war with Russia. According to Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
, the war will be known in history of Ukraine as the "Patriotic War". According to a VTSIOM survey taken in August 2014, 59% of the Russian citizens polled viewed the war in the Donbas as a civil war. Most of those polled said that direct war with Ukraine was either "absolutely impossible" or "extremely unlikely". 28% said that such a conflict could happen in the future. In December 2021, the French newspaper ''Le Monde'' analyzed a shift in the Russian diplomatic label on the conflict. It was no longer about Ukraine membership in NATO, but about NATO expansion in Ukraine.


See also

* Outline of the Russo-Ukrainian War * Women in the War in Donbas * December 2015 Ukraine power grid cyberattack * 2017 cyberattacks on Ukraine * Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War) * Military history of the Russian Federation * ''Donbas in Flames: Guide to the Conflict Zone''


Notes


References


Further reading


External links

*
Ivanov, O. (2016). Social Background of the Military Conflict in Ukraine: Regional cleavages and geopolitical orientations. Social, Health, And Communication Studies Journal, 2(1), 52–73. Retrieved 26 June 2017.

12 May 2014 report on human rights and minority rights situation in Ukraine
by the
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...
Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
15 July 2014 Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine
by the OHCHR
28 August 2014 report on claims of war crimes by the insurgents
in Donbas by Human Rights Watch
15 November 2014 Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine
by the OHCHR
1 December 2014 to 15 February 2015 Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine
by the OHCHR {{Ongoing military conflicts War in Donbas, 2010s in Ukraine 2020s in Ukraine 2010s conflicts 2020s conflicts Conflicts in 2014 Conflicts in 2015 Conflicts in 2016 Conflicts in 2017 Conflicts in 2018 Conflicts in 2019 Conflicts in 2020 Conflicts in 2021 Conflicts in 2022 Donbas History of Donetsk Oblast History of Luhansk Oblast Wars involving Russia Wars involving Ukraine Separatist rebellion-based civil wars Russo-Ukrainian War, * Prelude to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russian–Ukrainian wars Wars involving the Donetsk People's Republic Wars involving the Luhansk People's Republic