Timeline of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine

Main articles: 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine and 2014 insurgency in Donbass

This is a timeline of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest that has erupted in Ukraine, in the aftermath of the Ukrainian revolution and the Euromaidan movement.

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March

Pro-Russian protesters remove a Ukrainian flag and replace it with a Russian flag in front of the Donetsk Oblast Regional State Administration building, 1 March 2014

For rallies held between November 2013 and February 2014, see Antimaidan.

For a timeline of related events in Crimea, see Timeline of the 2014 Crimean crisis.

1–10 March

On 1 March 2014, the council of Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine's easternmost region, voted to demand giving the Russian language the status of second official language, stop "persecution of Berkut fighters", disarm Maidan self-defense units and ban a number of political organizations like Svoboda and UNA-UNSO. They threatened the Ukrainian central authorities that it reserved the right "to ask for help from the brotherly people of the Russian Federation". Pro-Russian citizens held a rally of up to 5,000 against the new government and demanding a referendum on whether to join Russia.

There were reports of busloads of Russian citizens crossing the border into Ukraine to support pro-Russian demonstrators. At an administrative building in Kharkiv, a Russian from Moscow replaced the Ukrainian flag with a Russian one. Demonstrators supporting Russia vandalized the parliament building and beat civilians, but Reuters reported that this had alienated many local ethnic Russians, who were speaking and mobilizing in support of the Ukrainian government. The flag was restored and 200 policemen guarded the building.

Protesters in Donetsk reportedly raised the Russian tricolor over the Donetsk Oblast Regional Administration building, in addition to electing a new pro-Russian governor. Demonstrators in Mariupol also protested in front of regional offices, waving Russian flags. According to Interfax, between 5,000 to 20,000 participated in a pro-Russian demonstration in Odessa. Russian flags were reportedly raised in Melitopol and Yevpatoria.

The city council of Donetsk voted on 1 March to have a referendum on the status of the region but lawmakers made no mention of what question would be asked or when.

In Zaporizhia 1,000–5,000 estimated protesters gathered to save the Lenin monument. There, they also protested against the Kiev government and in support of Berkut troops and Soviet symbols.

Various Russian news media outlets started to use the term Russian Spring (Russian: Русская весна) to describe the protests.

2 March

In Zaporizhia, over 5,000 protested against Russian intervention and pro-Russian demonstrations, and unity in Ukraine. They also protested against people seizing state buildings and raising Russian flags over them. Similar rallies were held in Dnipropetrovsk (a rally described by local reporters as the largest in years that drew an estimated 10,000 people), Odessa (several thousand), Mykolaiv (according to local media 5,000 to 10,000 people) and Kharkiv (a few thousand protesters).

3 March

Over 2,000 protesters gathered over Donetsk Oblast administrative building, broke through police barricades and retook the facility waving Russian flags. The pro-Russian group is led by Pavel Gubarev, a former member of the neo-Nazi "Russian National Unity" party, who is claiming to be the people's governor of the region.

200–500 demonstrators with Russian flags, opponents of the new authorities in Kiev, attempted to seize the Odessa Regional State Administration building. They demanded that a referendum on the establishment of an "Odessa Autonomous Republic" be held. As the protesters began to break windows and enter the building, Oblast chairman and Party of Regions official Mykola Leonidovych Skoryk spoke to the crowd, saying that the police could not allow an "assault" on the RSA, and that Ukrainians "must live peacefully in a single state." Protesters shouted "traitor!" and "Judas!" at him. Meanwhile, Reuters reports that anti-Kiev protesters have broken into the first floor of the Donetsk RSA building.

4 March

2 March 2014 pro-Ukrainian protest in Odessa

Pro-Russian separatists consolidated their control of the local Regional Administration in Donetsk. Pavel Gubarev was elected governor, and told reporters that work on the structure of the new administration is being done. "We don't want to give our money any more to Kiev. We want more freedom for our city in a new federation or confederation that allows us to embrace the friendly ties and positive feelings towards us of the people of Russia," Gubarev said. Allegations that many of the demonstrators were bused in from Russia, specifically from the Rostov region, were levelled by opponents, but according to a local journalist, "[I'm] sure they were paid to participate in those numbers but I have to say unfortunately that most of the people are from this city." "Hundreds" later protested peacefully against the pro-Russian RSA occupiers and in support of a united Ukraine. On the evening of 4 March, a large peaceful rally of over 2,000 supporting peace and a united Ukraine was held in central Donetsk.

5 March

In Donetsk, a bomb threat forced the evacuation of the Regional Administration building, which forced out the pro-Russian activists who had been occupying the building and flying the Russian flag since 1 March. After the bomb-scare and subsequent evacuation, the Ukrainian flag was raised over the building for the first time since 1 March. However, later in the evening, hundreds of pro-Russian protesters retook the building, and once again raised the Russian flag. Despite the retaking of the RSA by pro-Russian activists, up to 5,000 protested for unity in Ukraine and against Russian intervention, the largest of its kind in the eastern Ukrainian city since the unrest began. 1,000 pro-Russia counter-protesters attempted to confront the Ukrainian unionists, but were kept apart by the police. Ukrainian unionists were also protected by FC Shakhtar Donetsk "ultras" (fanatical supporters). Meanwhile, 1,000 pro-Russian protesters marched in Kharkiv, demanding a referendum on federalism for Ukraine and making Russian a state language. Police kept the demonstrators away from the Kharkiv Oblast RSA building, which continues to fly the Ukrainian flag.

200 people attended a pro-Russia rally in Zaporizhia.

6 March

After retaking the Donetsk RSA the previous day, pro-Russian protesters lost control of the building after a pre-dawn offensive led by police and the national Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), which is under the control of the Euromaidan leaders. In addition to capturing control of the RSA and hoisting the Ukrainian flag, the SBU arrested self-proclaimed new Donetsk governor and pro-Russian protest leader Pavel Gubarev, charging him with "encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine" as well as "actions aimed at the forcible change or overthrow of the constitutional order, or the seizure of state power". About 70 supporters of Gubarev were also arrested.

9 March

Protesters stormed the Municipal Administration building in Luhansk, brought down the Ukrainian flag and hoisted the Russian one instead, urging authorities to hold a referendum over joining Russia. Meanwhile, Luhansk's governor Mykhailo Bolotskykh fled the city, and the protestors claimed a pro-Russian figure was elected as the city's new governor. Later in the day Bolotskih stated that he continued to carry out his duties and that his resignation was written under pressure and it had no legal force.

In Donetsk, 10,000 pro-Russian activists held a demonstration. While the authorities of Donetsk denounced the referendum on the status of the region.

10,000 in Kharkiv protested against Russia.

10 March

The flag of the Donetsk–Krivoy Rog Soviet Republic has become a prominent symbol of pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk stated that central authorities maintain control over Donetsk and had regained control of Luhansk. The same day employees of Russian Defence Ministry's Intelligence Directorate GRU were arrested in Donetsk. Also, Mikhail Dobkin was arrested on charges of leading a separatist movement.

Reports from the Russian media and a Russian diplomat in Kiev allege that 300 employees of private security companies mercenaries are active in Ukraine as did a Russian Foreign Ministry statement released on 10 March saying that Russia is "outraged by the chaos which is currently ruling in eastern regions of Ukraine." These allegations were interpreted by articles in The Washington Post and the Daily Mail as potentially being a "pretext for Russian military intervention into areas of Ukraine beyond Crimea."

11–31 March

Police freed the Municipal Administration building in Luhansk and briefly arrested the leader of the pro-Russian movement there and local councilman, Arsen Klinchayev. Pro-Russian protesters then elected a "People's Governor of Luhansk Oblast" Alexander Kharitonov who worked from a tent in a square. The same day Chief of the Security Service of Ukraine Valentyn Nalyvaichenko stated he had evidence that employees GRU were involved in the organization of provocations in Ukraine. The Ukrainian National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting demanded providers to shut down the broadcast of Russian television channels Rossiya 24, Channel One Russia, RTR Planeta, and NTV Mir in Ukraine. At the time 50% of the providers in Ukraine had already stopped broadcasting these channels. The Russian Foreign Ministry sharply criticized what it said was a double standards policy and selective approach "in the assessment of the freedom of the press in Ukraine by international organizations, non-governmental organizations and human rights groups, which are turning a blind eye to such a blatant show of censure".

13 March

One pro-Kiev protester from Svoboda, Dmytro Cherniavsky, was stabbed to death in the city of Donetsk and a further fifteen were hospitalized after rival rallies clashed in Lenin Square. The local health ministry said that around 1,000 pro-Kiev protesters were attacked by 2,000 pro-Moscow protesters, Witnesses claimed some pro-Russian activist had arrived in vehicles with Russian number plates; while governor of Donetsk Oblast, Serhiy Taruta claimed the pro-Russian demonstrators were citizens of Russia. The clashes were described by Reuters as being the worst violence in Ukraine since the 18–23 February 2014 overthrow of the Yanukovich government.

The Russian Armed Forces announced a new set of sudden military exercises in the border regions of Rostov, Belgorod, and Kursk on 13 March, involving "artillery batteries, assault helicopters, and at least 10,000 soldiers". Amateur footage has shown columns of trucks and armoured vehicles amassing at the border town of Lopan, just 48 kilometres (30 mi) outside of Kharkiv. The United States Department of State has said that the Russian military exercises have "certainly created an environment of intimidation [in Ukraine]".

14 March

Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained the self-declared 'governor' of Luhansk Oblast, Alexander Kharitonov. Kharkiv Mayor Hennadiy Kernes was placed in night-time house arrest. Four participants of yesterdays clashes in Donetsk were arrested. According to Euronews the situation in Donetsk "was quiet".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that Russia had no plans to invade eastern Ukraine. He also expressed "deep concern that measures are not being taken to ensure safety on the streets of Ukraine".

Clashes in Kharkiv between pro-Russian nationalists and an unknown group had resulted in deaths of two people.

15 March

Protesters demanded the release of protest leader Pavel Gubarev, arrested by the SBU on 6 March and subsequently taken to detention in Kiev, as well as a referendum on the status of the Donbass region.

In Kharkiv, one pro-Russia demonstrator and a passerby were killed by buckshot when Ukrainian nationalists opened fire on a group of men. Police said events leading to the deaths began when a group of nationalists opened fire from inside a car at a pro-Russian protest being held on Kharkiv's central Svoboda (Freedom) Square. A group of several dozen pro-Russian protesters chased the car, tracking it to the headquarters of the Patriot of Ukraine (Patriot Ukrainy) nationalist group. The pro-Russians tried to storm the building and the nationalists opened fire, killing one of them along with a passer-by, police said. The Patrioty Ukrainy group then took several hostages from other offices inside the building as the police arrived. Six people were injured in the ensuing gunfight, including a police officer who suffered serious wounds. The nationalists eventually agreed to give up their arms and surrender. Police made 30 arrests. Both rival groups blamed each other for starting the clashes.

16 March

On the same day that the Crimea voted in a referendum to re-join Russia, pro-Russian demonstrations occurred in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Odessa, and Mykolaiv. In Donetsk, protesters stormed the local SBU headquarters for the second day in a row, in addition to the local prosecutor's office and the headquarters of the Industrial Union of Donbass, owned by magnate and local Kiev-appointed governor Serhiy Taruta. In Kharkiv, protesters marched through the city centre carrying a 100-metre (110 yd) long Russian tricolor and demonstrated in front of the Consulate General of Poland, protesting against Western interference into Ukrainian affairs. Pro-Russian protesters in Kharkiv later broke into a Prosvita office stole Ukrainian-language books and then set them alight in small bonfires in the street. Meanwhile, impromptu referendums were set up in the city squares of Luhansk and Mykolaiv, asking for federalization to be introduced to Ukraine. In Mykolaiv, one question asked, "Do you support the creation of a federal district Novorossia within Ukraine, including the Nikolayev (Mykolaiv), Odessa and Kherson regions?"

The Economist documented the rallies in Kharkiv and elsewhere, stating that they appeared staged, "it was not part of a mass movement, more a bit of street theatre, carefully choreographed for the cameras. By seven o'clock it was all over."

Ukrainian military units heading towards the Russian border were stopped from passing by residents of Donetsk and Luhansk. Due to weather, only a few hundred attended protests in Donetsk.

17 March

A flag depicting the Ribbon of Saint George has been adopted by protesters who feel "sympathetic towards the Soviet Union or imperial Russia, and those who denounce Ukraine nationalists as 'fascists'".

In Odessa Anton Davidchenko, the leader of the pro-Russian organization "Youth Unity" (who had organized by the majority of rallies in support of Russia), was arrested for "encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine" and "treason". His supporters then picketed the local SBU headquarters.

Ukrainian soldiers had meanwhile increased their presence in border towns (bordering Russia).

18 March

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk (in an "address to the residents of the southern and eastern regions of Ukraine") stated his that his Yatsenyuk Government had introduced "a special position of deputy prime minister in the government" tasked with "decentralization of the administration" "which will give the regions, cities, and districts broad powers and funding needed for the development of the regions". According to Yatsenyuk "All changes associated with the decentralization of the administration will be reflected in the new Constitution. We should write the Constitution together". Yatsenyuk also stated that law enforcers would soon start "seizing all unregistered firearms" in Ukraine. Yatsenyuk further claimed "Law enforcement agencies have collected compelling evidence of the involvement of Russian secret services in unrest in the east of our country".

In a televised address in front of both houses of parliament Russian President Vladimir Putin stated "Don't trust those who frighten you with Russia... we do not need a divided Ukraine. We do not want a partition of Ukraine, we do not need this". He also stated that "Russia and Ukraine were not just neighbours but one nation" and that Russia would always "protect" the speakers of the Russian language in Ukraine. He saw the Yatsenyuk Government as "an illegitimate puppet government under the control of radicals". Putin also accused nationalists, neo-Nazis, Russophobes and anti-Semites of being behind the "coup" in Ukraine; according to Putin this coup was executed using "Terror, murder and pogroms". He also called the Verkhovna Rada's vote of 23 February 2014 to repeal a language law aimed at giving Russian and other minority languages in Ukraine the status of regional language a "a scandalous law on the revision of the language policy, which directly violated the rights of the national minorities".^A

Members of a large rally under Russian flags stormed Mariupol City Council. They demanded that the Mayor held a special session of the City Council to address the question of holding a referendum.

19 March

Andriy Parubiy, the new Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, ordered the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to introduce a visa regime for Russian citizens, who have since Ukraine's independence enjoyed visa-free travel to Ukraine.

20 March

A number of public organizations picketed the building of the Regional Council with the requirement to hold a referendum in Kharkiv. Several hundred people participated in the picket, they held banners "For the referendum," "Kharkiv is for the Customs Union (Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia)," "Customs Union will revive the industry of Kharkiv."

22 March

In Kherson nearly 300 Communist Party supporters held a protest in favour of federalization of Ukraine, but were met with 3,000 pro-Ukrainian protesters.

In Donetsk 2,000 protesters held a pro-Russia rally and demanded a referendum to give the Donbas region greater autonomy; demonstrators carried Russian flags and chanted "Russia" and "Yanukovych is our elected president." They then picketed the regional council.

Nearly 1,000 rallied in Luhansk. They demanded Kharytonov and Klinchaev's release and also supported Yanukovych.

A Kharkiv demonstration of a few hundred people on 22 March also demanded broad autonomy for southeastern regions and demanded to disarm the "Right Sector" members

23 March

In Odessa 3,000–4,000 gathered in an "anti-fascist" protest, demanding Davidchenko's release (who was jailed for 2 months), to stop political repressions, and claimed that Yanukovych is the legitimate president. The rally was supported by Russian neo-Nazis, one of whom, Anton Rayevsky, is a member of the Black Hundreds group. The Security Service of Ukraine later found pamphlets in which the "Black Hundreds" called for "the destruction" of Jews in Odessa.

In Donetsk, 1,500 pro-Russian supporters attended a short-lived rally.

In Kharkiv nearly 3,000 demanded a referendum on 27 April on a federal status of Ukraine, to abolish Presidential elections on 25 May, prohibit all fascist organizations in the country, to recognize the EU Association Agreement as illegal. 500 attended a rival pro-Ukrainian rally supporting European integration.

Over 100 rallied in Zaporizhia in favour of Russia and Yanukovych.

25 March

The Kyiv District Administrative Court issued a ruling to suspend the broadcasting (in Ukraine) of the Russian TV channels Rossiya 24, Channel One Russia, RTR Planeta, and NTV Mir for the time of the consideration of a lawsuit by the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio (uk). By then in Kiev and in 22 of the 24 Oblasts of Ukraine (provinces) the broadcasting of these channels had stopped; in Donetsk Oblast half of the providers still broadcast the channels, in Odessa Oblast 81% of the providers still broadcast the channels and in Kherson Oblast this number was 91%. In Crimea and Sevastopol the figure was 0%.

In Kharkiv, more than 2,000 Ukrainian held a counter-Russian protest. People shouted "For a united Ukraine, including Crimea!" and "No to separatism." "We're tired of having Kharkiv called a pro-Russian city, of hearing reports that people are walking around with Russian flags," said journalist Volodymyr Chystylin, one of the organizers.

28 March

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov announced that pro-Russian protests had declined significantly.

In Kharkiv Antimaidan activist Igor Kromskoho (nicknamed "Topaz") was placed under house arrest for his alleged involvement in the 1 March raid on the Kharkiv Regional State Administration building.

29 March According to local media, in Kharkiv about 150 people rallied for federalization "for the return of property to the people of basic industries, banking, transportation and infrastructure and against imperialism and for Friendship among Peoples.", according to one of the organizer "due to bad weather the meeting was short".

In Donetsk, about 1,000 pro-Russian supporters attended a rally organized by the party Russian Bloc; the protesters stated the need to unite Eastern Ukraine with the Russian Federation and talked about the need for federalization. Mayor of Donetsk Oleksandr Lukianchenko stated that 21 March 2014 accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation "killed the very essence of the federalization of Ukraine".

Russian neo-Nazi Anton Rayevsky (a member of the Black Hundreds organization) who had attended the pro-Russian "anti-fascist" protest in Odessa of 23 March, was deported from Ukraine and banned from entering the country. He was accused of attempted sabotage and attempting provoking armed conflict. The SBU also found material calling for ethnic hatred and killing Ukrainians and Jews in the Odessa region.

30 March

Pro-Russian activists marching Odessa streets on 30 March 2014

In Donetsk, about 1,000 pro-Russian supporters again attended a rally organized by the Russian Bloc party; some of them holding banners that claimed Viktor Yanukovych was Ukraine's legitimate president. About 30 of them later shortly blocked several tracks of Donetsk's main railway station. Closely to Donestsk participants of a bike ride "for the unity of Ukraine" were attacked by about 10 people. Pro-Russian supporters attacked a car with an EU flag on it, smashing its windows, and chanting "Whack the faggots!"

In Luhansk, 500 people held a pro-Russia rally. They demanded a "reset of Zionists" and demanded a Russian occupation. About a hundred people held a counter unity rally "Luhansk is Ukraine".

In Kharkiv about 1,500 people held a rally (co-organized by the Communist Party of Ukraine) for federalization with anti-EU slogans, anti-Viktor Yanukovich slogans and slogans like "Our language=Russian" and "Down with the fascist junta". Also in Kharkiv, 500 FC Metalist Kharkiv supporters, as well as fans of FC Shakhtar Donetsk, held a march "in support of the unity of Ukraine". Elsewhere in the city thousand people publicly commemorated the fortieth day since the death of the last "Heavenly hundred" (people killed during Euromaidan).

In Odessa media reported a turnout between 5,000 and 10,000 people for a march "for unity in Ukraine and the world" and some media reports put the size of a pro-Russian rally on 4,000 attendees. Late in the afternoon thousands of pro-Russian activists attacked participants of the pro-Ukraine march, which attracted up to 5,000–10,000 attendees.

In Dnipropetrovsk about two hundred publicly commemorated the "Heavenly hundred". Slightly fewer people gathered at pro-Russian meeting organized by Communists. And fifteen hundred football supporters of FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and FC Dynamo Kyiv held a Ukrainian unity march to the Dnipro-Arena.

In Zaporizhia 1,000 pro-Ukrainian demonstrators gathered to pay respects to those killed during the revolution. The same occurred in Kherson, where more than 1,000 attended.

In Voronezh (Russia) Don Cossacks of the "Great Don Army" stated that they might come to Ukraine to "come to the rescue" because they "can not stand idly by when our Russian people in a situation of actual genocide". According to them a "Judeo Banderavyets" (Jewish and Western Ukrainian diaspora) headed clan operating from abroad, had now almost completely seized power in the territory of Ukraine".

31 March

Media incorrectly reported that the Donetsk regional council had formally appealed to the Ukrainian parliament to take measures to "stabilize the situation in the country" and to "urgently consider the possibility of adopting a law on local referendum after broad public discussion", to start the draft of "a new version of the constitution that would guarantee decentralisation of government by giving the local authorities broader powers and responsibility for the state of affairs in the region, the creation of regional and district executive bodies, and the formation (pending parliamentary elections) of a two-chamber parliament, where the upper house will express the interests of regions and its members will have the right of legislative initiative". However, the next day the Chairman of Donetsk Regional Council, Andriy Shishatskiy, stated that the letter was not sent on behalf of the Donetsk regional council as it was not in session that day and that the reported letter was an appeal by an individual local MP.

April

Donbass
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5 April

In Donetsk, 500 people attended a pro-Russia rally, which had a lower turnout than usual. in Mariupol, a crowd of supporters of the self-declared Mayor Dimitri Kuzmenko, arrested by the Security Service, broke into the prosecutor's office to demand his release. Later, the protestors surrounded the city council.

6 April

1,000–2,000 pro-Russia protesters attended a rally in Donetsk pushing for a Crimea-style referendum on independence from Ukraine. After which 200 separatists took control of the first two floors of the building. The pro-Russian protesters broke down doors and smashed windows. The administration headquarters were empty, with only guards inside, as Government officials don't work on Sundays. The separatists demanded that if an extraordinary session was not held by officials announcing a referendum to join Russia, they would declare unilateral control by forming a 'People's Mandate' at noon on 7 April, and "dismiss" all elected council members and MPs. Residents of Donetsk submitted an open letter calling for the acting president of Ukraine to protect them from the pro-Russian separatists.

In Luhansk, 1,000 pro-Russians rallied in front of the SBU office, demanding the release of separatist leader, Aleksandr Kharitonov. A policeman was injured and hospitalized as the protesters seized the SBU building. One of the demonstrators also reportedly suffered a head injury. Following negotiations, 6 pro-Russian protesters who were previously detained were released from custody. Those who broke into the SBU building raided the armoury and seized weapons.

In Kharkiv, pro-Russian rally was held where between 2,000 and 10,000 attended. Protesters attacked pro-European protesters, who were protected by a column of police to allow them to escape the mob, while forced to crawl on their knees; the pro-Russian protesters chanted "Kharkiv is a Russian city!" and "Crawl to your Europe!" 1,500 pro-Russians then rallied in front of the RSA, with some making it inside. An attack on the RSA began after the organizers of the protests urged participants "to support Donetsk and Luhansk where government buildings were seized earlier in the day." 500 people were involved in storming the RSA, 30 of which were militants in balaclavas and camouflage, who used stun grenades.

Ukraine accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of orchestrating the seizures.

7 April

At 3:30am, a group of pro-Russians stormed the SBU offices in Donetsk and Luhansk. They did not make any clear demands. The militants took control of the SBU armoury and armed themselves with automatic weapons, and other supporters brought bricks and other debris to erect barricades. Their numbers were initially at 1,000 but have since thinned.

The protesters in Donetsk declared a People's Republic of Donetsk and unification with Russia. Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported gunmen then tried to storm a Donetsk TV building, but were deterred by police.

In Kharkiv, a pro-Russian rally was held where about 1,000 attended and a pro-Ukraine rally was held attended by about 300 people. Around noon about 50 masked men with bats attacked pro-Ukraine demonstrators who responded by throwing bottles at them. They also attacked non-Russian journalists. Separatists then set the RSA on fire with petrol . By morning the next day, police had regained control of the RSA save for 10 pro-Russian separatists who remained in the lobby. In an instance that led journalists to believe protesters were not locals but rather from Russia, protesters stormed a local theatre thinking it was city hall. Other protestors seized a local TV station and tower. At night, Ukrainian Special forces stormed a Security Service office in Donetsk that had been taken by Pro-Russian militants. No casualties were reported. In Luhansk, members of a self-styled "Army of the Southeast" asked for support to preserve "our rights and values." They also claim to be ready to send a "reserve" to Donetsk to assist separatists there.

Protesters unilaterally declared outside the Kharkiv RSA a Kharkiv People's Republic.

Maidan self-defence detained Russian separatists in Odessa, who were in possession of chains, clubs, and guns. The men were then formally arrested by the police.

At Mykolaiv there were clashes between AutoMaidan members, riot police and pro-Russian activists when the latter attempted to storm the local administration building. There were ten wounded. Ukrainian self-defence cleared the pro-Russian's encampment and found guns and other weapons.

In an address on national TV (Ukrainian) interim President Oleksandr Turchynov stated the curent unrest in eastern Ukraine was "the second wave" of a Russian operation to destabilize Ukraine, overthrow the government and disrupt planned elections and an attempt by Russia to "dismember" Ukraine. He also vowed to launch a major "counter-terrorism" operation against separatist movements in the country's eastern regions.

8 April

Police guarding the building of the Kharkiv Oblast State Administration building (RSA), 8 April 2014

In Kharkiv, the downtown core of the city was blocked and its metro shutdown as part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' "anti-terrorism operation". 70 separatists were arrested from the previous night's standoff police. The Interior Troops special squad Jaguar from Vinnytsia was used in the operation. Ukrainian police sealed off RSA building in Kharkiv. A pro-Russian rally was (during the day and evening) held on Freedom Square in front of the RSA by about 1,000 attendees, at about 18.20 hours about several dozens of them unsuccessfully tried to storm the building. About 50 journalists held a rally because they believed the local police had not sufficiently protected them when they were attacked by pro-Russian activists.

The referendum and declaration of independence in Donetsk was reportedly put on hold and protesters there reportedly gave up some weapons.

In Luhansk, separatists occupying the SBU building declared themselves the "Lugansk Parliamentary Republic". According to Ukrainian security officials, The separatists planted mines in the building and have taken 60 people hostage. Ukrainian security sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, have indicated that some hostages may be used as human shields. They stated that the hostages were participants in the pro-Russian rallies and some are elderly women.

On the morning of 8 April, the 'Patriotic Forces of Donbass', a rival group unrelated to Donetsk Republic organization who proclaimed independence and seized the council, issued a statement to counter the Donetsk Republic's declaration of independence, citing complaints from locals. Their announcement stated that they would quash the potential state's establishment, cancel the referendum, and, on their part, stated that the declaration is illegal. Protesters reportedly gave up some weapons too. Despite this, the Donetsk Republic organization continued to occupy the RSA and declared themselves the legitimate authority, and upheld all previous calls for a referendum and the release of their leader Pavel Gubarev. In the afternoon of 8 April, about a thousand people rallied in front of the RSA listening to speeches about the Donetsk People's Republic and to Soviet and Russian music. The Russian government claimed there are more than 100 American "mercenaries" from a defence contracting company disguised as Ukrainian troops in Ukraine, a claim the American firm and top US officials deny.

9 April

At least 51 hostages were released by separatist forces who occupied the Security Service building in Luhansk. Later, a column of Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers from Dnipropetrovsk arrived in Luhansk, just to be used as a 'last resort', according to official sources.

10 April

On 10 April, the number of protesters outside the Donetsk RSA was in the hundreds. The separatists in the building voted to establish ties with Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and international institutions like the United Nations to break away from Ukraine. Separatists attacked Belarusian journalists for speaking the Belarusian language, and not Russian; Ukrainian journalists have been forced to speak Russian to avoid angering pro-Russian protesters. They also attacked reporters from RT, but RT did not carry the story.

Officials constructed roadblocks at the entrances of the city of Zaporizhia to prevent Russian and pro-Russian protesters and separatists from entering the city.

11 April

In Kharkiv police discovered a weapons cache full of grenades and AK-74 assault rifles.

In Mariupol, a pro-Ukrainian flashmob of 100 took place outside the police department. Protesters were attacked by men with bats and the police did not react.

12 April

Main articles: Siege of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk standoff

Forty armed men wearing St. George's ribbon, a symbol of pro-Russian protesters in eastern Ukraine have seized police station in the town of Sloviansk and the mayor of the town Nelya Shtepa engaged in talks with them. Kiev authorities pledged "tough response" to these events. After talks the mayor of the city declared that the citizens feel safe, aren't threatened, and the police station was taken over by "People's Militia of Donbas" which opposes the authorities in Kiev. The armed militia was also reported to have taken over a second security building belonging to SBU (state security services), from which they have taken "hundreds of guns" and distributed them to protesters. In Kramatorsk, in the course of a Pro-Russian rally, protestors overpowered a police line and took over the building of the local executive committee, where they hoisted the flag of the new-proclaimed republic. At evening, the local police station was captured by armed men in camouflage fatigues after a protracted firefight. Russian-language media claim that the police station at Krasnyi Lyman was occupied by men in combat uniform and Cossacks. The towns of Druzhkivka and Krasnoarmiisk were allegedly also under rebel control. Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs denied the capture of the police stations of Krasny Lyman and Kramatorsk and the occupation of Krasnoarmiisk. In Artemivsk, Pro-Russian militias and activists attempted to break into the local police station, but after talks, they withdrew and occupied instead the city council, where the Russian flag was raised.

Pro-Russian militants in the Donetsk police headquarters

A pro-Ukraine unity rally was held in Kharkiv, attracting more than 5,000 people. 20 pro-Russian protesters armed with bats were also in the vicinity, along with 100 police. A pro-Russian rally was held at the Lenin statue, attracting 200.

Near Kharkiv, 70 men were arrested between the border of Poltava and Kharkiv. The men were travelling on a bus and found in possession of explosives, petrol bombs, bats, shields, helmets, knives, and other weapons. Other reports countered this summary of events, and that many civilians, including journalists, were attacked by police (namely Sokil and what appeared to be ex-Berkut officers) indiscriminately.

In Zaporizhia, self-defence units mobilized against pro-Russian forces and reinforced their road checkpoints.

In Mykolaiv, a pro-Ukrainian unity rally was held of 200.

13 April

Amid rising separatist tensions and clashes in the east, pro-Ukraine rallies were held in Luhansk, Odessa, and Kryvyi Rih. Protesters in Luhansk, which number at 1,000, formed a Luhansk self-defence group to counter the separatists. The rally in Kryvyi Rih attracted 300. In Odessa, pro-Russian protesters assaulted the vehicle of a local news crew.

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry, in response to pro-Russian riots and separatism, created a special police unit to deal with the activities of separatists. Each south-eastern oblast would receive its own response units.

In Mariupol, 150 armed pro-Russians attacked a pro-Ukraine unity rally, leaving nine injured, six of them in intensive care.

In Kharkiv, 1,000 pro-Russian separatists returned to the RSA building on 13 April, and rallied around it, with some making it inside. These protesters then holed up inside the building with mayor Hennadiy Kernes. Later in the day, Kernes declared his support for a referendum and amnesty for the arrested Kharkiv separatists. At least 50 pro-Ukrainian protesters, who had been holding concurrent demonstrations, were severely beaten in attacks by pro-Russian protesters. Gunshots and grenade explosions were heard. Videos showed three people covered with blood being held on the metro station stairs, and female pro-Russian activists coming up to them, kicking them and shouting "they are not humans!"

An 'anti-terror' mission was launched by the Ukrainian government to reclaim buildings occupied by separatists in Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine's Security Service troops clashed with pro-Russian militias near Sloviansk. One Ukraine officer was killed and five wounded, while the pro-Russian militants suffered one dead and two wounded. The Ministry of Internal Affairs claim that two rebel checkpoints -one on the road to Kramatorsk, the other on the road to Kharkiv- were destroyed. According to witnesses, the Ukrainian forces used helicopters and rocket launchers. The attempt to dislodge the militants was not successful, and the rebels remained in control. Elsewhere, Pro-Russian demonstrators occupied the town councils in Mariupol, Yenakiieve and Makiivka. Rebel forces established checkpoints in the villages of Myrne, Bylbasivka, Mayakovsky and Rayhorodok, in the area adjacent to Sloviansk. A truck carrying Grad rocket was stopped at one of the checkpoints and its cargo was confiscated by the militiamen. At evening, the city council of Khartsyzk was occupied by rebel militants. Apparently, local authorities cooperated with the separatists.

14 April

The police station in Horlivka was stormed by 150 pro-Russian activists. The Ukrainian government implicated Russia in the deployment of civilian agents with military weapons to cause unrest, and called on the United Nations to send in peacekeeping troops. This would however require approval by the UN Security Council, where Russia holds a veto there. In Zhdanivka 20 activists took over the city council, and hoisted the flag of the Republic of Donetsk. The rebels set up a number of checkpoints around the city.

In Luhansk, 300 held a pro-Ukraine rally peacefully. Locals began forming self-defence groups to protect from the separatists.

Ukrainian self-defence volunteers working with police set up roadblocks between Kharkiv and Donetsk to stop separatist movement.

In Kiev, MP Oleg Tsarov was attacked by pro-Western activists after participating in a television programme. The mob assaulted him after police searched Tsarov's vehicle and found assault rifle ammunition.

15 April

Radicals attacked two presidential candidates that were taking part in a Ukrainian talk show ‘Svoboda Slova’. Oleg Tsarev was brutally beaten and is now in critical condition. Mikhail Dobkin had anti-septic solution and poured on him, he had vowed to focus on reviving diplomatic relations with Russia, if elected.

An armoured column sent by Ukraine established a checkpoint 40 km from Sloviansk. The SBU claimed that the rebels there had been reinforced by several hundred soldiers from Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate. Ukrainian special forces retook Kramatorsk airfield from pro-Russian troops. According to Ukrainian officials there were no fatalities on either side, while rebel reports varies from two militiamen wounded to eleven dead. Pro-Russian militants in the city of Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast stormed the municipal police station and detained the police. After the storming and ransacking of the building and a mob beating of the police chief, a video surfaced on YouTube of an alleged Russian army officer, in Russian regular army uniform, addressing the Ukrainian police with "new orders." The city is currently occupied by Russian irregular forces who are believed to be coordinated with the Russian army.

Pro-Russian militiamen in Sloviansk

16 April

An 'Odessa People's Republic' was allegedly proclaimed by a pro-Russian internet group in Odessa Oblast. Members of the Odessa antimaidan protest group later swore that they made no such declaration, and leaders of the group said they had only found out about it through the media. The OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine later confirmed that the situation in Odessa remained calm.

Six BMD-2 armoured vehicles were captured by Pro-Russian militias after being stopped at a rebel checkpoint near Kramatorsk. They were later seen driven by masked Pro-Russian troops to Sloviansk. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence confirmed the loss. Two Ukrainian soldiers, one of them an officer, were abducted by armed men while driving a vehicle on a road near Krasny Luch, Luhansk Oblast. Fourteen Ukrainian armoured personnel carriers carrying a hundred soldiers were surrounded by a large crowd in Pchyolkino, but were able to leave after surrendering their ammuniton. The commander of Ukraine's airborne troops, Colonel Alexander Sveths, another officer and a civilian contractor were abducted after refusing to lay down the weapons. They were released on 18 April. During the preceding stand-off, Ukrainian troops fired upon Pro-Russian militants, injuring three.

In Mariupol, 300 pro-Russian insurgents attempted to take a military base and demanded soldiers turn over their weapons. They threw petrol bombs at base guards. After firing warning shots, police together with the national guard and Omega units returned fire. According to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, three insurgents were killed and 13 wounded, while 63 were arrested; no Ukrainian officers were killed in the battle.

17 April

Flyers distributed in the pro-Russian-controlled Donetsk instructed Jews over 16 to register with the insurgents and pay a $50 tax. Pro-Russian demonstrators in Stakhanov formed a picket line outside the local police station, demanding the resignation of the superintendent. Ukrainian paratroopers, supported by helicopters, destroyed a rebel checkpoint at Serhiivka, west of Kramatorsk. One civilian was wounded.

In Luhansk, 1,000 held a pro-Ukraine rally to support national unity. In Donetsk, over 5,000 rallied against separatism. In Kramatorsk, 1,000 held a pro-Ukraine rally and were attacked by 100 separatists, who were stopped by police.

The outcome of quadrilateral meeting in Geneva (as agreed on 10 April 2014) with Russia, Ukraine, the United States and the European Union to negotiate an end to the crisis in Ukraine was that all sides agreed to steps to "de-escalate" the crisis. All four parties agreed that all "illegal military formations in Ukraine" must be dissolved, and that everyone occupying buildings must be disarmed and leave them but that there would be an amnesty for all anti-government protesters under the agreement. These steps will be overseen by monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

18 April

The Ukrainian Security Service put the 'active phase' of the "anti-terrorist operation" in the east on hold. This was due to the deal reached at Geneva and the Easter celebrations. They will continue, however, to keep the security perimeter around facilities and towns controlled by pro-Russian rebels. The Donbass separatists rejected the agreement. Ukrainian paratroopers recovered two of the six BMD-2 vehicles captured by the rebels at Kramtorsk, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defence. No casualties were reported. Earlier, one of the BMDs and a truck were driven by 20 Pro-Russian troops to the industrial town of Siversk, where Russian-language sources report that the local population and police pledged allegiance to the Donetsk republic; this was dismissed by local authorities. The rebel column departed for the towns of Zvanivka and Paraskoviyivka. A pro-Government rally at Sloviansk was dispersed by pro-Russian militias.

19 April

A Ukrainian civilian helicopter was fired at by rebel militants while dropping leaflets explaining the deal reached at Geneve on Sloviansk. A Ukrainian soldier was shot and killed in Donetsk's airport, when a sentry mistook him for an intruder and opened fire.

20 April

On Easter Sunday there was a deadly shootout at a checkpoint in Bylbasivka, west of Sloviansk, between pro-Russian militias and unknown assailants. Russia-language media describe them as armed members of the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist party 'Right Sector'. The attackers arrived in four civilian vehicles before dawn and opened fire on demonstrators manning the checkpoint. They were later engaged by Pro-Russian militiamen. Three separatists were killed and two wounded, while the assailants suffered three deaths, according to the self-appointed mayor of Sloviansk. The body of one of the alleged attackers was put on display by the rebels, who also showed two charred vehicles belonging to the gunmen, one of them riddled with bullet holes. A 22-year-old man from Vinnitsa, identified as one of the armed persons who raided the checkpoint, was captured by the rebels. They claim he was a member of the 'Right Sector', but this was denied by 'Right Sector' sources in Kiev. Later, a female reporter was detained at Sloviansk under the suspect that she was a Euromaidan activist. At evening, there was another shooting in Dobropillia, this time against a Ukrainian military checkpoint manned by paratroopers. According to Col. Dmitry Gorbunov, spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence in Kharkiv, the Ukrainian soldiers returned fire, killing one of the unidentified attackers and arresting some of them. A later statement from the Ministry in Kiev mentions only one wounded and two arrested. Donetsk republic officials claim the three men were just civilians riding a motorcycle that skidded in front of the checkpoint, and that the soldiers opened fired on them after the accident. The wounded man, according to this source, was evacuated by helicopter in serious condition and his whereabouts were unknown since then.

21 April

In Luhansk, separatists announced two referendums, one on 11 May to decide on whether to gain autonomy or whether to retain the current status of the region and a second on 18 May on whether to join Russia or declare independence. The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs created a special battalion to fight separatism in the region called 'Timur'. Armed men dressed in camouflage took over the Security Service office in Kramatorsk, where the local police station was also occupied and the superintendent abducted.

In Khartsyzk in Donetsk oblast, 400 rallied to support the unity of Ukraine.

22 April

A body found in the River Seversky Donets, not far from Sloviansk, was identified as Volodymyr Rybak, a member of the Ukrainian parliament for the 'Fatherland' party. The corpse, with signs of torture, had been found on 19 April along with a second unidentified body. Rybak had been kidnapped outside Horlivka's city council on 17 April. An immediate consequence of the assassination was President Turchynov's decision to resume the 'active phase' of the 'counter-terrorism operation' in Eastern Ukraine.

A Ukrainian Air Force An-30 surveillance aircraft was damaged by small-arms fire while flying over the rebel-controlled city of Sloviansk. The crew managed to land the plane safely at Kiev.

Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, director of Ukraine's Security Service, reported that three Russian military intelligence officers had been captured. Up to 22 April, twenty-one Russian intelligence officers had been arrested in Ukraine.

23 April

Ukrainian forces took control of the town of Sviatohirsk without casualties on either side. At evening, a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter from the Ministry of Internal Affairs was lightly damaged by small-arms fire while flying over Kramatorsk. Two more helicopters from the Ukrainian National Guard were fired at by pro-Russian troops over Sloviansk. One of them received some damage. (see Siege of Sloviansk)

The Ministry of Justice petitioned the District Administrative Court of Kiev to ban the Russian Unity and Russian Bloc parties.

In Odessa, Euromaidan and Antimaidan protesters joined together to protect the city from pro-Russian provocateurs. The two groups set up checkpoints around the city. The groups came to a mutual agreement that they viewed the greatest threat to Odessa to be from abroad.

Right Sector announced it had created a special 'Donbass' battalion to battle separatists, and that they were co-ordinating with the Defence Council, SBU, and Interior Ministry.

Luhansk separatist Vladimir Gromov disowned the proposed Lugansk Republic, saying an announcement was never made.

Veterans in Kirovohrad stated they would abandon the St. George ribbon from 9 May celebrations to prevent provocations from separatists on Victory Day.

A petition was added to the We the People petitioning system asking to designate Russia as "State Sponsor of Terrorism" according to the US legislation.

24 April

Ukrainian forces, with the support of helicopters and armoured vehicles, carried out a large raid on pro-Russian positions around Sloviansk, killing between five to seven militants and destroying three checkpoints. The Ukrainian troops withdrew after the incursion. Earlier, a Ukrainian military base at Artemivsk was attacked with machine guns, grenades and RPGs by 70 militants. The assault was repulsed. One Ukrainian soldier was wounded. The incursion was allegedly commanded by Alexander Mozhaev, a former Russian army officer. The pro- Russian Republic of Donetsk declared 'full mobilization'. Police in Sumy informed that they received information of an impending extremist threat and planned events to take over government buildings, and that activists were being paid to take part.

25 April

Two Ukrainian aircraft -an Mi-8 helicopter and an An-2 plane- were destroyed in an apparent RPG attack claimed by Pro-Russian militias at the airport of Kramatorsk, where the control tower was also damaged. The explosion injured one Ukrainian officer. At evening, Ukrainian special forces raided and destroyed a rebel checkpoint at Cherkasy, west of Sloviansk. No casualties were reported.

Russian fighter jets flew into Ukrainian airspace numerous times in the last 24 hours, US officials said.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry reported that 13 people on an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) inspection trip (seven OSCE members, five Ukrainian military representatives, and the driver) had been taken hostage by pro-Russian militants in Sloviansk and held in the SBU building. Ukrainian authorities also informed that Sloviansk would be blockaded to prevent any reinforcements and supplies from entering the city.

In Odessa Oblast, seven people were injured, including one police officer, after a grenade attack at a checkpoint near Transnistria. The Security Service of Ukraine detained members of the "Rapid Response Brigade" in Odessa city, and said that they planned to commit provocations on 9 May. The SBU also said that members of the "Rapid Response Brigade" had been paid by a Russian TV station for providing footage.

26 April

Fifteen armed pro-Russian militants broke into the Novokramatorsky Machine Works factory in Kramatorsk, apparently with the goal of stealing two Soviet-era armoured bulldozers to counter the Ukrainian roadblocks around the area of Sloviansk. The rebels left the plant four hours later. Donetsk Republic sources claim that the intruders managed to obtain the heavy vehicles, largely disabled, and that they were working to repair them for minesweeping duties.

Rebel militias captured three Security Service agents in Horlivka. According to Ukrainian reports, they were tracking a Russian citizen suspect in the murder of Ukrainian MP Volodymyr Rybak.

At dusk, a pro-Russian checkpoint at Soledar, near Artemivsk, was attacked by Ukrainian airborne troops landed by helicopter. The checkpoint was located at the entrance of an old salt mine used as a dump for obsolete Soviet-era firearms. Russian-language sources report that one militant manning the outpost was wounded and other two captured, although one of them slipped away from his captors. Ukrainian authorities confirmed the operation, and say that a Donets Cossack was taken prisoner.

27 April

Separatists in Luhansk proclaimed the "Luhansk People's Republic". Earlier, rebel forces from Luhansk made an incursion in the city of Stakhanov, where they were welcomed by a pro-Russian crowd. The militants established a checkpoint outside the city council with the pretext of preventing "a Right Sector attack" and later fell back to Luhansk.

Around 500 pro-Russian activists, some of them in balaclavas and military fatigues, took control of the radio and television broadcasting centre in Donetsk, with the aim of turning off Ukrainian television channels and replacing them with Russian channels.

An unidentified corpse was found in the River Seversky Donets, not far from the site where the bodies of an student and Ukrainian MP Volodymyr Rybak were disposed.

A Swedish member of the OSCE mission, who had been taken hostage by rebel forces at Sloviansk, was released 'for medical reasons'.

28 April

Kharkiv mayor Gennady Kernes was critically injured when a hitman shot him in the back.

One Ukrainian soldier was killed and another wounded by an improvised explosive device in Donetsk oblast. There was an exchange of gunfire between pro-Russian militias and Ukrainian security forces at Kramatorsk airport. Two Ukrainian servicemen were injured.

The city of Kostiantynivka was taken over by 20 pro-Russian militants who set up several checkpoints and barricades.

Timur Yudashev, the commander of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' special troops in Luhansk, was abducted at the local bus station and taken to the Security Service building, occupied by pro-Russian militants.

Separatists attacked a Ukrainian unity rally in Donetsk, leaving 14 injured. Four were allegedly taken hostage by pro-Russian separatists and held in the former Party of Regions headquarters.

29 April

Separatists in Luhansk stormed and seized the RSA building raising Russian and Luhansk Republic flags. Approximately 3,000 were involved in the raid, and police defected to the side of the protesters and adorned St. George ribbons. Lawyer Igor Chudovsky was shot twice by separatists for refusing to make a televised address on their behalf. The city of Pervomaisk, Luhansk Oblast, was also seized by the rebels. Two pro-Russian checkpoints were dismantled by Ukrainian forces, one at Cherkasy and another near Sloviansk.

30 April

Acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov said that "security forces are unable to quickly take the situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions under control". "The security bodies ... are unable to carry out their duties of protecting citizens. They are helpless in those matters. Moreover, some of those units are either helping or cooperating with terrorist organizations." Rebel militants took over the city councils of Horlivka and Alchevsk, along with other government offices.

In Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast, Ukrainian media claimed that a group of women prevented separatists from taking city hall.

May

1 May

In Antratsyt, Luhansk, separatists seize buildings and flew over the Russian tri-color, flag of Crimea, and Pan-Slavic flag (mistakenly reported as flag of Netherlands). Separatist forces also seized Amvrosiivka, Donetsk Oblast, where they raised the flag of the Donetsk republic over the town council and ripped out the Ukrainian flag. The city's mayor was snatched from his house and forced to resign. The police station at Krasnoarmiisk was occupied by pro-Russian militias in a bloodless assault.

In Simferopol, a May Day parade was held which included support from Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk, whose column's slogans included "Putin is a guarantor of peace and stability in multiethnic Crimea!" Pro-Russian and pro-Communist parades were also held in Odessa (2,000 people), Donetsk (10,000 people), Kiev (400 people), Mariupol (1,000 people), Kharkiv (2,000 people), and Luhansk.

In the city of Donetsk, a pro-Russian crowd stormed and occupied the prosecutor's office. There were clashes with the security forces, which left 26 wounded, one of them a serviceman.

In Moscow, protesters carrying the Ukrainian flag were arrested on sight.

Ukraine re-adopted conscription.

2 May

Main article: 2 May 2014 Odessa clashes

At dawn, Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale operation to retake Sloviansk. There were reports of gunfire, explosions, and a military helicopter opening fire, and separatists said one Mi-24 helicopter had been shot down, and one of the pilots captured. Separatist authorities said that three militants and two civilians were killed in the clashes. The Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs reports that up to nine checkpoints around Sloviansk were seized. They also acknowledge the shooting down of two helicopters and the death of two airmen. Seven servicemen were wounded. The fighting died down by afternoon.

Later, a rally by about 1,500 pro-government demonstrators in Odessa was attacked by pro-Russian militants with batons and helmets, leaving many dead and wounded. The militants were later overwhelmed by the protesters, forcing them to retreat to and occupy the Trade Unions House. Whilst defending the building, the militants tossed rocks and Molotov cocktails at the protesters below, and also opened fire upon them. Police said at least three people were shot dead and fifteen others were wounded in the clashes, and another thirty-one people died whilst trapped in the burning Trade Unions House.

President Turchynov issued a statement informing that 'armed saboteurs' attempted to cross into Ukraine overnight from Russia, but were pushed back by Ukrainian border troops. The Federal Security Service's (FSB) border service said information from the Ukrainian side about an alleged attempt by Russian "sabotage groups" to cross into Ukraine from Russia "did not correspond with reality."

3 May

Main article: Kramatorsk standoff

A Ukrainian military recruiting center in Luhansk was stormed by pro-Russian militants after an initial assault was repelled by the recruits. Two Ukrainian soldiers were injured and a militant was killed in the clashes. The separatists seized weapons and took the recruits to an undisclosed location. Five Ukrainian border guards were kidnapped by armed militants from their outpost in Stanichno, Luhansk Oblast. They were robbed of their weapons and released the following day. Ten people were reported to be killed during intense fighting around Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

4 May

Sixty pro-Russian demonstrators stormed the police headquarters at Odessa and released 67 people held in custody over the 2 May's deadly clashes. At early morning, four Ukrainian armoured vehicles attacked a separatist checkpoint at Kostiantynivka; there was an engagement with snipers who fired from the local television tower. Ukrainian forces withdrew from Kramatorsk's streets to their base at the local airport.

5 May

Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 30 wounded in fresh fighting around Sloviansk. The self-proclaimed mayor of the city stated that seven militants were killed, along with three civilians. The engagement begun when an armoured Ukrainian convoy was ambushed by pro-Russian forces at Semeniivka, in the outskirts of Sloviansk. According to witnesses, the local gas station 'exploded in a wall of flame', as result of the clashes. A dozen of rebel militiamen where seen heading to the area on two armoured personnel carriers five minutes into the ambush. A Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopter was shot down by a heavy machine gun manned by the rebels and crashed into a river; its crew survived. The Ukrainian government accused the pro-Russian militias of using heavy weapons, including mortars.

6 May

Separatist demonstrators and militants set up barricades and burned tyres in Mariupol downtown as gunfire erupted in the airport area. It was later learned that Ukrainian special forces engaged pro-Russian militants, killing one and capturing two. The rebels had fired upon a Ukrainian military convoy, injuring a bus driver. The Ukrainian government later claimed that the city was cleared of separatists and the barricades around the city council removed.

7 May

Pro-Russian demonstrators re-occupied the Mariupol city hall after the Ukrainian security forces withdrew from the building. They were later attacked by special troops using tear gas, which according to pro-Russian sources left 15 people affected. A pro-Russian spokeswoman said that five militants were killed and 15 captured during the Ukrainian operation to retake the city.

8 May

Representatives of the Republics of Lugansk and Donetsk announced that they will go ahead with the 11 May referendum as scheduled, despite Vladimir Putin's calls to have it suspended.

One unidentified person was killed and two others wounded during an armed hot pursuit between two civilian-type vehicles that ended when the cars bypassed a rebel checkpoint at Alexandreevka. The two vehicles were fired at by the miltiamen manning the roadblock.

Pro-Russian militias attacked a Ukrainian checkpoint in Andreevka, near Sloviansk. The Ukrainian troops returned fire, and destroyed two civilian-type cars used by the rebels using RPGs.

A police motorcade carrying pro-Russian detainees was attacked by a lone armed man driving a civilian car at Reshetylivka, Poltava Oblast. Security Service personnel fired back and killed the driver.

At evening, 40 armed men got out two minivans and surrounded a customs post at Izvaryne, Luhansk Oblast, giving the Ukrainian border guards 30 seconds to lay down their weapons. When the guards refused, the intruders threw petrol bombs on the facilities, igniting a fire that was later extinguished. The guards opened fire, causing the attackers to flee. The customs post was left inoperable.

9 May

Main article: Mariupol standoff

An Orthodox priest was shot dead when he tried to talk to militiamen at a checkpoint in Kostiantynivka.

The town council at Avdiivka was taken over by unidentified personnel.

There were deadly clashes at Mariupol, where 60 separatists attempted to take over the police station. The attack was beaten-off, but the building was left in flames. The Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry claim that 20 rebels were killed, and four captured. The Ukrainians acknowledge one killed and five wounded. It was later learned that the police superintendent had been abducted by the militiamen.

10 May

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine announced the deaths of a Lieutenant Colonel and an artillery soldier during the battle at Mariupol. The vehicle of the Colonel was ambushed while in route to the police station, while the soldier was killed in the assault of the building.

Armed separatists entered the Great Patriotic War museum at Donetsk, stealing a PTRS-41 antitank rifle and two AK-47s replicas.

11 May

Main article: Donetsk and Luhansk status referendums, 2014

Two independence referenda were held in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In Donetsk, the organizers stated that 89% voted in favour of self-rule, with 10% against, on a turnout of nearly 75%. In Luhansk, the organizers stated that 96.2% voted for separation. These results could not be independently verified.

In Krasnoarmesk, a masked gang presented themselves as a special Ukrainian unit called "Dnepr", with the declared intention of preventing the take over of the city hall by separatists. As a crowd gathered in front of the building to protest, the gunmen open fire, killing two civilians and injuring another.

13 May

Six Ukrainian soldiers were killed by separatists when a military convoy was ambushed at Oktyabrski, a village 20 km from Kramatorsk. A seventh soldier died of wounds. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence also reported one rebel killed and four wounded. One Ukrainian BTR personnel carrier and a GAZ-66 truck were destroyed.

Separatist leaders stated that Luhansk 'People's Governor' Valery Bolotov was injured in an assassination attempt, which they blamed on Ukrainian authorities.

14 May

Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchinov claimed that the Ukrainian National Guard destroyed a pro-Russian base at Kramatorsk and a fortified area at Sloviansk. He also claimed that the TV tower at Sloviansk was under Ukrainian control.

An explosion in the Ivano-Frankivsk pipeline, in Western Ukraine, was dubbed a "terrorist attack" by Ukrainian authorities.

15 May

Separatists sources claim that the Ukrainian army shot and killed three civilians in Kramatorsk.

Ukrainian sources reported three pro-Russian assaults on three military outposts in the area of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, one of them on troops guarding the local television tower. During this attack rebel forces used BMD-2s and automatic fire.

16 May

Ukrainian sources said that a joint police and security service team arrested the commander of the South-Eastern Army in Luhansk. They stated that the detainee, Oleksiy Relke, was taken to Kiev. Ukraine's prosecutor general classified the self-declared republics as terrorist organizations.

In the city of Donetsk, a group of 130 armed militants from the "Vostok" battalion surrounded the  Eastern territorial command of the Ukrainian National Guard  and asked the military personnel inside to lay down their weapons. The rebels eventually took control of the premises after a number of volunteers from the National Guard swore loyalty to the Donetsk republic. The remaining troops were relocated to another barracks. The pro-Russian militia seized an undetermined number of small arms.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were injured when their base in Kharkiv Oblast was attacked by pro-Russian militias from Donetsk.

17 May

A man was shot and killed and another wounded after the civilian-type vehicle they were riding in passed through a pro-Russian checkpoint in the village of Yubileyniy, Luhansk Oblast. Two women were hit and injured by the driverless car.

At least 50 armed assailants took over a key gas-pumping facility in Kramatorsk

Luhansk "people's governor" Valeriy Bolotov was briefly detained by Ukrainian border guards at a border checkpoint in Dovzhanskiy. Bolotov was eventually released by 200 armed militants after a bloodless assault on the outpost.

Ukrainian officials claim that a pro-Russian militant was killed in clashes with Ukrainian military forces around Sloviansk.

18 May

There was sporadic mortar and RPG fire against Kramatorsk airfield from 17 to 18 May, and an attempted assault by pro-Russian forces. No victims were reported among the Ukrainian troops or the civilian population. The self-proclaimed mayor of Sloviansk claimed that Ukrainian mortar fire damaged a railway bridge in the village of Andiivka during the engagements.

Stankhanov Ferroalloy Plant at Luhansk stopped working after pro-Russian militants fired at and disabled two transformers, cutting off power supply to the facilities. Six furnaces were turned off.

19 May

A rebel mortar attack on Ukrainian positions at Mount Karachun, near Sloviansk, left one soldier killed and three wounded. Pro-Russian sources claim that the village of Semeniivka and two neighbours south of Sloviansk were damaged by Ukrainian artillery fire.

The Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs reported a rebel attack on a military checkpoint at Amvrosiivka, Donetsk Oblast. Some 50 pro-Russian militiamen arrived on ten vehicles an opened fire, but were repelled after a 30-minute shootout. One separatist was killed, another was captured and seven injured.

President Turchynov accused the Communist Party of collaborating with separatist insurgents and petitioned the Justice Ministry to ban the party.

A peace rally through Mariupol was cancelled at the last minute because of threats from pro-Russia armed groups.

In a late in the evening emergency address broadcast by his own Ukrayina TV Ukrainian oligarch and biggest business mogul of the region Rinat Akhmetov claimed the representative "of this Donetsk People's Republic" were committing "genocide of Donbass".

20 May

A so-called Peace March was held in the stadium Donbass Arena in Donetsk accompanied by cars beeping their horns at noon, organized by Rinat Akhmetov. BBC News and Ukrayinska Pravda reported that some vehicles were attacked by separatists and that a group of gunmen had threatened (at) the offices of several city taxi services not to take part. Akhmetov has vowed that "siren [will be] ringing every day at noon across all of Donbas until peace is established".

Armed separatists began to build concrete permanent checkpoints just 8 km from the Ukrainian-Russian border.

Rebel forces carried out another mortar attack on Ukrainian troops at Mount Karachun, wounding four soldiers.

21 May

It was reported that the separatist controlled one-third of the electoral commissions in Donbas. Ukrainian troops, meanwhile, were in charge of three electoral districts in Donetsk and the polling stations at Dobropillia, Olexandrivka, Velikonovosilkivsky and Chervonoarmiisk.

In Mariupol militants set up a picket line in front of two plants owned by Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, who called for a campaign against separatism.

22 May

Main article: Volnovakha checkpoint attack

At Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast, 16 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 12 wounded when armed separatists attacked the checkpoint they were manning with machine gun fire, hand grenades, rocket propelled grenades and mortar rounds. Later, another two soldiers died of wounds, bringing the Ukrainian death toll to 18. A pro-Russian officer, Colonel Igor Bezler, claimed that he led the ambush, and showed weapons and identification cards of two Ukrainian soldiers allegedly captured after the battle, in an improvised press conference at Horlivka. He also acknowledged the death of one of his subordinates.

A Ukrainian military convoy was blocked and ambushed by rebel forces at a bridge in Rubizhne, Luhansk Oblast. The bridge, which crossed the Seversky Donets, had previously been blown up by pro-Russian forces. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and seven wounded, while the separatists acknowledged the loss of seven combatants and 16 injured.

Armed men broke into the town council of Torez, Donetsk Oblast, where they shot and killed two people and wounded two others.

The Federal State of New Russia is declared encompassing both the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.

23 May

During an ambush at Karlivka, 25 km north-west of Donetsk, pro-Russian forces killed five Ukrainian volunteers from the battalion "Donbass". "Right Sector" spokesman Borislav Bereza claimed that militants from his party came to rescue the trapped soldiers. Fifty percent of the battalion's soldiers were wounded. Rebel sources reported that two militiamen died in the battle.

24 May

Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and four wounded when rebel forces from Sloviansk attacked two checkpoints around the city with mortar fire, RPGs and small-arms fire.

Agreements to form the Federal State of New Russia were signed between the governments of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic, and as such the republics were integrated to the new confederation.

25 May

Main article: Ukrainian presidential election, 2014

Petro Poroshenko is elected President of Ukraine (invested 7 June).

26 May

Main article: Battle of Donetsk Airport

Fierce fighting erupted at Donetsk airport at 13:00 local time, after separatists militias who had earlier stormed the facilities ignored a Ukrainian ultimatum to withdraw. There was an airstrike carried out by Mi-24 helicopters, Sukhoi 25 and MiG-29 aircraft, and Ukrainian paratroopers were landed to evict the rebels. Ukrainian officials claimed that an antiaircraft gun was destroyed. Converserly, sources from the Donetsk republic reported the shooting down of two helicopters. Both sides claimed to be in control of the airport after the battle died down at late evening. They also acknowledged an indeterminate number of casualties. The local mortuary had 36 bodies of people killed during the battle, 33 of them pro-Russian militants. Donetsk Mayor, Oleksander Lukyanchenko, reported 43 wounded in local hospitals as result of the clashes.

At 18:00 OSCE headquarters lost contact with military inspectors from the organization in eastern Donetsk.

27 May

At 3:40 am a column of several vehicles which included trucks, vans and cars from the village of Novoprokhorovka, Russia, crossed the border into Ukraine near the village of Astakhov, Luhansk Oblast (south of Sverdlovsk). The motorcade, heading for the town of Antratsyt, was engaged by Ukrainian border guards, who after a shootout captured a van and two cars carrying AK-47 rifles, RPGs and explosives. An armed man was wounded.

The press service of the Republic of Donetsk declared a daily curfew from 20:00 to 6:00 am.

28 May

Ukrainian soldiers manning a checkpoint in Donetsk Oblast shot down a Russian-made drone, reported Ukrainian Army spokesman Alex Dmitrashkovskyy. Earlier, members of the pro-Russian army of Donetsk claimed to have shot down a Ukrainian drone flying over downtown Donetsk.

A Ukrainian military base and a National Guard unit have been attacked in Luhansk, causing losses on both sides.

During new fightings in Sloviansk, one shell hit a school.

29 May

A Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter was shot down by rebel forces between Kramatorsk and Mount Karachun, killing 14 people on board, among them General Vladimir Kultchysky. Another soldier was seriously injured.

Twenty members of the Ukrainian National Guard laid down their weapons to separatist forces at Oleksandrivsk, just west of Luhansk. One pro-Russian militant was wounded in the action. One Ukrainian serviceman died in hospital.

Militias from the Donetsk republic ambushed a Ukrainian military convoy near Izium, Kharkiv Oblast. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and two wounded when a KAMAZ truck was hit by a rocket propelled grenade.

30 May

According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, there was an attempt to break through the Ukrainian national border from the Russian side in Stanytsia-Luhanske. On 29 May armed personnel started gathering not far from the checkpoint and set a number of barricades. All in all there were around 300 armed men surrounding the outpost. At 12:30 am, the armed men opened fire in the direction of the Ukrainian border guards. They were shooting assault rifles and grenade launchers. State border guards returned fire. One guard was injured by shrapnel. State border guards claimed that at the same time at least four ambulances were seen coming to the place from where the armed men opened fire.

Also, during the night state border guards said they captured three cars coming from Russian side. One of the them was a Mercedes Vito. It was supposed to escort two GAZelle minivans that came to the border checkpoint some time later. All in all border guards found 27 AK-47 assault rifles, two pistols, four machine guns, five grenade launchers, five sniper rifles and 84 boxes with ammunition and grenades. There was also a woman among the passengers of one of the GAZelle minivans who had $10,000 with her. All in all border guards said they captured 13 people.

Another attack was organized from inside Ukrainian territory at a border post near Dyakovo (south of Antratsyt). Dozens of mortar shells were fired, wounding three. Russian Cossacks were involved in the assault.

Ukrainian officials stated that the UAV allegedly shot down in eastern Ukraine on 28 May was a Russian-made Orlan-10 drone.

31 May

Donetsk People's Republic chairman Denis Pushilin stated on 31 May that six rebels had been killed while trying to collect the bodies of their comrades, who had died in combat earlier this week near Donetsk airport. "They died trying to take back the Ukrainian airport, and our boys were trying to get their bodies out," Pushilin said. However, according to the Ukrainian military, armed separatists had launched two fresh assaults on servicemen guarding the airport territory. "There were two attempts to storm the Donetsk airport, at 5 [a.m.] and 7 o'clock in the morning. Illegal paramilitary forces attempted to seize the airport, but both attempts were repelled by paratroopers who are part of the counterterrorist forces," military press officer Oleksiy Dmytrashkovsky told Interfax-Ukraine.

According to rebel militiamen in Krasnyi Luch, two of their comrades have been killed during a confrontation with Ukrainian border forces; four wounded Ukrainian soldiers were brought to hospital.

An ammunition factory was seized by armed separatists in the district of Leninsky, Luhansk.

Armed militants captured ten security vehicles and abducted eight security guards from Severodonetsk airport. Seven of the guards were later released, after being interrogated about their alleged affiliation with the "Right Sector" party.

June

1 June

It was reported that since the start of the conflict the rebels had taken about 200 hostages and prisoners.

Former Mariupol's treasury secretary Alexander Fomenko was elected "people's mayor" by a pro-Russian crowd that gathered outside the local city council.

The offices of the Security Service of Ukraine at Torez were heavily damaged by an RPG attack.

2 June

Main article: Siege of the Luhansk Border Base

Insurgents have launched a large attack against a command center of the Ukrainian border guards (48°31′25″N 39°15′28″E) just south of Luhansk. Five militiamen were reported killed. Contact between the guards and their headquarters was lost after an agreed 20-minute truce ended. There were seven wounded among the Ukrainian forces. Russian media reported that between 10 to 15 border guards surrendered to pro-Russian militias, however the Ukrainian government claimed that jets destroyed the rebels' equipment and positions ending the attack.

The Ukrainian Air Force conducted an airstrike against rebel mortar positions in Luhansk Oblast, claiming two militants killed. An air strike on Luhansk RSA was also conducted killing eight civilians. Kiev auhorities claim that it was a misfired missile shot by separatists. According to the OSCE "these strikes were the result of non-guided rockets shot from an aircraft".

3 June

A Ukrainian convoy was attacked en route from Izyum to Sloviansk; one soldier was killed and thirteen wounded. An armoured personnel carrier was hit by an RPG. In Semenivka (south-east of Kramatorsk), the Ukrainian army has attacked separatist roadblocks. Heavy fighting and artillery fire were reported in that sector and around Krasnyi Lyman (north-east of Sloviansk). The Ukrainian commander of the operations in the east, Vladislav Seleznev, acknowledged the loss of two men around Sloviansk, and 42 wounded. He also reported two Mi-24 helicopters damaged in battle.

According to Ukrainian authorities, a pro-Russian camp was secured near Sievierodonetsk.

4 June

After intense fighting in the Luhansk area, the pro-Russian militiamen have taken the base of the Ukrainian border guard they were attacking since 2 June and a site of the National Guard. Ukrainian forces reportedly took control of Krasnyi Lyman. The separatists fell back to their stronghold near the village of Brusivka on the Sloviansk – Krasnyi Lyman road where they had a trench network and a number of bunkers in place.

The rebels have captured a Ukrainian border guard base in Chervonopartizansk, east of Sverdlovsk.

5 June

The Ukrainian government had lost control over 130 km of the border with Russia in Luhansk Oblast.

Ukrainian border guards claimed to have fended off a pro-Russian attack on the border outpost at Marynivka. They suffered five wounded, and claimed the destruction of three rebel trucks and an armoured personnel carrier. Ukraine claimed that the separatists withdrew into Russia after an airstrike carried out by the Ukrainian Air Force and the arrival of Ukrainian ground reinforcements.

The Ukrainian army deployed T-64 tanks around Sloviansk.

6 June

Separatist militias from Slaviansk shot down an An-30 surveillance plane with two shoulder-launched missiles. Ukrainian authorities initially claimed that the pilots survived, but they later reported that five crewmembers were killed in the action, and two others missing. A mortar attack on a Ukrainian checkpoint outside the city killed one soldier.

8 June

Rebels reportedly launched attacks against the airport of Luhansk.

9 June

An armed group attacked the Izvaryne border checkpoint.

Residential areas in Sloviansk have been hit by indirect fire between the Ukrainian army and the insurgents. Rockets and mortar shells were aimed at buildings used by separatists, though some apartments and homes have been struck during the confrontations. Some homes and buildings were partially destroyed, others completely destroyed beyond repair.

10 June

President Poroshenko announced the establishment of humanitarian corridors for civilians wanting to leave the war zones. The initiative met the demand that had been put forward by the Russian Federation's authorities.

12 June

According to Ukrainian authorities, three T-64BV tanks and other armoured vehicles and trucks crossed the border from Russian territory into the Dyakovo area. They were spotted later in Snizhne. The Ukrainian government later claimed that their forces destroyed some vehicles in the column, resulting in four Ukrainian soldiers being killed and 31 wounded. Ukrainian authorities said fightings in Stepanivka, south of Snizhne, ended in the death of 40 separatists.

13 June

Ukrainian officials claimed that their troops wrestled control of Mariupol from pro-Russian militias. They destroyed an armoured vehicle and captured about 30 prisoners.

A civilian security guard was killed and two other civilians injured when rebel forces launched 26 Grad rockets against a Ukrainian checkpoint in the town of Dobropillia.

Two Ukrainian paratroopers from Mykolayev were killed and 25 wounded after being ambushed by separatists in an area of Donetsk near the border with Russia.

Residents of Slaviansk claimed that white phosphorus incendiary bombs, which are banned by the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, were dropped on the city.

Twenty militants armed with automatic weapons took over the Ukrainian Security Service building at Krasnodon.

A Ukrainian APC with 8 Ukrainian servicemen aboard violated the Russian border. The APC brokedown and another vehicle followed to retrieve the servicemen. This was not the first border incursion into Russia by the Ukrainian troops. Previously, Russian airspace was breached by the Ukrainian airforce.

14 June

Main article: Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 shoot-down

Ukrainian officials stated that an Il-76 transport plane was shot down as it approached an airport in Luhansk, killing nine crewmembers and 40 troops on board. Residents said that Ukrainian forces launched air attacks on separatist positions in the vicinity a few hours later.

The press service of the Donetsk People's Republic stated that a Ukrainian Su-24 bomber was shot down near Horlivka.

Protesters in Kiev attacked the Russian embassy and overturned vehicles with diplomatic plates. Ukraine's foreign minister, Andriy Deshchytsia, showed up at the protest and tried to calm down the protesters and convince them that attacking the embassy was a wrong course of action. At one point he was heard agreeing with the protesters' chants, and said "Yes, Putin is a khuilo, yes." ("khuilo" translates roughly to "dickhead"), prompting immediate outrage in Moscow. On the following day, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters: "The leading role in the attack on the embassy was played by fighters from the Azov battalion, which has been set up and is financed by Kolomoisky, whom the current Kiev authorities have appointed governor of Dnipropetrovsk."

Five Ukrainian border guards were killed and seven wounded near Mariupol after being ambushed by Donetsk militias.

The Ukrainian Air Force claimed the destruction of two rebel checkpoints in the Luhansk-Stanchino region. The city of Shchastya became under control of the Ukrainian army.

15 June

The day before Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko had declared 15 June a day of national mourning.

Two shops, the bus station, the hospital and several houses were damaged in Amvrosiivka when pro-Russian forces attacked Ukrainian army positions with a multiple rocket launcher. Ukrainian officials claimed that there was an indetermined number of victims, while the separatists reported that the town was actually shelled by Ukrainian troops, and three civilians were killed.

Donetsk militias announced the capture of eight Ukrainian paratroopers near Saur Mogila, south of Snizhne.

16 June

Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council chief Andriy Parubiy claimed that the pro-Russian forces were 15,000–20,000 strong and that more than half of them had arrived from Russia; "We are dealing with Russian occupiers and weapons and militants are being brought in". According to Parubiy, one of the "tasks" of the pro-Russian forces was "to provoke the maximum number of civilian casualties". The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine ordered the government to carry a one-side demarcation of the Russia–Ukraine border "in terms of existing threats to national security".

The Commander of the Donbass People's Militia Igor Girkin stated to Komsomolskaya Pravda that the Donetsk's separatists would be overrun in a month if Russia would not give "urgent, decisive" military support; he also claimed "The most capable part of the militia are bleeding".

At evening, a fighter from the Ukrainian Air Force carried out an airstrike against a building held by militants in the city of Horlivka. According to the Donetsk regional administration press office "no people dead or injured were registered in local medical facilities following the military operation in Horlivka on June 16".

The Donetsk regional administration press office also claimed that six people died in clashes in Kramatorsk.

During the night, Ukrainian media claimed that pro-Russian troops from Luhansk shelled the town of Shchastya, claimed to be recently occupied by the Ukrainian army, with a Grad multiple rocket launcher.

17 June

Spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Volodymyr Chepovy claimed that Ukraine had conducted "a series of successful operations over the past 24 hours" to regain control over the Russia–Ukraine border in which "about 80 militants have been neutralized". He also announced that the National Guard had been deployed the day before "at the state border and in populated areas of Donetsk region".

Ukrainian army operation spokesman Vladyslav Selezniov claimed that "in the east of Luhansk region" a Ukrainian unit had killed and wounded 30 men from a "large convoy of militants".

A Ukrainian mortar attack killed two Russian reporters in the village of Metalist, Luhansk Oblast. It was later claimed that one of the victims had entered in Ukraine illegally. Four Ukrainian soldiers from the battalion "Aidar" also died during the clashes there.

Ukrainian Member of Parlament and former Minister of Defence General Oleksandr Kuzmuk reported that some 900 militants equipped with heavy armoured vehicles broke from Russia into Ukraine through an area that was defended only by 100 border guards. Two T-72 tanks manned by separatists were spotted in Donetsk, according to the Ukrainian National Security Council.

18 June

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko proposed a 14-point peace plan that offered a truce followed by the decommissioning of arms, an amnesty to militants who hadn't committed serious crimes and safe passage out of the country for those willing to leave Ukraine, but only if the rebels would lay down their weapons first. The plan was swiftly rejected by the separatist authorities.

The US ambassador to the OSCE condemned the lack of Russian willingness to stop the flow of weapons and militants into eastern Ukraine.

During a battle which took place in the village of Shchastya, north of Luhansk, pro-Russian forces killed 18 Ukrainian soldiers, according to sources of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence. Another ten remained missing. Due to the losses sustained in this engagement, the battalion "Aidar" ceased to exist as an effective fighting force.

Ukrainian army spokesman Vladislav Seleznev announced that a Ukrainian T-64B tank was hit and damaged by rebel forces around Slaviansk, where he claimed that several pro-Russian firing positions were cleared and a number of separatists killed or wounded.

19 June

A major battle began around the village of Yampil as the rebels who once were stationed at Krasnyi Lyman tried to break-out of a Ukrainian army encirclement and escape towards Siversk. It was reported that the fighting involved the use of armoured vehicles and tanks by both sides. According to rebel commander Igor "Strelkov" Girkin the army is using artillery, tanks, and ground attack aircraft; while a Ukrainian army serviceman stated; "There's a major battle going on which exceeds in terms of force and scale anything there has been up to now." Ukrainian spokesman stated that seven Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 30 wounded in fighting near Slaviansk. A spokesman for the militia in Donetsk stated that they downed a Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 during the battle in Yampil.

20 June

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko declared a seven-day ceasefire, in accordance with the previously announced 14-point peace plan.

Earlier, an armoured Russian column reportedly crossed the border and penetrated deep into the Donbass region, reaching as far as Horlivka. It included at least two T-64B tanks, five armoured personnel carriers and some Grad multiple rocket launchers. One armoured carrier was seized by Ukrainian troops, and the Ministry of Defence claimed that Russian documentation had been found accompanying the vehicle.

21 June

Despite the Ukrainian government unilateral ceasefire, break-outs of attacks and shelling continued in several locations, particularly on three border outposts in Donetsk and Luhansk. Some 80 Ukrainian border guards at Izvaryne were evicted from their post and fled across the border with Russia, six of them wounded. Two of the wounded suffered critical injures. The wounded were repatriated, but the rest of the Ukrainian personnel was held in custody and interrogated by Russian authorities. Ukrainian positions were also shelled at Kramatorsk, Mount Karanchun and Amvrosiivka. There were no Ukrainian casualties.

22 June

Pro-Russian militias in Luhansk claimed the destruction of a Ukrainian armoured column in the village of Milove, right on the border between Russia and Ukraine. The separatists said they destroyed two tanks and captured several armoured vehicles.

According to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, five tanks, seven armoured vehicles and a number of Kamaz and Ural trucks were spotted in the town of Dmytrivka, Donetsk Oblast. The vehicles were manned by 140 men, some of them Russian citizens. They claimed that the equipment was moved in from Crimea.

23 June

Representatives of the republics of Donetsk and Luhansk reached an agreement with Ukrainian and Russian negotiators to declare a bilateral ceasefire until 27 June.

Pro-Russian militias besieging Luhansk airport, which was held by Ukrainian troops, were ready for the assault of the facilities.

24 June

Vladimir Putin formally took Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine off the table as separatist leaders agreed to a ceasefire, proposed by Kiev, in the region. He warned, however, that his decision doesn't mean that Russia will not defend ethnic Russians living in Ukraine and pro-Russian Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian military says one of its helicopters, a Mi-8, has been shot down by pro-Russian rebels in the east near Sloviansk, killing all nine people on board, while two other soldiers were killed and four wounded during the rebel shelling of a checkpoint in the same area. Donetsk People's Republic Prime Minister, Alexander Borodai, accused the Ukrainian central government of continuing hostilities by shelling Sloviansk, Snizhne and Semeniivka, where five people were killed. Ukrainian president Poroshenko said that one Ukrainian soldier was killed and seven wounded in eastern Ukraine the night before.

The Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic inform the OSCE that Viktor Medvedchuk was appointed their representative in the negotiations with the Ukrainian Government.

Donetsk People's Republic's leader Alexander Borodai announces on Twitter that the parliaments of Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic approved the merging of the two states.

25 June

Ukrainian president Poroshenko reported to the leaders of Germany, France and Russia that pro-Russian rebels killed 18 people and wounded 27 since the beginning of the truce.

Ten Ukrainian paratroopers were wounded when militants shelled the village of Dibrovka, Donetsk Oblast.

Another armoured column from Russia crossed into Ukraine through the border outpost of Izvarino. The convoy was composed of two tanks, five trucks and several armoured vehicles.

26 June

A Ukrainian National Guard base in Donetsk was overrun by pro-Russian forces, led by a self-styled military unit named "Kalmius". The besieged barracks were captured after a seven-hour long battle and three consecutive assaults, which involved the use of mortars and armoured personnel carriers by the separatists. The Ukrainian commander was taken prisoner.

A large rebel armoured column, composed of eight tanks, as well as mortars, attacked a Ukrainian checkpoint near Kramatorsk, killing four soldiers and wounding five. They also destroyed four Ukrainian armoured vehicles. Ukraine claimed that one rebel tank was destroyed and one was captured by the Ukrainian military. A pro-Russian tank rammed a roadblock, forcing the soldiers manning it to disperse. Ukraine claimed that another pro-Russian tank was hit by an RPG.

27 June

The ceasefire, for which the parties have come to an agreement on 23 June, has been extended till 19:00 GMT 30 June. Aleksander Boroday supported the ceasefire but people governor Pavel Gubarev and commander in chief Igor Girkin vehemently opposed to it.

At early morning, the Ukrainian Army base at Artemivsk was shattered during a rebel tank assault. There were no Ukrainian casualties, but the facilities were left in ruins. Ukraine claimed that a T-64B tank from the Russian army was captured by Ukrainian forces.

The United Nations refugee agency has found that over 110,000 Ukrainians have fled to Russia, and that tens of thousands more are internally displaced. Of those that fled, about 9,600 have filed for asylum.

The Gukovo border crossing, the nearby village of Vasetskiy and mining facilities in Russian territory were hit by several artillery shells fired by the Ukrainian army. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a protest note due to the shelling and violations, and called for these constant provocations to stop.

28 June

Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and four wounded when their checkpoint on the outskirts of Sloviansk was attacked by pro-Russian forces with small arms and mortar fire. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and eight were wounded when rebel forces ambushed a resupply convoy in the region of Luhansk.

Four remaining OSCE observers who had been held captive since 29 May have been set free.

29 June

Ukrainian paratroopers shot down a Russian-made surveillance micro UAV ZALA 421-08 in Luhansk Oblast, near the border with Russia.

A Ukrainian military base in Donetsk was partially occupied by pro-Russian militias following a rocket and mortar attack in the morning. A number of soldiers were taken prisoner after the assault, but Ukranian personnel still hold the canteen and the parade ground.

Pro-Russian forces shelled Ukrainian positions in Mount Karachun using tanks and mortars.

30 June

During a trip organized by pro-Russia rebels, a cameraman for the Russian Channel 1 news service, Anatoly Klyan, died after being fatally shot in the stomach when his crew came under fire near Avdiivka, north of Donetsk. He was the 3rd journalist to be killed in the conflict. Meanwhile, in Kiev, Poroshenko held a 2-hour call with Putin, Merkel and Hollande about his peace plan; Putin gave permission for OSCE military observers to operate on the Ukraine-Russia border but also wanted to discuss the extension of the truce.

Afterwards Poroshenko met with his security chiefs about the extension of the truce, but the council recommended to end it. Just before midnight the ATO officially resumed after the presidential portal made the following statement: "We will attack and liberate our land. Not renewing the cease-fire is our response to terrorists, militants, looters, all of those who are tormenting the local population, paralyzing the region's economy, preventing payment of salaries, pensions and grants, blowing up the railway, destroying water pipes, depriving people of normal peaceful life." The Wall Street Journal also report a substantial quantity of tanks, armoured personnel carriers and multiple rocket launchers moving from Izyum towards Slavyansk and troops appearing to be gearing up for a large scale offensive against the rebels.

Earlier, one Ukrainian soldier was killed and two wounded by separatists in Kriva Luka, near Krasny Liman, Donetsk Oblast. Two civilians also died in Slavyansk in the early morning when their apartment was struck with an ordinance during a battle between government and rebel forces.

July

1 July

The Ukrainian military renewed their attack to drive out pro-Russian rebels in the early morning, staging large-scale ground and air assaults in the east Ukraine throughout the day. The Ukrainian military conducted heavy artillery barrages on the rebel-controlled city of Slovyansk. The villages of Stary-Karavan and Brusivka (south of Krasnyi Lyman) were brought back under government control.

South-west of Slovyansk, near Andriivka, the television tower on Mount Karachun collapsed after rebel forces shelled Ukrainian positions nearby.

According to the Health Department of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, four civilians were killed and five wounded in a minibus when shells hit the rebel-held town of Kramatorsk in Donetsk region. Meanwhile, pro-Russian media reported that around 15 civilians were killed today in Kramatorsk.

Ukrainian authorities claimed to have won back control of the Dolzhanskyi border crossing (south of Sverdlovsk). A policeman was reported killed in the city of Donetsk when separatist fighters tried to seize the interior ministry's regional headquarters, and a tank battle between rebels and government forces was reported near the town of Karlivka. In Mar'inka, Donetsk Oblast, and Metalist, Luhansk Oblast, Ukrainian forces shelled a number of pro-Russian checkpoints.

One Ukrainian soldier was killed and 17 wounded in the fighting. A Ukrainian Su-25 was damaged by rebel fire.

2 July

A Ukrainian Su-25 crashed during landing approach due to a mechanical failure. No airport structures were damaged. The pilot ejected and survived. Another Ukrainian aircraft, a Su-24, was hit by a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile. The pilot managed to fly the fighter 300 km with a crippled engine before landing safely.

North-east of Luhansk, the towns of Stanytsia Luhanska and Mykolaivka were badly hit; nine civilians were killed. The Ukrainian authorities said the bloodshed happened when rebel forces launched rockets from a Grad rocket launcher; the Grad was later seized by government forces. A resident of the Kondrashovka locality (part of Stanytsia Luhanska) said that an aircraft first targeted an insurgent position nearby, but that its second strike hit the village. The deputy commander of a Ukrainian battalion said the place may have been hit both by the aircraft and by shelling from outside. Heavy fighting was reported in and near the village of Metalist, north of the city of Luhansk. Tank and artillery fire was also reported in the nearby neighbourhood of Kambrod.

Fighting was reported in the area of the Izvaryne border post, with Ukrainian units being shelled and one of their armoured vehicles destroyed by a mine.

Ukrainian forces pounded rebel positions in Donetsk Oblast with self-propelled 152mm howitzers.

Five Ukrainian soldiers died by the end of the day with another 21 wounded.

3 July

According to Ukrainian sources about 300 rebels tried to cross Russian border to return home. Russian border guards opened fire at them from all weapons. Another Russian border post in Novoshahtinks was damaged by rockets fired from Ukraine. This was the second incident of this kind in Novoshahtinsk since 20 June.

One civilian died and another suffered major injuries after stepping on a landmine outside Luhansk airport.

The Ukrainian army regained control of Raihorodok and Rai-Oleksandrivka (north-east and east of Slovyansk) as well as Zakitne and Riznykivka (west and south-west of Siversk).

The Ukrainian army claimed that its forces surrounded the town of Mykolaivka, Donetsk Oblast, and that six rebel fighting positions were destroyed by a combination of artillery and airstrikes. According to the Ukrainian claims, 150 pro-Russian militants lost their lives during aerial and artillery bombardment, while two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and four wounded.

Three road policemen died and another suffered major injuries when two unidentified armed men opened fire on them during a traffic stop.

4 July

The Ukrainian army reported 13 killed and nine wounded in separate incidents across the fighting in Eastern Ukraine.

A column of three tanks, three "Grad" MRLS and several armoured vehicles was spotted near the border with Russia in the region of Luhansk, in an area controlled by rebel troops.

Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov wrote on his Facebook page that Mykolaivka is completely under control of governmental forces.

Members of the Ukrainian battalion "Donetsk" launched a raid on the seat of the local prosecutor in Artemivsk, occupied by pro-Russian forces. Two armoured personnel carriers fired on the building during 20 minutes, destroying a civilian type vehicle and causing some damage. The armoured vehicles later retreated toward the Kharkiv-Rostov highway.

According to operational data from Information Resistance, as of 4 July 2014, there were numerous Russian troop formations located near the state border of Ukraine.

5 July

Main articles: Siege of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk standoff

Pro-Russian forces launched a "Grad" multiple rocket attack on Luhansk airport. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities announced the death in action of seven servicemen in the village of Novoselovka, Donetsk Oblast. Other six were injured.

Pro-Russian forces abandoned the town of Sloviansk and retreated towards Kramatorsk in the face of a Ukrainian army encirclement. The Ukrainian flag was hoisted over the city council building. In a message, that was read out next day in Donetsk, rebel commander Igor Strelkov stated that the retreat was necessary for the purposes of achieving the final goal – to drive Kiev's armies from the east before marching on the capital itself.

An armed group in two vessels and several small craft landed near the town of Sjedove, on the Azov Sea shore, and destroyed a Ukrainian border post and radar station with RPG, mortar and small arms fire. One Ukrainian guard was killed and eight wounded.

The Ukrainian flag was hoisted over the city council building of Kramatorsk. The bulk of pro-Russian forces fell back to Horlivka.

The separatists also left Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka.

6 July

Ukrainian authorities announced they have regained control of Artemivsk.

Separatist sources from the Republic of Donetsk claimed that a Ukrainian T-64 was knocked down by pro-Russian tanks during a battle in Dmytrivka, near the border with Russia.

There were reports of fighting in the villages of Piski and Karlivka.

In Donetsk city, militiamen attacked the state prison guard headquarters in an attempt to seize weapons.

7 July

With the bulk of pro-Russian forces fallen back to Donetsk, including the former defenders of Sloviansk, the rebels began to fortify the city and prepare for a stand against the advancing Ukrainian military.

Six pro-Russian tanks and one armoured fighting vehicle attacked Luhansk airport, held by Ukrainian forces. The Ukrainians responded with mortar fire.

One Ukrainian border guard was wounded after a mortar attack on Biryukovo checkpoint, south of Sverdlovsk, Luhansk Oblast.

Nine Ukrainian border guards were killed and 112 wounded defending the Russian-Ukrainian border from pro-Russian forces since the beginning of the military operations.

At least three bridges were destroyed by rebel forces. All the bridges lead into Donetsk city. One of the destroyed railroad bridges was over a highway. The highway was now also blocked.

Deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Mykhailo Koval declares that "all along its perimeter the Russian-Ukrainian border is under the tight control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and State Border Service".

8 July

Separatist units assumed control of Popasna.

The head of the Ministry of Defense Valeriy Heletey stated on 8 July that there would be "no more unilateral ceasefires" and said peace talks were only possible if the rebels disarmed. Meanwhile, the SBU thwarted an attempt to blow up a railway line in the Zaporizhia Oblast, and found that the suspects were carrying maps and explosives.

9 July

The Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian territorial battalion "Carpatia", Yuri Baran, was killed by a pro-Russian sniper during military operations near the town of Amvrosiivka.

Pro-Russian forces continued to besiege Luhansk airport. The facilities were shelled using four tanks and two "Grad" rocket launchers. Ukrainian sources claimed that two tanks and one "Grad" system were destroyed in the course of an air strike.

The Ukrainian border checkpoint at Dolzhansky, Luhansk Oblast, was destroyed after two days of heavy mortar fire. The facilities were hit by more than 200 mortar rounds.

Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 27 were wounded in the Donbass region during the last 24 hours. Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and a journalist lightly injured near Luhansk when their position was pounded by pro-Russian forces with mortar fire. Another soldier died in Muratova, Luhansk Oblast, when the convoy where he was riding on was ambushed by pro-Russian militias. Three others were injured.

10 July

Ukrainian troops took control of the town of Siversk. They have also recovered the border checkpoint of Chervonopartyzansk, east of Sverdlovsk. In the area of the Dolzhansky border post, four Ukrainian soldiers were killed when their armoured personnel carrier struck a landmine.

The fighting continues at Donetsk International Airport, held by Ukrainian army. Separatist sources claimed to have beaten off a Ukrainian offensive involving tanks in Karlivka, northwest of Donetsk city. According to them, the Ukrainian army withdrew 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) towards the village of Halytsynivka. Earlier, the commander of the battalion "Donbass", Semen Sementchenko, reported that his troops had destroyed a number of bunkers and sangars in Karlivka, killing "25 militiamen" for the loss of one soldier killed by sniper fire. A town near Sievierodonetsk and the city of Luhansk were shelled by the Ukrainian army. Separatists responded with counter-battery artillery fire.

11 July

Ukrainian forces have retaken the border post of Izvarine, east of Krasnodon.

Pro-Russian forces attacked a concentration of Ukrainian troops with "Grad" rockets, inflicted heavy damage and casualties to two motorized army brigades at Zelenopyllia, Luhansk Oblast, south of Rovenky. At least 19 Ukrainian soldiers were reported killed, and around 100 other wounded. Fighting was still ongoing by evening. It was later claimed that the rocket system used in the attack was the newer 9A52-4 "Tornado". Four other Ukrainian servicemen were killed near the Dolzhanskyi border post.

Ukrainian forces replied to that shelling by launching strikes against separatist groups in the areas of Perevalsk, Gomolsky, Dzerzhinsk, Izvarine.

An armoured convoy of six tanks, six armoured vehicles, two "Grad" systems and eight "Kamaz" trucks crossed through the Luhansk city centre, according to eyewitnesses.

A Russian-made unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down by Ukrainian troops.

12 July

In the early morning hours, pro-Russian forces attacked the Ukrainian army with "Grad" rockets and mortar fire in several locations in Donetsk and Luhansk, killing seven Ukrainian servicemen and wounding 33. Later, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed in action at Alexandrovka, Luhansk Oblast.

Fierce fighting erupted around the village of Marinka, southwest of Donetsk city. Six people were killed and four wounded. Elsewhere in Donetsk, six other people died and eight were injured at late evening in the Petrovsky neighbourhood.

The Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have destroyed 14 enemy vehicles in the last 24 hours.

Pro-Russian tanks attacked Luhansk international airport.

A large column of armoured vehicles crossed into Ukraine from Russia through the area of Krasnodon, Luhansk Oblast.

13 July

Main article: Shelling of Donetsk, Russia

Three artillery shells hit the Russian town of Donetsk, which is only 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) away from the border. One civilian died, and two were seriously injured. An investigation in to the matter is ongoing. The Russian Foreign Ministry warned of "irreversible consequences, the responsibility of which lies on the Ukrainian side", calling the shelling "an aggressive action".

Ukrainian army broke through the pro-Russian lines around Luhansk with the village of Sabivka being taken, and battles taking place into the villages of Heorhiivka and Rozkishne. The Ukrainian army used 70 tanks in this assault according to rebel commander Igor "Strelkov" Girkin, who claimed that his troops repulsed the offensive. Late in the evening, the Ukrainian government claimed that its troops had reached Luhansk airport and broken its encirclement.

14 July

Fighting over Luhansk airfield has intensified, with both sides claiming that the airport is under their control. Ukrainian officials claim that their army has retaken several villages around Luhansk, while the rebels claim that a Ukrainian armoured column was destroyed near the airport.

A Ukrainian An-26 transport aircraft was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine while flying at 6,500 metres (21,300 ft). The Ukrainian defence minister claimed that the altitude is far from the reach of a shoulder-launched missile, suggesting that the aircraft was downed by Russian forces. Two crewmembers were captured by pro-Russian militiamen, four were rescued by Ukrainian forces and the other two were unaccounted for. The missing aviators were found dead on 17 July.

Pro-Russian forces carried out a mortar attack on Donetsk airport.

15 July

The town of Snizhne in Donetsk Oblast was attacked with rockets by an unidentified aircraft, leaving at least eleven people dead.

Six Ukrainian soldiers were killed fighting the rebels in several locations along the border with Russia.

Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and eight wounded when the village of Amvrosiivka was hit by several "Grad" rockets.

16 July

Separatist forces broke the Ukrainian army encirclement around the town of Stepanivka and launched an offensive supported by tanks, anti-tank missiles and mortar fire in the area of Marynivka, south of Snizhne. In Stepanivka, the attack was led by three tanks which assaulted the positions of a Ukrainian armoured brigade. Three Ukrainian soldiers were wounded, and the village of Marynivka suffered heavy damage. Pro-Russian sources claimed that two Ukrainian armoured vehicles were destroyed and another one captured by the rebels.

Near the village of Dmytrivka, Ukrainian 152mm howitzers, supported by mortar fire, stopped another pro-Russian assault.

A Ukrainian Su-25 fighter was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian Air Force Su-27, according to the spokesman of Ukraine's National Security Council, Andrei Lysenko. The pilot ejected successfully. Another Su-25 was hit and damaged by a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile.

Eyewitnesses reported that three salvos from a "Grad" multiple rocket launcher were fired from the Russian town of Gukovo into Ukrainian territory.

The Ukrainian army transferred 15 wounded soldiers from the 72th armoured brigade to Gukovo, Russia, for medical assistance. The brigade, surrounded by rebel forces in the border town of Chervonopartizansk, had no chance of evacuating the men to Ukrainian hospitals. Other two Ukrainian servicemen from the National Guard were rescued with severe injuries by members of the Russian Federal Security Service in the border area of Kuybyshevsky District, Rostov Oblast. One guard died later from his wounds, while four of the soldiers were in critical condition. All the Ukrainian personnel was put under arrest.

Also on the border, the outpost of Izvarine was "cleared of Ukrainian troops", according to the self-proclaimed Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Donetsk, Igor Strelkov. There were reports of more than 200 fatalities among the Ukrainian forces in this area of the border. Andrei Lysenko acknowledge that "there was not possible" to establish the real number of victims at the moment.

Eleven Ukrainian soldiers were killed in battle with rebel forces.

17 July

In Donetsk Oblast, north of Torez, near the Russian border, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board, was hit by a surface to air missile at an altitude of 10,000 metres (33,000 ft) and crashed. Both the Ukrainian military and the opposition have stated that they are not responsible for the incident. The White House confirmed that the United States is investigating what happened and that it is believed the plane involved was a Boeing 777. Malaysian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin said that the foreign ministry would be working closely with the Russian and Ukrainian governments nts regar the incident.

Five Ukrainian soldiers were killed and eleven wounded during military operations in eastern Ukraine.

Russian authorities reported that 20 artillery shells fired from Ukraine landed near the border checkpoint of Kuybyshevo, five of them without exploding.

18 July

Donetsk rebels have reportedly found the black box of flight MH17 and "are most likely to hand it over to the [Russian] Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC)". Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin said in an interview to Hromadske.TV that the black boxes are on Ukrainian territory and shall be handed over to a governmental commission.

Fighting in Popasna left two Ukrainian soldiers killed and six wounded.

Luhansk's local government reported 20 civilians killed after heavy shelling on the city.

After being fired at from Ukraine, Russian troops in the area of Kuybyshevo responded with artillery fire against Ukrainian positions in Marynivka.

There were 19 attacks on different Ukrainian checkpoints along eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Minister of Defence claimed that the Ukrainian army took control of the south-eastern outskirts of Luhansk city.

19 July

Luhansk's residents denied the Minister of Defence report about Ukrainian troops entering into the southeastern neighborhoods of the city.

Acting President of Regional Luhansk Administration, Iryna Vergina, reported that a convoy of 15 armoured vehicles entered Luhansk city from Russia before dawn.

One of the crewmembers of the An-26 shootdown on 14 July was rescued by Ukrainian forces in Luhansk Oblast.

Five Ukrainian soldiers were killed in action and 20 wounded in the last 24 hours.

Fierce fighting involving tanks, mortar fire and "Grad" rockets was reported around Luhansk's airport during the morning. The Ukrainian army claimed that its forces opened a corridor between the frontline and the airfield. The fighting extended to the west, to the village of Heorhiyivka.

Three "Grad" rocket launchers fired into Ukraine's territory from the Russian area of Novaya Nadezhda, Rostov Oblast.

20 July

Ukrainian forces have launched an operation to regain control of Rubizhne which they apparently captured by evening according to the presidential office, meanwhile Sievierodonetsk is surrounded. Fierce clashes also took place south of Rubizhne on the outskirts of Lysychansk and around Popasna.

Eight Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 50 wounded in operations in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian military sources on the ground reported that they have suffered four dead and 15 wounded inside Luhansk airport, which was still surrounded by pro-Russian forces. An early attempt to reach a relief column from the Ukrainian National Guard was thwarted by a rebel ambush, which resulted in the death of a soldier and injuries in seven others.

21 July

The Ukrainian army has reclaimed Dzerzhynsk over the separatists and entered Soledar.

Heavy battles occurred on the western outskirts of Donetsk with shooting and shelling reaching as far as the Donetsk train station, as a result five civilians died and twelve were wounded, and Ukraine claims that the western suburb of Pisky fell under Ukrainian control. According to military sources on the ground, the situation of the Ukrainian troops at the Avdiivka garrison, north of the besieged airport (48 05 55N 37 45 14E), became critical after the rebels carried out an intense bombardment with tanks, mortars and "Grad" rockets.

Twenty-three rebels were taken prisoner by the Ukrainian Army as they tried to flee the besieged city of Lysychansk .

The head of a non-governmental organisation claimed that a relief force evacuated the wounded and replenished the Ukrainian troops defending Luhansk airport. He also reported that the army took control of the village of Heorhiivka.

22 July

Sievierodonetsk has been taken by the Ukrainian national guard. During their retreat, the rebels blew up the bridge over the river Borovaya, which divides Severodonetsk from Lysychansk. Most militiamen have also left Lysychansk, like the minister of Defense for LNR Alexey Mozgovoy and the Kazak Chieftain Kizitsin who fled through the village of Bila Hora before the Army ring completely closed around the city, but other fighters chose to stand in the city till whatever end.

Ukrainian soldiers have driven separatists out of Popasna.

Thirteen Ukrainian soldiers were killed during the last 24 hours in the operations area. Three of them died when a van bomb exploded at a checkpoint in Kamyenka, Donetsk Oblast.

Luhansk airport was again attacked with "Grad" rockets, and Ukrainian troops in the town of Metalist were pounded by mortar fire. Ukrainian forces recovered the nearby town of Lutuhyne.

An armoured carrier and a tank belonging to the rebels were knocked down in the area of Marynivka, Donetsk Oblast. Igor Strelkov claimed that pro-Russian armoured and infantry units took over the villages of Chervona Zorya and Kozhevnya, along the border with Russia south of the Ukrainian-held town of Marynivka. This maneuver left the Ukrainian garrison surrounded from three sides. The Russian border checkpoint at Primiusskiy was evacuated after three artillery shells fired from Ukraine exploded nearby.

In Stakhanov a rally was held to demanded that pro-Russian separatists leave the town.

Ukraine will undergo a partial mobilization of its 1,000,000 reserve force in order to create 15 additional combat units and 44 sustainment units to reinforce the forces that are already fighting in the Donbass.

23 July

Two Ukrainian Air Force Su-25 fighters were shot down in the rebel-held area of Saur-Mogila. Ukrainian authorities claimed that they were hit by long-range antiaircraft missiles launched from Russia.

Source states that rebel forces retreated from the villages of Karlivka, Netailove and Pervomaiske, leaving the west road to Donetsk airport opened to Ukrainian forces. Avdiivka, to the northwest, remained in pro-Russian hands. According to source , separatist leader Igor Strelkov stated that the move was made in order to reinforce the inner defences of Donetsk city. Pro-Russian sources also acknowledge that the Ukrainian army attacked the border villages of Chervona Zorya and Kozhevnya, occupied by the insurgents. The rebels lost two tanks and two armoured vehicles. Meanwhile, the separatists claimed they had stormed and took control of the nearby town of Dibrivka, and that the Ukrainian garrison entrenched themselves inside WWII bunkers built on high ground. Eventually, rebel units withdrew from Chervona Zorya and Kozhevnya.

A Colonel from the Ukrainian National Guard was killed by the rebels when his troops were ambushed at Lysychansk while try to take the city from pro-Russian force.

Ukrainian troops claimed to have shot down a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle near the town of Amvrosiivka.

The International Committee of the Red Cross formally declared the conflict in the Donbass region to be a "war", allowing for future war crimes investigations.

24 July

The Ukrainian government claimed that its forces entered Lysychansk and that after heavy fighting they began to round up the remaining separatists into custody. Late in the evening Semen Semenchenko the commander of Donbass Battalion claimed on his Facebook page that his forces and elements of the 24th mechanized brigade reached the city hall and raised the Ukrainian flag. During these operations, Ukrainian units also claimed to have taken the village of Verkhnokamyanka west of Lysychansk.

Four Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 35 wounded in eastern Ukraine overnight.

Two pro-Russian tanks fired at the Ukrainian garrison besieged in Luhansk airport.

The Ukrainian government claimed the 79th Ukrainian airmobile brigade, besieged in Marynivka since 15 July, was partially relieved. Ukrainian government claimed More than 75 casualties were evacuated from the front line.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said that "there is no question" that the Russian army was firing artillery at Ukrainian military targets through the common border in the last several days. Earlier, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf declared that Russia was stepping up its delivery of weapons to pro-Russian rebels.

25 July

Thirteen Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 19 wounded in action during the last 24 hours. Nine armoured vehicles and pieces of artillery were also lost in the same period.

Sources from the Luhansk republic claimed that the Ukrainian garrison at Heorhiivka was virtually destroyed by artillery fire, which knocked down a tank and an armoured carrier and injured 30 Ukrainian servicemen. The same sources announced that a Ukrainian armoured column was ambushed at Bakhmutivka, 20 km northwest of Shchastia. They claimed two tanks and two armoured carriers destroyed. More than 100 Ukrainian soldiers were allegedly wounded.

26 July

Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 20 wounded overnight in the course of the operations in the Donbass region.

In Dyakove, between Antratsyt and the Russian border, members of the 79th airmobile brigade are confronted for a second day to continuous shelling (mortars and Grad rocket launchers combined) and attacks by separatist forces. Wives and mothers of the soldiers staged a protest on the bridge of Nikolaev to demand to the government the opening of a corridor to evacuate the troops.

Pro-Russian sources claimed that the militias of the Donetsk republic took control of the border checkpoint of Marynivka after several hours of fierce fighting. To the request of the Ukrainian government, the Russian border service opened a corridor to evacuate Ukrainian casualties through the region of Rostov.

The Ukrainian 24th armoured brigade, surrounded by pro-Russian forces at the border outpost of Dolzhansky, lost all its heavy equipment and vehicles and suffered more than 100 casualties after days of being pounded by howitzer and "Grad" fire.

The commander of the batallion "Donbass", Semen Semenchenko, claimed that Ukrainian troops reached Pervomaisk, where they were confronted by around 1,000 militiamen from Stakhanov and Alchevsk.

Ukrainian forces attack the city of Debaltseve the support of artillery fire and armoured vehicles.

External links

• BBC News Online – Ukraine crisis timeline