War in Donbas

This article is about the armed conflict in the Donbass region of Ukraine. For the concurrent unrest across Ukraine, see 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine.

"War in Ukraine" redirects here. For the Ukrainian war of independence, see Ukrainian War of Independence. For other wars in Ukraine throughout history, see List of wars involving Ukraine.

War in Donbas
Part of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
Pink represents areas currently held by the DPR/LPR insurgents (cities in red). Yellow represents areas previously held by insurgents, but retaken by the Ukrainian government (cities in blue). Orange represents settlements being contested.
Date 6 April 2014 (2014-04-06) – present (10 years, 4 months and 2 days) Location Donbass, includes: Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine Status "Ongoing" Government forces recaptured Mariupol, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Artemivsk, Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk amongst other cities, and regained a 121-kilometre (75 mi) stretch of the border with Russia. Russian military intervention in Donbass (denied by Russia) DPR/LPR counter-offensive halted Ukrainian advance, retook many areas Minsk Agreement to establish a ceasefire signed on 5 September 2014. Russia withdraws 70% of the troops it had in Ukraine
Belligerents
Novorossiya Donetsk People's Republic Lugansk People's Republic Russia (denied by Russia)	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Aleksandr Zakharchenko  (WIA) Vladimir Antyufeyev Alexander Borodai Denis Pushilin Igor Girkin Vladimir Kononov Pavel Gubarev Valery Bolotov  (WIA) Ihor Plotnytskiy Igor Kakidzyanov  (POW) Vladimir Putin Sergey Shoygu Valery Gerasimov	Petro Poroshenko Arseniy Yatsenyuk Oleksandr Turchynov Arsen Avakov Valeriy Heletey Viktor Muzhenko Mykhailo Kutsyn  (WIA) Andriy Parubiy Valentyn Nalyvaichenko
Units involved
Donbass People's Militia Vostok Battalion Russian Orthodox Army Army of the South East Don Cossacks Foreign volunteers: Belarusian Russian Serbian Others	SBU Anti-Terrorist Center Ministry of Defence Ministry of Internal Affairs State Border Guard Service Special units National Guard SBU Alpha Group Paramilitaries Donbas Battalion Kharkiv Battalion Kyiv-1 Battalion Azov Battalion Dnipro Battalion Aidar Battalion Right Sector Foreign volunteers: Belarusian Georgian Others
Strength
20,000 fighters, including 3,000-4,000 Russian volunteers (according to the separatists) ≈10,000 fighters (according to experts) 1,000-5,000+ Russian infantry (NATO sources)	50,000 servicemen
Casualties and losses
1,017 killed, 1,200 captured (according to the separatists) 2,000 killed (according to the government)	873–935 killed, 3,275 wounded, 13 missing, 1,373 captured and 20,000 deserted or defected (according to the government) 27,888 killed and wounded, 1,649 captured, 13,500 deserted or missing (according to the separatists)
2,905 Ukrainian civilians and combatants killed overall, according to the United Nations 304 foreign civilians killed 338,275–730,000 Ukrainians fled to Russia, 259,741 people displaced within the country

The War in Donbass (also known as the War in Ukraine or War in Eastern Ukraine) is an armed conflict in the Donbass region of Ukraine. From the beginning of March 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, together commonly called the "Donbass", in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution and the Euromaidan movement. These demonstrations, which followed the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and which were part of a wider group of concurrent pro-Russian protests across southern and eastern Ukraine, escalated into an armed conflict between the separatist forces of the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and the Ukrainian government. Prior to a change of the top leadership in August, the separatists were largely led by Russian citizens. Russian paramilitaries are reported to make up from 15% to 80% of the combatants.

Between 22 and 25 August, Russian artillery, personnel, and a humanitarian convoy were reported to have crossed the border into Ukrainian territory without the permission of the Ukrainian government. Crossings were reported to have occurred both in areas under pro-Russian forces control and areas that were not under their control, such as the south-eastern part of Donetsk Oblast, near Novoazovsk. These events followed the reported shelling of Ukrainian positions from the Russian side of the border over the course of the preceding month. Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Valentyn Nalyvaichenko said that the events of 22 August were a "direct invasion by Russia of Ukraine". Western and Ukrainian officials described these events as a "stealth invasion" of Ukraine by Russia.

Background

Main articles: 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, Donetsk People's Republic, and Lugansk People's Republic

Donetsk Oblast

Attempts to seize the Donetsk Regional State Administration (RSA) building began since pro-Russian protests erupted in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, in the wake of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. Pro-Russian protesters occupied the Donetsk RSA from 1–6 March, before being removed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). On 6 April, 1,000–2,000 people gathered at a rally in Donetsk to demand a status referendum similar to the one held in Crimea in March. The demonstrators stormed the RSA building, and took control of its first two floors. They said that if an extraordinary legislative session was not held by regional officials to implement a status referendum, they would take control of the regional government with a "people's mandate", and dismiss all elected regional councillors and members of parliament. As these demands were not met, the activists held a meeting in the RSA building, and voted in favour of independence from Ukraine. They proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

Luhansk Oblast

Unrest in Luhansk Oblast began on 6 April, when approximately 1,000 activists seized and occupied the SBU building in the city of Luhansk, following similar occupations in the cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv. Protesters barricaded the building, and demanded that all arrested separatist leaders be released. Police were able to retake control of the building, but the demonstrators regathered for a 'people's assembly' outside the building and called for a 'people's government', demanding either federalisation or incorporation into the Russian Federation. At this assembly, they elected Valery Bolotov to the position of "People's Governor". Two "referendums" were announced, one on 11 May to determine whether the region should seek some form of autonomy, and a second scheduled for 18 May to determine whether the region should join the Russian Federation, or declare independence.

The Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) was declared on 27 April. Representatives of the Republic demanded that Ukrainian government provide amnesty for all protesters, enshrine Russian as an official language, and hold a referendum on the status of the region. They issued an ultimatum that stated that if Kiev did not meet their demands by 14:00 on 29 April, they would launch an insurgency in tandem with that of the Donetsk People's Republic.

History

See also: Timeline of the war in Donbass

Pro-Russian protesters in Donetsk

After having gained control of the Donetsk RSA and having declared the Donetsk People's Republic, pro-Russian groups vowed to fan out and take control of strategic infrastructure across Donetsk Oblast, and demanded that public officials who wished to continue their work swear allegiance to the Republic. By 14 April, pro-Russian separatists had taken control of government buildings in many other cities within the oblast, including Mariupol, Horlivka, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Yenakiieve, Makiivka, Druzhkivka, and Zhdanivka.

First standoff

In response to the widening unrest, the acting Ukrainian President, Oleksandr Turchynov, vowed to launch a major "anti-terror" operation against separatist movements in Donetsk Oblast. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov, said on 9 April that the unrest in Donetsk Oblast would be resolved within forty-eight hours, either through negotiations or the use of force. President Olexander Turchynov signed a decree to retake the Donetsk RSA building, and place it "under state protection," and offered amnesty to the demonstrators if they laid down their arms.

Expansion of territorial control

Unmarked separatist militants seized the Donetsk office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on 12 April without resistance. Following negotiations between the militants and those in the building, the chief of the office resigned from his post. Officers from the Berkut special police force, which had been dissolved by the government following the February revolution, took part in the seizure on the separatists' side. Following this seizure, the militants would begin to expand their control across Donetsk. The municipal administration building in Donetsk city was stormed and occupied by the insurgents on 16 April. Further actions by separatists resulted in the capture of the offices of the regional state television network on 27 April. After capturing the broadcasting centre, the militants began to broadcast Russian television channels. On 4 May, the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic was raised over the police headquarters in Donetsk city proper.

Sloviansk

Main article: Siege of Sloviansk

Separatist militants took control of the city administration building, police offices, and SBU building in Sloviansk, a city in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast, on 12 April. The militants were apparently welcomed by the elected mayor, Nelya Shtepa, who said that the buildings were seized by "volunteers" and "activists". "I cannot object to them, since Slavyansk considers Russia its elder brother and we will not fight with Russia," she said of the militants. Some people gathered outside the occupied police building to voice their support for the militants. They told Ukrainian journalists who were reporting on the situation to "go back to Kiev". Nelya Shtepa was detained, and replaced by the self-proclaimed "people's mayor", Vyacheslav Ponomarev. The separatists gained control of the city's police weapons cache and seized hundreds of firearms, which prompted the Ukrainian government to launch a "counter-terrorism" operation to retake the city. This government counter-offensive began on the morning of 13 April. As result, an entrenched standoff between pro-Russian forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine resulted. The city remained under siege until 5 July, when Ukrainian forces recaptured it, with an estimated 15–20,000 people displaced by the fighting.

Kramatorsk

Main article: Battle of Kramatorsk

In Kramatorsk, a city in northern Donetsk Oblast, separatists attacked a police station on 13 April, resulting in a shootout. The fighters, members of the Donbass People's Militia, later captured the police station. They removed the police station's sign and raised the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic over the building. They then issued an ultimatum that stated that if the city's mayor and administration did not swear allegiance to the Republic by the following Monday, they would remove them from office. Concurrently, a crowd of demonstrators surrounded the city administration building, captured it, and raised the Donetsk People's Republic flag over it. A representative of the Republic addressed locals outside the occupied police station, but was received negatively and booed.

After a government counter-offensive as part of the "anti-terror" operation in Donetsk Oblast on 2–3 May, the insurgents were routed from Kramatorsk's occupied SBU building. Despite this, Ukrainian troops quickly withdrew from the city for unknown reasons, and the separatists quickly regained control. Sporadic fighting continued until 5 July, when the insurgents withdrew from Kramatorsk.

Horlivka

Militants attempted to seize the police headquarters in Horlivka on 12 April, but were halted. Ukrayinska Pravda reported that police said that the purpose of the attempted seizure was to gain access to a weapons cache. They said that they would use force if needed to defend the building from "criminals and terrorists". By 14 April, however, militants had successfully captured the building after a tense standoff with the police. Some members of the local police unit defected to the Donetsk People's Republic earlier in the day, whilst the remaining offices were forced to retreat, allowing the insurgents to take control of the building. The local chief of police was captured and badly beaten by the insurgents. A Horlivka city council deputy, Volodymyr Rybak, was kidnapped by masked men believed to be pro-Russian militants on 17 April. His body was later found in a river on 22 April. The city administration building was seized on 30 April, solidifying separatist control over Horlivka. Self-proclaimed mayor of Horlivka Volodymyr Kolosniuk was arrested by the SBU on suspicion of participation in "terrorist activities" on 2 July.

Mariupol

Main article: Battle of Mariupol

Donetsk People's Republic activists took control of the city administration building in Mariupol on 13 April. The Ukrainian government claimed to have "liberated" the building on 24 April, but this was denied by locals interviewed by the BBC near the building.

Clashes between government forces and pro-Russian groups escalated in early May, when the city administration building was briefly retaken by the Ukrainian National Guard. The pro-Russian forces quickly took the building back. Militants then launched an attack on a local police station, leading the Ukrainian government to send in military forces. Skirmishes between the troops and local demonstrators caused the city administration building to light on fire. Government forces, however, were unsuccessful in forcing out the pro-Russians, and only further inflamed tensions in Mariupol. On 16 May, however, Metinvest steelworkers, along with local police and security forces, routed the insurgents from the city administration and other occupied government buildings in the city. Most insurgents left the city, and those few remaining were said to be unarmed. Despite this, the headquarters of the Donetsk People's Republic in the city remained untouched, and pro-Russian demonstrators could still be seen outside the burnt city administration.

Ukrainian troops gained control of the city on 13 June, with assistance from the National Guard. The headquarters of the DPR was captured. Mariupol was then declared the provisional capital of Donetsk Oblast, in place of Donetsk city, which was occupied by separatists.

Other cities

Many smaller cities across the Donbass fell to the separatists.

In Artemivsk on 12 April, separatists failed to capture the local Ministry of Internal Affairs office, but instead captured the city administration building and raised the Donetsk People's Republic flag over it. The city administration buildings in Yenakiieve and Druzhkivka were also captured. Police repelled an attack by pro-Russian militants upon an office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Krasnyi Lyman on 12 April, but the building was later captured by the separatists after a skirmish. Insurgents affiliated with the Donbass People's Militia occupied a regional administration building in Khartsyzk on 13 April, followed by a local administration building in Zhdanivka on 14 April. Demonstrators hoisted the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic over the city administration buildings in Krasnoarmiisk and Novoazovsk on 16 April. The local administration building in Siversk was similarly captured on 18 April. Following the takeover, local police announced that they would co-operate with the activists. On 20 April, separatists in Yenakiieve left the city administration building there which they had occupied since 13 April. Despite this, by 27 May the city was still not under Ukrainian government control. Pro-Russian demonstrators in Kostiantynivka burnt down the offices of a newspaper that had been critical of the DPR on 22 April.

70 to 100 insurgents armed with assault rifles and rocket launches attacked an armoury in Artemivsk on 24 April. The depot housed around thirty tanks. Ukrainian troops attempted to fight off the insurgents, but were forced to retreat after a substantial number of men were wounded by insurgent fire. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov, said that the insurgents were led by a man with "an extensive bear", referring to the Russian militant Alexander Mozhaev. Some thirty militants seized the police headquarters in Konstantinovka on 28 April. On the next day, a city administration building in Pervomaisk was overrun by Lugansk People's Republic insurgents, who then raised their flag over it. On the same day, militants seized control over the city administration building in Alchevsk. In Krasnyi Luch, the city administration conceded to demands by separatist activists to support the referendums on the status of Donetsk and Luhansk being held on 11 May, and followed by raising the Russian flag over the city administration building.

Insurgents occupied the city administration building in Stakhanov on 1 May. Later in the week, they captured the local police station, business centre, and SBU building. Activists in Rovenky occupied a police building on 5 May, but quickly left it. On the same day, the police headquarters in Slovianoserbsk was seized by members of the Army of the South-East, which is affiliated with the Lugansk People's Republic. The town of Antratsyt was occupied by a number of renegade Don Cossacks. Insurgents went on to seize the prosecutor's office in Sievierodonetsk on 7 May. On the next day, supporters of the Lugansk People's Republic captured government buildings in Starobilsk.

Government counter-offensive

The barricade outside the Donetsk RSA, with banners displaying anti-western slogans.

Arsen Avakov, the Minister of Internal Affairs, said on 9 April that the separatist problem would be resolved within forty-eight hours, through either negotiations or the use of force. "There are two opposite ways for resolving this conflict – a political dialogue and the heavy-handed approach. We are ready for both," he said, according to the Ukrinform state news agency. At the time, President Oleksandr Turchynov had already signed a decree which called for the Donetsk Regional State Administration building, which had been occupied by separatists, to be taken "under state protection". He offered amnesty to any separatists who laid down their arms and surrendered. By 11 April, the Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said that he was against the use of "law enforcement" at the time, but that "there was a limit" to how much the Ukrainian government would tolerate.

In response to the spread of separatist control throughout Donetsk Oblast, and the refusal of the separatists to lay down their arms, Turchynov vowed to launch a military counter-offensive operation against insurgents in the region on 15 April. As part of the counter-offensive, Ukrainian troops re-took the airfield in Kramatorsk after a skirmish with members of the Donbass People's Militia. At least four people died as a result.

After the Armed Forces of Ukraine re-took the airfield, the commanding general of the unit that had retaken it, Vasily Krutov, was surrounded by hostile protesters who demanded to know why the Ukrainian troops had fired upon local residents. Krutov was then dragged back to the airbase along with his unit. They were then blocked by the protesters, who vowed not to let the troops leave the base. Krutov later told reporters that "if they [the separatists] do not lay down their arms, they will be destroyed".

Donbass People's Militia insurgents entered Sloviansk on 16 April, along with six armoured personnel carriers they claimed to have obtained from the 25th Airborne Brigade, which had surrendered in the city of Kramatorsk. Reports say members of the brigade were disarmed after the vehicles were blocked from passing by angry locals. In another incident, several hundred residents of the village of Pchyolkino, south of Sloviansk, surrounded another column of fourteen Ukrainian armoured vehicles. Following negotiations the troops were allowed to drive their vehicles away, but only after agreeing to surrender the magazines from their assault rifles. These incidents led President Turchynov to disband the 25th Airborne Brigade. Three members of the Donbass People's Militia were killed, eleven wounded, and sixty-three were arrested after they attempted and failed to storm a National Guard base in Mariupol.

File:Ukranian military roadblocks in Donetsk oblast 2.jpg

Ukrainian military roadblocks in Donetsk oblast

Turchynov relaunched the stalled counter-offensive against pro-Russian insurgents on 22 April, after two men, one a local politician, were found "tortured to death". The politician, Volodymyr Rybak, was found dead near Sloviansk after having been abducted by pro-Russian insurgents. Turchynov said that "the terrorists who effectively took the whole Donetsk Oblast hostage have now gone too far". The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the city of Sviatogorsk, near Sloviansk, was retaken by Ukrainian troops on 23 April. In addition, the Defence ministry said it had taken control over all points of strategic importance in the area around Kramatorsk.

The Internal Affairs Minister, Arsen Avakov, said on 24 April that Ukrainian troops had captured the city administration in Mariupol, after a clash with pro-Russian demonstrators there. Despite this, a report by the BBC said that whilst it appeared that Ukrainian troops and the mayor of Mariupol did enter the building in the early morning, Ukrainian troops had abandoned it by the afternoon. Local pro-Russian activists blamed Ukrainian nationalists for the attack upon the building, but said that the DPR had regained control. A representative of the Republic, Irina Voropoyeva, said "We, the Donetsk People's Republic, still control the building. There was an attempted provocation but now it's over".

On the same day, Ukrainian government officials said that the Armed Forces had intended to retake the city of Sloviansk, but that an increased threat of "Russian invasion" halted these operations. Russian forces had mobilised within 10 kilometres (6+1⁄4 mi) of the Ukrainian border. The officials said that seven troops were killed during the day's operations. President Turchynov issued a statement later in the day, and said that the "anti-terrorist" operation would be resumed, citing the ongoing hostage crisis in Sloviansk as a reason. By 6 May, fourteen Ukrainian troops had died and sixty-six had been injured in the fighting.

Early in the morning on 7 May, the National Guard retook the city administration in Mariupol after heavy fighting with insurgents overnight. Anti-government demonstrators said that government forces had used a "toxic gas" during the operation, resulting in injuries when the demonstrators tried to re-occupy the building after the National Guard withdrew. By 7 May, the flag of the DPR was once again flying over the building.

Ukrainian troops launched another attack on insurgents in Mariupol on 9 May. During an assault on an occupied police building, that building was set alight by government forces, causing the insurgents to flee. Arsen Avakov said that sixty insurgents attacked the police building, not Ukrainian troops, and that the police and other government forces had managed to repel the insurgents. Between six and twenty militants were killed, along with one police officer. Four militants were captured, and five policemen were wounded. One armoured personnel carrier was captured by pro-Russian protesters during the fighting. After the clashes, pro-Russian forces built barricades across the city center. Concurrently, Ukrainian National News said that separatists attempted to disarm Ukrainian troops near Donetsk. The troops resisted by firing warning shots, and arresting one-hundred of the separatists. Also, an unnamed Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) priest attempted to negotiate with separatists near Druzhkivka, but was later killed after being shot eight times. This was confirmed by the Church and the Prosecutor's Office.

Post-referendum fighting

See also: Federal State of Novorossiya

The referendum organised by pro-Russian separatists. A line to enter a polling place in Donetsk, 11 May 2014

It was reported on 12 May that, following the local autonomy referendum, the Donbass People's Militia leader Igor Girkin declared himself "Supreme Commander" of the Donetsk People's Republic. In his decree, he demanded that all military stationed in the region swear an oath of allegiance to him within 48 hours, and said that all remaining Ukrainian military in the region would be "destroyed on the spot." He then petitioned the Russian Federation for military support to protect against "the threat of intervention by NATO" and "genocide." Pavel Gubarev, president of Donetsk People's Republic, instituted martial law on 15 May, and vowed for "total annihilation" of Ukrainian forces if they did not pull out of the Donbass by 21:00. Similarly, the president of the Lugansk People's Republic, Valery Bolotov, declared martial law on 22 May.

The Donetsk-based steel magnate Rinat Akhmetov called on his 300,000 employees within the Donetsk region to "rally against separatists" on 20 May. Sirens sounded at noon at his factories to signal the beginning of the rally. A so-called "Peace March" was held in the Donbass Arena in Donetsk city, accompanied by cars sounding their horns at noon. BBC News and Ukrayinska Pravda reported that some vehicles were attacked by separatists, and that gunmen had warned the offices of several city taxi services not to take part. In response to Akhmetov's refusal to pay taxes to the Donetsk People's Republic, on 20 May the chairman of the State Council of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, announced that the Republic would attempt to nationalise Akhmetov's assets. On 25 May, between 2,000 to 5,000 protesters marched to Akhmetov's mansion in Donetsk city, and demanded the nationalisation of Akhmetov's property, while chanting "Akhmetov is an enemy of the people!".

Eighteen soldiers were killed during an insurgent attack upon an army checkpoint near the city of Volnovakha, on 22 May. Three armoured personnel carriers and several lorries were destroyed in the attack, whilst one insurgent was killed. On the same day, a convoy consisting of one-hundred soldiers attempted to cross a bridge at Rubizhne, near Luhansk, and advance into insugent-held territory. They were ambushed by a group of between 300 and 500 insurgents. After fighting that lasted throughout the day, the soldiers were forced to retreat. Between two and fourteen soldiers, and seven and twenty insurgents were killed during the fighting. Three army infantry combat vehicles and one lorry were destroyed, and another three armoured vehicles were captured by the insurgents. The Internal Affairs ministry stated that some insurgents had attempted to enter Luhansk Oblast from Russia, but had been repelled by border guards.

Following a declaration by Pavel Gubarev establishing the "New Russia Party" on 22 May, representatives of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics signed an agreement creating the confederative state of New Russia. Separatists planned to incorporate most of Ukraine's southern and eastern regions into the new confederation, including the key cities of Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia and Odessa. The declaration signed established the position of Russian Orthodoxy as the state religion and an intention to nationalise key industries.

Separatist barricade in Luhansk city

A unit of the pro-government Donbas Battalion volunteer paramilitary attempted to advance on a separatist checkpoint near the village of Karlivka, northwest of Donetsk city, on 23 May. They were ambushed by a group of between 150 and 200 separatists, supported by one of the captured armoured personnel carriers. The pro-government paramilitary was surrounded by the separatists, and outnumbered six to one, until fighters affiliated with the nationalist Right Sector broke through the separatist lines to allow some members of the group to escape. Five members of the Donbas Battalion were killed, along with four separatists. Twenty of the pro-government paramilitaries were wounded, and at least four were captured. The involvement of Right Sector was disputed by the leadership of the Donbas Battalion. Pro-Russian leader Igor Bezler said that he executed all of the captured paramilitaries. Another separatist leader confirmed four of their fighters were killed, and also said that ten pro-government paramilitaries and two civilians died. During the same day, two pro-Russian separatists were killed during an assault by the pro-government "Ukraine Battalion" paramilitary on an occupied local government building in Torez.

Airport battle and fighting in Luhansk

Main article: Battle of Donetsk Airport

On the morning of 26 May, 200 pro-Russian insurgents, including members of the Vostok Battalion, captured the main terminal of the Donetsk International Airport, erected roadblocks around it, and demanded that government forces withdraw. Soon after these demands were issued, the Ukrainian National Guard issued an ultimatum to the separatists, asking them to surrender. This was subsequently rejected. Government forces then launched an assault on separatist positions at the airport with paratroopers and airstrikes. Attack helicopters were also used by government forces. They targeted a separatist-operated anti-aircraft gun. An estimated forty insurgents died in the fighting, with some civilians caught in the crossfire. Between fifteen and thirty-five insurgents were killed in a single incident, when two lorries carrying wounded fighters away from airport were destroyed in an ambush by government forces.

During the fighting at the airport, Druzhba Arena in Donetsk city was ransacked by pro-Russian insurgents, who looted the building and destroyed surveillance equipment, and set it ablaze. Concurrently, Donetsk police said the insurgents had killed two policemen in the nearby town of Horlivka. The Moscow Times reported that the two men had been executed for "breaking their oath to the Donetsk People's Republic".

Lugansk People's Republic-affiliated insurgents attacked a Ukrainian National Guard unit in the early hours of 28 May. RIA Novosti reported that eighty National Guard members subsequently surrendered to the insurgents, whilst the National Guard issued a statement that said "there have been losses both in the ranks of the military unit and the attacking side." At least one separatist and one soldier died in the fighting.

Escalation in May and June

Mykhailo Koval, the Minister of Defence, said on 30 May that Ukrainian government forces had "completely cleared" the insurgents from the southern and western parts of Donetsk Oblast and the northern part of Luhansk Oblast. On the same day, six insurgents were killed while attempting to retrieve the bodies of their comrades at the site of the airport battle. A spokesman for the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that two new attacks on the airport had been repelled, with no injuries among government forces. Meanwhile, an internal coup replaced the leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic, and some bodies of Russian fighters killed in the airport battle were repatriated back to Russia.

Luhansk border post siege

Main article: Siege of the Luhansk Border Base

Two separatists were killed in a skirmish with Ukrainian border guards on 31 May. Two days later, five separatists were killed when 500 separatists attacked a border post in Luhansk Oblast. Eleven border guards and eight separatists were wounded during the fighting, which also killed one civilian. On the same day, between seven and eight people were killed in an explosion at the occupied RSA building in Luhansk city. Separatists blamed the incident on a government airstrike, but Ukrainian officials denied this, and claimed that the explosion was caused by a stray surface-to-air missile fired by insurgents. The OSCE published a report on the next day, stating that based on "limited observation", they believed that the explosion was caused by an airstrike, verifying separatist claims. The Armed Forces of Ukraine later admitted launching over 150 airstrikes on the day of the explosion in the Luhansk area.

Continued fighting

A restored PTS-2 used by the separatists, shown on a bridge over the Siversky Donets river, near the city Schastia

Government forces destroyed a separatist stronghold in Semenivka, and regained control of Krasnyi Lyman on 3 June. Two soldiers were killed in the fighting, and forty-five were wounded. A spokesman for the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that 300 insurgents were killed during the operation, and that 500 were wounded. Insurgents said they lost between ten and fifty men. They said that at least twenty-five were killed while in hospital at Krasnyi Lyman. None of these reports were independently confirmed, and both sides denied the other's accounts of the battle.

On the next day, insurgents captured the besieged Luhansk border post, as well as a National Guard base near Luhansk city. The fighting in these areas left six insurgents dead, and three government soldiers wounded. Another border post was captured by the insurgents in Sverdlovsk. The National Guard base fell after guardsmen ran out of ammunition. Separatists had earlier seized vast quantities of munitions from the captured border post.

Another border post was attacked on 5 June, in the village of Marynivka. Government officials said that between fifteen and sixteen insurgents were killed and that five soldiers were injured as well. A shootout between rival separatist groups in Donetsk city took place on 7 June, near the Donetsk RSA. The vice-president of the Donetsk People's Republic, Maxim Petrukhin, was killed in the fighting, and president Denis Pushilin was wounded.

Russian tank incursion

Ukrainian officials said that Russia had allowed tanks to cross the Russo-Ukrainian border into Donetsk Oblast on 11 June. Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov said "we have observed columns passing with armoured personnel carriers, other armoured vehicles and artillery pieces, and tanks which, according to our information, came across the border and this morning were in Snizhne". He continued by saying Ukrainian forces had destroyed part of the column, and that fighting was still under way. Reuters correspondents confirmed the presence of three tanks in Donetsk city, and the US State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research also said that Russia had indeed sent tanks, along with other heavy weapons, to the separatists in Ukraine. The weapons sent are said to include: a column of three T-64 tanks, several BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers, and other military vehicles. "Russia will claim these tanks were taken from Ukrainian forces, but no Ukrainian tank units have been operating in that area," the State Department said in a statement. "We are confident that these tanks came from Russia." The newly elected Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, said that it was "unacceptable" for tanks to be crossing into Ukraine. Russia called the reports "another fake piece of information." Nevertheless, the three tanks were later spotted moving through Makiivka and Torez, flying the flag of the Russian Federation. Insurgents confirmed that they had obtained three tanks, but leaders refused to elaborate on how they acquired them; one militant told reporters that they originated "from a military warehouse." The president of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, stated that the three tanks would be stationed in Donetsk city, and that they gave his forces "at least some hope of defending [Donetsk] because heavy weapons are already being used against us." Konstantin Mashovets, a former Ukrainian Defence Ministry official, said the tanks had likely been seized by Russian forces in Crimea before making their way into mainland Ukraine. Anton Heraschenko, an advisor to Arsen Avakov, confirmed at a briefing in Kiev that the tanks were once in the possession of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Crimea, and that they had been transferred by sea to Russia before crossing the border into Ukraine.

On the day after the tank incursion, three soldiers were killed when they were ambushed by insurgents in Stepanivka. Heavy fighting resumed during the morning of 13 June, when the government launched a new attack against insurgents in Mariupol. Ukrainian troops managed to recapture the city, and declared it the "provisional capital" of Donetsk Oblast until the government regains control over Donetsk city. Meanwhile, an agreement between the Minister of Internal Affairs, Arden Avakov, and the president of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, meant to create a ceasefire and allow civilians to escape the violence in Sloviansk failed, with both sides blaming each other for launching new attacks. During the next morning, a convoy of border guardsmen was attacked by insurgents while passing Mariupol, leaving at least five of the guardsmen dead.

Ilyushin Il-76 shoot-down

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

A Ukrainian Air Force Ilyushin Il-76MD was shot down by forces aligned with the Lugansk People's Republic on 14 June. The aircraft was preparing to land at Luhansk International Airport, and was carrying troops and equipment from an undisclosed location. All forty-nine people on board died. Meanwhile, two T-72 tanks entered Donetsk, and a skirmish erupted at a military checkpoint in Luhansk, lasting two days. At least two civilians died in the fighting.

Battle of Yampil

Late on 19 June, a battle fought with tanks and armoured vehicles broke out in town of Yampil, near government-held Krasnyi Lyman. Up to 4,000 insurgents were present for the fighting, which started, according to the insurgents, after the Armed Forces attempted to capture insurgent-held Yampil, with the goal of breaking through to Seversk. According to the Armed Forces, it started after insurgents attempted to break through a cordon of government troops around government-held Krasny Lyman. The battle was described as exceeding "in terms of force and scale anything there has been" during the conflict in Donbass. The Armed Forces deployed both air and artillery strikes in their attempts to rout the insurgents. The battle continued into the next day. Overnight, between seven and twelve soldiers were killed and between twenty-five and thirty were wounded. The Armed Forces said they killed 300 insurgents, but this was not independently verified, and although a separatist commander acknowledged heavy losses, the separatists confirmed only two deaths and seven wounded on their side. The insurgents also said they destroyed one tank, several BMD-1s, and also shot down a Su-25 bomber.

The Ukrainian miltiary said that they had gained control of Yampil and Seversk on 20 June, twenty hours before a unilateral ceasefire by Ukrainian force, as part of president Poroshenko's fifteen-point peace plan. They also acknowledged that there was still heavy fighting in the area around Yampil, and the village of Zakitne. By this point, the number of soldiers killed in the battle had reached 13. During the continued fighting, militants blew up a bridge over the river in the village of Zakitne.

Post-ceasefire government offensive

After a week-long ceasefire unilaterally declared by Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko ended, the Armed Forces renewed their operations against the insurgents on 1 July. Shelling occurred in Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and government forces retook a border crossing in Dolzhansk, one of the three major border crossings occupied by the separatists. Government forces also recaptured the villages of Brusivka and Stary Karavan. On the same day, insurgents in Luhansk said that they had taken control of Luhansk International Airport. On July 1, 2014 in Donetsk a street gun fight broke between rivaling factions of the pro-Russian militants, which resulted in one person being fatally wounded and two others in critical conditions.

Internal Affairs ministry spokesman Zoryan Shkyriak said that over 1,000 pro-Russian insurgents were killed in the first day following the resumption of hostilities. Liga.net, citing a source involved with the government military operation, reported that over 400 insurgents were killed in action, but that the higher figures reported earlier could not be confirmed. Separatists themselves reported only two deaths in fighting at Mykolaivka.

Damaged block of flats in Donetsk, 14 July 2014

Insurgents attacked a border post in Novoazovsk on 2 July. During the attack, mortars were fired upon the post, and clashes broke out. One border guard was killed in the fighting, and another eight guardsmen were injured. Government forces recaptured the town of Mykolaivka, near Sloviansk, on 4 July. A group of DPR-affiliated militants defected as a result, and joined the Ukrainian army.

In a further blow to the insurgents, government forces retook the stronghold of Sloviansk on 5 July. Commander of the DPR insurgents, Igor Girkin, took the decision "due to the overwhelming numerical superiority of the enemy", according to DPR prime minister Alexander Borodai. He said that DPR forces had retreated to Kramatorsk, but BBC News reported that they were seen abandoning their checkpoints in Kramatorsk. Later that day, Borodai confirmed that the insurgents had abandoned "the entire northern sector", including Kramatorsk, and had retreated to Donetsk city. After the retreat of Girkin's forces to Donetsk, he assumed control of the DPR, replacing the previous authorities there in what was described as a "coup d'état".

Subsequently, Ukraine's Armed Forces recaptured Druzhkivka, Kostyantynivka, and Artemivsk. Amidst the insurgent retreat, Donetsk city mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko said that at least 30,000 people had left the city since April. In a separate development, Ukrainian forces said they spotted two aerial drones in Mariupol, and shot one of them down.

Ahead of a planned government offensive on the insurgent-occupied city of Donetsk, key roads leading into the city were blocked on 7 July. Insurgents destroyed railway bridges over the roads, causing them to collapse and block the roads. Defence Minister Valeriy Heletey stated on 8 July that there would be "no more unilateral ceasefires", and said dialogue was only possible if the insurgents laid down their weapons. More fighting broke out at Luhansk International Airport on 9 July. LPR-affiliated insurgents said that they had captured the airport on 1 July, but the Ukrainian army managed to maintain control over it. More than 10,000 households in Luhansk Oblast are without gas service due to damage to gas lines, according to a statement on the same day by the regional gas supplier.

Destroyed house in Donbass, July 2014

Clashes at the Donetsk International Airport continued on 10 July. Insurgents fired mortars at the airport, and attempted to recapture it, but were repelled by the Armed Forces. Ukrainian forces also retook the city of Siversk, which was confirmed by the insurgents. On the same day, the Luhansk city administration reported that six civilians had been injured due to ongoing hostilities across the city. There were also reports of factionalism among the separatists, with some desertions. According to these reports, the Vostok Battalion had rejected the authority of Igor Girkin. Alexander Borodai, prime minister of the DPR, denied these reports, however, and said that they were lies.

Heavy fighting continued in Luhansk Oblast on 11 July. On that day, an Armed Forces column travelling near Rovenky was attacked by an insurgent-operated Grad rocket lorry. An air strike launched by the Armed Forces eventually managed to destroy the rocket launcher, but only after twenty-three soldiers were killed. In response to the attack, Ukrainian president Poroshenko said that "For every life of our soldiers, the militants will pay with tens and hundreds of their own". On the next day, the Ukrainian Air Force launched air strikes targeting insurgent positions across Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. The Ukrainian government said that 500 insurgents were killed in these strikes, which they said were retaliations for the separatist rocket attack on the previous day. Four people were killed at Marinka, a western suburb of Donetsk city, after rockets struck an insurgent-held area of the city. The Ukrainian government and separatists blamed each-other for the attack.

Fighting worsens in eastern Donetsk Oblast

File:Ukrainian paratroopers at Savur-Mohyla.jpg

Ukrainian paratroopers at Savur-Mohyla

Main article: Battle in Shakhtarsk Raion

After a brief lull following the insurgent withdrawal from the northern part of Donetsk Oblast, fighting continued to escalate sharply in the eastern parts of Donetsk Oblast. Shells landed on the border town of Donetsk in Rostov Oblast, a part of Russia, on 13 July. One civilian was killed in the shelling. Russian officials blamed the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the shelling, whilst Ukraine denied responsibility and accused insurgents in Donbass of having staged a false flag attack. Russia said it was considering launching airstrikes against government targets in Ukraine as retaliation for the shelling. Ukrainian forces went on to make gains around Luhansk, ending an insurgent blockade of Luhansk International Airport. LPR officials acknowledged that they lost thirty men during fighting in the village of Oleksandrivka. The insurgent-occupied town of Snizhne was hit by rockets fired from an aeroplane on 15 July, leaving at least eleven people dead, and destroying multiple homes. The insurgents blamed the Air Force of Ukraine, but the Ukrainian government denied any involvement in the attack.

Clashes broke out between insurgents and the Armed Forces along the border with Russia in Shakhtarsk Raion on 16 July. Insurgents who had been holed up in the town of Stepanivka made an attempt to escape encirclement by government forces at 05:00. According to a report by the National Guard, a roadblock near the border village of Marynivka was attacked by the insurgents with tanks, mortar fire, and anti-tank missiles. The checkpoint was shelled for over an hour, causing significant damage to infrastructure in Marynivka. Guardsmen managed to repel the attack, and forced the insurgents back to Stepanivka, where fighting continued. The battle then moved to the nearby village of Tarany. At least eleven Ukrainian soldiers died in the fighting. Attempts to form a "contact group" between the insurgents and the Ukrainian government, part of President Poroshenko's "fifteen-point peace plan", failed, leaving little hope of a renewed ceasefire. The insurgents later said that they successfully retook Marynivka from the Armed Forces.

Downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

Main article: Malaysia Airlines Flight 17

A civilian passenger jet, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, was shot down over Hrabove on 17 July, killing all 298 people on board. DPR-affiliated insurgents blamed the Ukrainian government for the disaster, whereas the government blamed Russia and the insurgents. This disaster followed two similar incidents earlier in the week, when two Ukrainian Air Force planes were shot down. Meanwhile, fighting in Luhansk resulted in the loss of electrical power and water services across the city. Shelling damaged an electrical substation in the district Kamennobrodskiy, causing the power loss. An oil refinery in Lysychansk was also set alight. At least twenty civilians were killed in the shelling of Luhansk, according to a statement by the city administration. The statement said that a barrage of rockets hit "virtually every district". The shelling forced OSCE monitors to flee from their office in Luhansk, and move to Starobilsk. Government forces went on to capture the south-eastern section of the city. Another sixteen people died overnight, and at least sixty were wounded. According to a government report, Luhansk airport was secured by government forces amidst the battle.

Government push into Donetsk and Luhansk cities

See also: Novosvitlivka refugee convoy attack and Battle of Horlivka

Heavy fighting also resumed around Donetsk airport overnight, and explosions were heard in all districts of the city. The city fell quiet by 09:00 on 19 July. By 21 July, heavy fighting in Donetsk had begun again. Donetsk was rocked by explosions, and heavy weapons fire caused smoke to rise over the city. Fighting was concentrated in the northwestern districts of Kyivsky and Kuibyshevsky, and also near the central railway station and airport, leading local residents to seek refuge in bomb shelters, or to flee the city. The city's water supply was cut off during the fighting, and all railway and bus service was stopped. The streets emptied, and insurgents erected barricades across the city to control traffic. The cities of Dzerzhynsk, Soledar, and Rubizhne were also recaptured by government forces.

Destroyed underpass railway bridge over the highway, 25 July 2014

The suburb of Mayorsk, just outside Horlivka, and the city of Sievierodonetsk, in Luhansk Oblast, were recaptured by the Armed Forces on 22 July. OSCE monitors visiting Donetsk following the previous day's fighting there said that the city was "practically deserted", and that the fighting had stopped. On the same day, DPR prime minister Alexander Borodai said that he wanted to resume ceasefire talks. DPR commander Igor Girkin also said "The time has come when Russia must take a final decision – to really support Donbas's Russians or abandon them forever". Also, the pro-Ukrainian paramilitary Donbas Battalion captured Popasna. After having retaken Sievierodonetsk, government forces fought insurgents around the neighbouring city of Lysychansk. An insurgent car bomb killed three soldiers during the fighting there. Grad rocket attacks were launched against government forces garrisoned at Vesela Hora, Kamysheve, and also Luhansk airport. The press centre for the government military operation said that situation remained "most complex" in the areas around "Donetsk city, Luhansk city, Krasnodon and Popasna". Government forces broke through the insurgent blockade around Donetsk airport on 23 July, and then advanced into the northwestern corner of Donetsk city. Subsequently, the insurgents withdrew from many areas on the outskirts of the city, including Karlivka, Netailove, Pervomaiske, and the area around Donetsk airport. Insurgent commander Igor Girkin said that this was done to fortify Donetsk city centre, and also to avoid being encircled by government forces. He also said that he did not expect a government incursion into Donetsk city centre. Meanwhile, clashes continued in Shakhtarsk Raion, along the border with Russia. Amidst the fighting, two Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jets that had been providing air support to ground forces near Dmytrivka were shot down by the insurgents.

By the next day, government forces recaptured Lysychansk. On the same day, fighting raged around Horlivka. Government forces launched air and artillery strikes on insurgents within the city, and clashes were fought all around it. One important bridge collapsed in the fighting, severing a critical route out of the city. People fled the violence in cars and on foot. Despite these advances by the Armed Forces, the border with Russia was not secured. Izvaryne border post in Luhansk Oblast, which is controlled by the Army of the South-East, was reported to be the main entry point for weapons and reinforcements from Russia. Shelling began again in the Kyivsky, Kirovsky and Petrivsky districts of Donetsk city. According to Donetsk city administration, eleven houses were damaged in Petrivsky, and at least one man was injured. The fighting continued overnight into 26 July, with explosions, shelling, and shooting heard across the city.

File:Damaged monument at Savur-Mohyla.jpg

The memorial atop Savur-Mohyla in August 2014, seen heavily damaged by fighting there.

During the third day of the government's offensive on the insurgent-stronghold of Horlivka, between twenty and thirty civilians were killed on 27 July. Horlivka was virtually abandoned, with electric power and water cut off. Shelling damaged or destroyed many buildings, including a hospital, greengrocer's, and energy company office. Ukrainian troops also entered the town of Shakhtarsk, fought the insurgents that had been occupying it, and captured it around 14:30. This cut off the supply corridor between the territories held by the DPR and LPR, isolating insurgents in Donetsk city. Skirmishes also broke-out in the nearby towns of Snizhne and Torez. The intense combat across Shakhtarsk Raion forced a party of Dutch and Australian policemen to call off an attempt to investigate the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Forty-one Ukrainian soldiers deserted their posts and went to the insurgent-controlled Izvaryne border crossing, where they told insurgents that they refused to fight against their "own people". The insurgents allowed them to flee Ukraine, and cross into Russia. By 28 July, the strategic heights of Savur-Mohyla were under Ukrainian control, along with the town of Debaltseve. Insurgents had previously used Savur-Mohyla to shell Ukrainian troops around the town of Marynivka. By 29 July, a further seventeen civilians had been killed in the fighting, along with an additional forty-three people injured. Shelling continued in the Leninsky and Kyivsky districts of Donetsk city. According to the city administration, these districts were heavily damaged.

According to a report by National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, crossing points on the border with Russia were attacked from Russian territory at least 153 times since 5 June. 27 border guardsmen were killed in these attacks, and 185 were injured. Government forces made a further advance on 30 July, when they evicted insurgents from Avdiivka, near Donetsk airport. Military operations were paused on 31 July. This was meant to allow international experts to examine the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which is located in Shakhtarsk Raion, where the fiercest battles had been taking place on the previous few days. Monitors were escorted to the site by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. After fighting severed various transmission lines, Luhansk city lost all access to electrical power. Little fuel remained to power emergency generators. Minor skirmishes occurred in Vasylivka and Zhovtneve. Meanwhile, talks between the separatists, Russia, Ukraine, and the OSCE were held in Minsk. Fighting continued in Shakhtarsk. An ambush by the insurgents on government forces there resulted in the deaths of ten soldiers. Eleven went missing, and thirteen were wounded. A government offensive on the city of Pervomaisk in Luhansk Oblast continued.

Damaged building in Torez, 6 August 2014

Following a series of military defeats, Igor Girkin, insurgent commander for the DPR, urged Russian military intervention, and said that the combat inexperience of his irregular forces, along with recruitment difficulties amongst the local population in Donetsk Oblast had caused the setbacks. He addressed Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying that "Losing this war on the territory that President Vladimir Putin personally named New Russia would threaten the Kremlin's power and, personally, the power of the president". Government forces closed in on Luhansk and Donetsk cities on 3 August. A number of civilians were killed in fighting in both cities. Luhansk was reported to be "virtually surrounded", with little electrical power or water supply available. The situation in the city of Donetsk was less dire, as trains to Russia were still running, but fighting and shelling did not relent. According to the Armed Forces, three-quarters of the territory once held by the insurgents had been recaptured. They also said that they had completely cut off supply lines between the DPR and LPR, after more than a week of fighting in Shakhtarsk Raion.

After a prolonged battle, the Armed Forces recaptured the vital town of Yasynuvata on 4 August. At least five soldiers died in the fighting to capture the town, which is a strategic railway junction on the main road between Donetsk and Luhansk cities. The pro-government paramilitary Azov and Shakhtarsk battalions said that they had advanced into Donetsk city, and had begun to "liberate" it. The Ukrainian government said that all civilians should evacuate from Donetsk, and issued statements asking DPR and LPR forces to help establish "humanitarian corridors" to allow civilians in Donetsk, Luhansk and Horlivka to flee. Commenting on the situation in Luhansk, mayor Sergei Kravchenko said "As a result of the blockade and ceaseless rocket attacks, the city is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe".

As government troops pushed into Donetsk on 5 August, heavy fighting erupted at 17:00 in the Petrivsky district of the city. Elsewhere, insurgents recaptured the town of Yasynuvata after a retreat by government forces. A spokesman from the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine said that the Armed Forces left the town to avoid harming the "peaceful population", and that the city was being evacuated so that it could be "completely liberated". He also said that the railway station remained under government control, and that all railway traffic had been blocked. Fighting between insurgents and government forces across the Donbass region continued "constantly" over the course of the day.

Burning block of flats in Shakhtarsk, 3 August 2014

Fighting and shelling continued around Donetsk on 8 August, with several civilians killed or injured. By 9 August, insurgent commander Igor Girkin said that Donetsk had been "completely encircled" by government forces. This followed the capture of the vital town of Krasnyi Luch by the government, after insurgent-aligned Cossacks stationed there fled. Further skirmishes between insurgents and the Armed Forces took place in Mnohopillia, Stepanivka, Hryhorivka, Krasny Yar, Pobeda, Shyshkove, Komyshne, Novohannivka, Krasna Talivka, Dmytrivka, Sabivka, and Luhansk airport. Overnight and into 10 August, government forces launched an artillery barrage on Donetsk city, causing "massive damage" across it. According to a spokesman for the Armed Forces, insurgents began to flee the city during the barrage, and were in a state of "panic and chaos". Hospitals and residential buildings were heavily damaged, and many remaining residents took shelter in basements. The cities of Pervomaisk, Kalynove, Komyshuvakha, in western Luhansk Oblast near Popasna, were captured by government forces on 12 August after heavy fighting. Heavy shelling of Donetsk continued into 14 August. During this artillery barrage, Igor Girkin resigned from his post as commander of the insurgent forces of the Donetsk People's Republic. He was replaced by Vladimir Kononov, who is known by the nom de guerre Tsar.

Later in the day, a convoy of some two dozen armoured personnel carriers and other vehicles with official Russian military plates crossed into Ukraine near the insurgent-controlled Izvaryne border crossing. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen confirmed that a "Russian incursion" into Ukraine had occurred. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said that Ukrainian artillery engaged and destroyed a "significant" portion of the armoured column. The defence ministry of Russia denied the existence of any such convoy. Following this incident, the newly appointed prime minister of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko said that his forces included 1,200 Russian-trained combatants.

Damaged building in Donetsk, 7 August 2014

A Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jet was shot down by the insurgents in Luhansk Oblast on 17 August. Ten civilians were killed during continued shelling in Donetsk. The insurgent-occupied city of Horlivka was encircled by the Armed Forces on 18 August. Government forces also advanced into the edges of Luhansk city. A convoy of refugees from Luhansk was hit by Grad rockets near the village of Novosvitlivka. Dozens of civilians died in the attack, which the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine blamed on the insurgents. Insurgents denied attacking any refugee convoys. DPR prime minister Aleksandr Zakharchenko stated that if the Ukrainian government made "reasonable proposals to lay down arms, close borders, we will talk on equal terms as equal partners". He added, however, that the government "must recognise us as a state, now it is already impossible to ask for a certain degree of autonomy".

After having edged into Luhansk city on 18 August, government forces began to advance through the city "block by block" on 19 August. Fighting was heard in streets across the city, and shelling of many insurgent-occupied districts continued. There was also fighting Makiivka and Ilovaisk, two cities just outside of Donetsk city. A spokesman for the Internal Affairs ministry said that government forces were "clearing" Ilovaisk of insurgents, and later captured most of the city. The headquarters of the DPR in Donetsk city were also shelled. Fighting across Donetsk Oblast on 19 August resulted in the deaths of 34 civilians. By early evening on 20 August, government forces said that they had recaptured "significant parts" of the city of Luhansk, after a series of running battles in streets throughout the day.

August counter-offensive by pro-Russian forces

Main articles: Battle of Ilovaisk and Battle of Novoazovsk

Further information: 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine

Luhansk International Airport, 4 September 2014

By 25 August, an insurgent counter-offensive had stalled the government's offensive on Donetsk and Luhansk cities. Insurgents attacked government positions in Shchastya, and along the River Seversky Donets in Luhansk Oblast. As this attack occurred, insurgents in Luhansk received reinforcements. Government forces near Ilovaisk and Amvrosiivka in Donetsk Oblast became surrounded by insurgents, after their attempt to take Ilovaisk was halted by heavy shelling. The pro-government volunteer Donbas Battalion, trapped in the city for days by the insurgents, accused the Ukrainian government and Armed Forces of "abandoning" them. Other volunteer battalions, such as the Azov and Dnipro, left Ilovaisk after encountering heavy resistance. Donbas Battalion leader Semen Semenchenko said "I think it is profitable for the defence ministry not to send help, but to achieve a situation where volunteer battalions start blaming each other about who helped who".

DPR forces stated their intention to "fight their way to the Azov Sea" on 23 August. In line with this statement, an artillery barrage rained down on the costal city of Novoazovsk, in southern Donetsk Oblast. A column of armoured vehicles crossed into Ukraine from Russia near Novoazovsk on 25 August. There were no insurgent formations within 30 kilometres (18+2⁄3 mi) of this area for many weeks. Heavy fighting took place in the village of Markyne, 7 kilometres (4+1⁄4 mi) from Novoazovsk. Insurgents used the village to shell Novoazovsk. A spokesman for the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine said that the entrance of the column into Ukraine was an attempt "by the Russian military in the guise of Donbass fighters to open a new area of military confrontation". According to the Mariupol city website, the Dnipro and Donbas battalions repelled the attack, and the "invaders" retreated to the border. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had no knowledge of the incident, and suggested that reports of the incident being an incursion by Russian forces were "disinformation." Directly prior to the appearance of the column, the area was heavily shelled. The nearest insurgent artillery positions were beyond the range of this area.

Villagers from Kolosky in Starobesheve Raion told Reuters that military men with Russian accents and no identifying insignias had appeared in the village at the weekend of 23–24 August. They set-up a roadblock near the village. The men wore distinctive white armbands. The villagers referred to them as "polite green men", a term that was used to refer to the irregular Russian forces that took control of Crimea from February 2014. Following the appearance of these men, ten soldiers in green military uniforms with white armbands were detained by Ukrainian forces at Dzerkalne. This village is north of Novoazovosk, 7 kilometres (4+1⁄4 mi) from Kolosky, and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Russian border. The Russian military confirmed that these men were indeed Russian paratroopers, and that they had been captured. The defence ministry of Russia said the men had entered Ukraine "by mistake during an exercise". The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released videos that they said were interviews with the captive Russian soldiers. In one of the videos, a soldier said that their commanders had sent them on a 70-kilometre (43+1⁄2 mi) march "without explaining its purpose or warning that they would be in Ukrainian territory, where they were apprehended by Ukrainian forces and surrendered without a fight".

Insurgents pushed into Novoazovsk on 27 August. Whilst the Ukrainian government said they were in "total control" of Novoazovsk, town mayor Oleg Sidorkin confirmed that the insurgents had captured it. He also said that "dozens" of tanks and armoured vehicles had been used by the insurgents in their assault on the town. At least four civilians were injured by insurgent shelling. To the north, close to Starobesheve, Ukrainian forces said that they spotted a column of 100 armoured vehicles, tanks, and Grad rocket lorries that was heading south, toward Novoazovsk. They said these vehicles were marked with "white circles or triangles", similar to the white armbands seen on the captured Russian paratroopers earlier in the week. Amidst pressure on this new third front, government forces retreated westward toward Mariupol. They evacuated the town of Starobesheve, among other areas in the 75-kilometre (47 mi) stretch of borderland from the Sea of Azov to the existing insurgent-held territories. A report by The New York Times described the retreating soldiers as "exhausted, filthy and dismayed". Western officials described the new insurgent actions as a "stealth invasion" by the Russian Federation, with tanks, artillery and infantry said to have crossed into Ukraine from Russian territory. US State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said that "these incursions indicate a Russian-directed counteroffensive is likely underway", and Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said "An invasion of Russian forces has taken place". A statement by the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC) later said that Novoazovsk had been captured by "Russian troops", despite earlier denials by the Ukrainian government. According to the NSDC, Ukrainian troops withdrew from Novoazovsk to save lives, and were instead preparing defences in Mariupol. Meanwhile, fighting continued in and around Donetsk city. Shells fell on the Kalininsky district of Donetsk, and the Donbas Battalion continued to fight against the insurgents that had trapped them in Ilovaisk for days. NATO commander Brig. Gen. Nico Tak said on 28 August that "well over" 1,000 Russian soldiers were operating in the Donbass conflict zone. Amidst what The New York Times described as "chaos" in the conflict zone, the insurgents re-captured Savur-Mohyla.

Despite these advances by pro-Russian forces, the National Guard of Ukraine temporarily retook the city of Komsomolske in Starobesheve Raion of Donetsk Oblast on 29 August. However, two days later, Ukrainian forces retreated from the city, and Komsomolske was once again taken by the DPR forces. Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces retreated from Novosvitlivka after being attacked by what they said were "Russian tanks". They said that every house in the village was destroyed. The trapped Donbas Battalion withdrew from Ilovaisk on 30 August after negotiating an agreement with pro-Russian forces. According to some of the troops who withdrew from Ilovaisk, DPR forces violated the agreement and fired on them whilst they retreated under white flags, killing as many as several dozen.

A Ukrainian patrol boat in the Sea of Azov was hit by shore-based artillery fire on 31 August. Eight sailors were rescued from the sinking boat, whilst two crew-members were missing. Former insurgent commander Igor Girkin said that the insurgents had "dealt the enemy their first naval defeat". Government forces withdrew from Luhansk International Airport on 1 September, despite having held the airport from insurgent attacks for weeks prior. The airport saw fierce fighting on the night before the withdrawal, and Ukrainian officials said that their forces at the airport had been attacked by a column Russian tanks. Clashes also continued at Donetsk International Airport. Heavy fighting was observed by OSCE monitors near the villages of Shyrokyne and Bezimenne on 4 September. Respectively, these villages are 24 kilometres (15 mi) and 34 kilometres (21 mi) east of Mariupol. Ukrainian officials in Mariupol said that the situation there "was worsening by the hour", and that there was an imminent danger of an attack on the city. DPR forces came within 5 kilometres (3 mi) of the city on 4 September, but their advance was repulsed by an overnight counter-attack launched by the Armed Forces and the Azov Battalion. They were driven back about 20 kilometres (12+1⁄2 mi) east of the city. Constant shelling was heard on the outskirts of Mariupol.

September ceasefire

Main article: Minsk Agreement (2014)

See also: Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine

After days of peace talks in Minsk under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Ukraine, Russia, the DPR, and the LPR agreed to a ceasefire on 5 September. OSCE monitors said they would observe the ceasefire, and assist the Ukrainian government in implementing it. According to The New York Times, the agreement is an "almost verbatim" replication of Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko's failed June "fifteen-point peace plan". It was agreed that there would be an exchange of all prisoners taken by both sides, and that heavy weaponry should be removed from the combat zone. Humanitarian corridors are meant to be maintained, so that civilians can leave affected areas. President Poroshenko said that Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts would be granted "special status", and that use of the Russian language in these areas would be protected by law. DPR and LPR leaders said that they retained their desire for full independence from Ukraine, despite these concessions. Russian president Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian president Poroshenko discussed the ceasefire on 6 September. Both parties said that they were satisfied with the ceasefire, and that it was generally holding.

The ceasefire was broken multiple times on the night of 6–7 September, and into the day on 7 September. These violations resulted in the deaths of four Ukrainian soldiers, whilst twenty-nine were injured. Heavy shelling by the insurgents was reported on the eastern outskirts of Mariupol, and OSCE monitors said that the Ukrainian government had fired rockets from Donetsk International Airport. The OSCE said that these breaches of the agreement would not cause the ceasefire to collapse. Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said on 10 September that "70% of Russian troops have been moved back across the border", and also added that this action gave him "hope that the peace initiatives have good prospects". Minor ceasefire violations continued, however. In line with the Minsk Agreement, OSCE monitors said that they observed a prisoner exchange near Avdiivka at 03:40 on 12 September. Ukrainian forces released 31 DPR insurgents, whilst DPR forces released 37 Ukrainian soldiers.

Maps of the war

Donetsk Oblast

This map may not be up to date with the latest events.

Amvrosiivka

Artemivsk

Dobropillia

Donetsk

Druzhkivka

Dzerzhynsk

Horlivka

Karlivka

Komsomolske

Kostiantynivka

Kramatorsk

Krasnoarmiisk

Krasnyi Lyman

Kurakhove

Makiivka

Marinka

Marynivka

Mariupol

Mykolaivka

Novoazovsk

Savur-Mohyla

Shakhtarsk

Siversk

Sloviansk

Snizhne

Starobesheve

Starovarvarivka

Sviatohirsk

Torez

Velyka Novosilka

Volnovakha

Yampil

Yasynuvata

Yenakiieve

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Armed conflict in Donetsk Oblast:
Administrative buildings captured by pro-Russian forces
Administrative buildings recaptured by government forces during the counter-offensive

Luhansk Oblast

This map may not be up to date with the latest events.

Antratsyt

Alchevsk

Biryukove

Chervonopartyzansk

Izvaryne

Krasna Talivka

Krasnodon

Krasnyi Luch

Luhansk

Lysychansk

Milove

Novoaidar

Oleksandrivsk

Pervomaisk

Popasna

Rubizhne

Sievierodonetsk

Shchastya

Starobilsk

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Armed conflict in Luhansk Oblast:
Administrative buildings captured by pro-Russian forces
Administrative buildings recaptured by government forces during the counter-offensive
Border post

Combatants

Forces foreign and domestic have participated in the conflict in the Donbass.

Pro-Russian insurgents

Aleksandr Zakharchenko takes an oath of office as the Prime Minister of Donetsk People's Republic, 8 August 2014

Insurgents in Donetsk

Pro-Russian insurgents

Donbass People's Militia

Main article: Donbass People's Militia

Igor Girkin, who commanded the Donbass People's Militia in Sloviansk, denied Russian involvement in the insurgency. He said his unit was formed during the Crimean crisis, and that two-thirds of its members were Ukrainian citizens. Girkin also said that the Sloviansk insurgents had agreed to work with the leadership of the Donetsk People's Republic, despite some conflict between insurgent groups. According to a spokesman for the Donetsk People's Republic, the militants that occupied Sloviansk were "an independent group...supporting the Donetsk protest", while insurgents in Sloviansk and Kramatorsk identified themselves as members of Pavel Gubarev's Donbass People's Militia.

The group's forces at Sloviansk included some professional soldiers amongst their ranks, as well as retired veterans, civilians, and volunteers, while those in Donetsk have been confirmed to include former Berkut special police officers. When asked by The Sunday Telegraph where their weapons had come from, one veteran of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan nodded at the Russian flag flying from the police station and said: "Look at that flag. You know which country that represents". An insurgent commander in Donetsk, Pavel Paramonov, told journalists he was from Tula Oblast in Russia. In Horlivka, police who defected were commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel of the Russian Army, later identified as Igor Bezler. Former Soviet military veteran Vyacheslav Ponomarev, who declared himself mayor of Sloviansk, said that he appealed to old military friends to take part in the militia: "When I called on my friends, practically all of whom are ex military, they came to our rescue, not only from Russia but also from Belarus, Kazakhstan and Moldova".

A former separatist militant corroborated these stories in an interview with Radio Free Europe. He said that fighters, including some Cossack units, arrived from Russia to support the separatists. Another interview with an insurgent from Saint Petersburg was published in Gazeta. He claimed to be fighting voluntarily as part of the "Russian Imperialist Movement."

In late July, the local support for the militia within the city of Donetsk was estimated to be 70% by a local entrepreneur interviewed by Die Welt.

Army of the South-East

The Army of the South-East (Russian: Армия Юго-Востока, Armiya Yugo-Vostoka) is a pro-Russian militant group that has occupied buildings in Luhansk Oblast. According to The Guardian, their personnel include former members of the disbanded Berkut special police. They are affiliated with the Lugansk People's Republic.

Russian Orthodox Army

The Russian Orthodox Army (Russian: Русская православная армия, Russkaya pravoslavnaya armiya), a pro-Russian insurgent group in Ukraine, originated in May 2014 as part of the insurgency. It reportedly had 100 members at the time of its founding, including locals and Russian volunteers. As fighting between separatists and the Ukrainian government worsened in Donbass, membership rose to 350, and later to 4,000. Notable engagements of the ROA include the June 2014 skirmishes in Mariupol and Amvrosiivka Raion. The headquarters of the ROA is located in an occupied Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) building in Donetsk city. Members swore allegiance to Igor Girkin ("Strelkov"), insurgent and Minister of Defence of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic. According to the Defence Ministry of Ukraine, the ROA has been in conflict with another pro-Russian militia, the Vostok Battalion, which accused the ROA of looting, and of avoiding combat.

Vostok Battalion

Vostok Battalion

Alexander Khodаkovsky

The Vostok Battalion (Russian: Батальон Восток, Ukrainian: Батальйон Схід; lit. "East Battalion") was formed in early May 2014. It is commanded by Alexander Khodakovsky, a defector from the Security Service of Ukraine. Khodakovsky is the chief of the DPR's security service, and of the Patriotic Forces of Donbass, an insurgent battalion.

Vostok reportedly includes members of the original Vostok Battalion, a special forces unit of the Russian intelligence directorate (GRU) that participated in the Second Chechen and Russo-Georgian Wars. The original battalion was incorporated in 2009 into a Russian Defence Ministry reserve unit that is based in Chechnya. Khodakovsky said he had about 1,000 men at his disposal, and that more "volunteers" with experience in the Russian security sector were expected to join the battalion. A report by Radio Free Europe said that there were suspicions that the battalion was either created directly by the GRU, or that it was at least sanctioned by it. The battalion includes both fighters from Russia and from Ukraine. A BBC News report said that the battalion was composed largely of untrained locals from eastern Ukraine, with a smattering of Russian volunteers. A number of the Vostok insurgents were killed at the Battle of Donetsk Airport. Thirty bodies were repatriated to Russia after the fighting. Some of the members said they received salaries of 100 US dollars a week, though they maintained that were only volunteers.

Foreign groups

Cossacks

Some identified maverick Cossack volunteers, particularly Don Cossacks who live on both sides of the border, are participants in the war, along with some self-styled neo-Cossack groups. Several of these Cossacks formed a paramilitary unit called the 'Terek Wolves Sotnia', a reference to a detachment of White emigre Cossacks that fought against the Soviet Union during the Second World War. Prominent fighters include Alexander "Boogeyman" Mozhaev (a Russian military veteran from Belorechensk) and the unit's commander, Evgeny Ponomarev.

Although Cossack units have been prohibited from crossing the Russian border into Ukraine en masse, allegations have been made that Russian elements tacitly support the individual fighters in crossing the border into Ukraine. The Cossacks claim that it is their faith in Cossack brotherhood, Russian imperialism, and the Russian Orthodox Church that has driven them to take part in the insurgency with the aim of conquering what they perceive as "historically Russian lands." On 20 May, Mozhaev issued a video address to Vladimir Putin to open a land corridor to Russia to allow for reinforcements in what he called a "Sacred War." Mozhaev also alleged that some of the more extreme views of the Cossacks include destroying "the Jew-Masons," who they claim have been "fomenting disorder all over the world" and "causing us, the common Orthodox Christian folk, to suffer." On 25 May, the SBU arrested thirteen Russian Cossacks in Luhansk.

Caucasian and Central Asian armed groups

Insurgents in Donetsk

The Foreign Affairs ministry of Ukraine said that the presence of foreign soldiers amounted to "undisguised aggression" from Russia, and "the export of Russian terrorism to our country". "There are grounds to affirm that Russian terrorists funnelled on to the territory of Ukraine are being organised and financed through the direct control of the Kremlin and Russian special forces," the ministry said. To date, reports and interviews have shown the presence of Chechen, Ossetian, Tajik, Afghan, Armenian, and various Russian paramilitary forces operating in Ukraine.

Chechen paramilitaries

Chechen paramilitaries were spotted in Sloviansk on 5 May 2014. Chechen president Ramzan Kadyrov threatened on 7 May that he would send tens of thousands of Chechen "volunteers" to southern and eastern Ukraine if the "junta" in Kiev continued its "punitive operations." It was reported that Kadyrov engaged in an aggressive recruitment campaign in Chechnya for this operation, and that there were recruitment centres for it in Grozny, Achkhoy-Martan, Znamenskoye, and Gudermes. The Kavkazcenter, the official website of the North Caucasus Islamic insurgency, reported that Chechen authorities had opened recruiting offices for "volunteers" wishing to fight in Ukraine, and that those offices had suddenly closed.

An armed militiaman in Sloviansk, 14 April 2014

Five lorries crossed the Ukraine-Russia border carrying militants aboard on 24 May, with some reports suggesting among the militants were veteran Chechen soldiers. On the following day, the Vostok Battalion arrived in Donetsk in a convoy of eight lorries, each filled with twenty soldiers. Several of the soldiers looked Chechen, spoke the Chechen language, and said that they were from Chechnya. Two insurgents told CNN reporters that these were Chechen volunteers.

Ramzan Kadyrov denied knowledge of the presence Chechen troops in Ukraine, but a separatist commander later confirmed that Chechens and militants of other ethnicities fought for the Donetsk People's Militia. In the aftermath of the Battle of Donetsk Airport, local authorities said that some wounded militants were Chechens from Grozny and Gudermes. One Donetsk resident said that the presence of Chechen fighters showed "that this war is not clean. It is artificially created. If this is an uprising by the Donetsk People's Republic, what are foreigners doing here?"

Chechen militants interviewed by the Financial Times and Vice News said that they became inolved in the conflict on the orders of the Chechen president. President Kadyrov strongly denied these reports on 1 June. In his statement, he said that there were "74,000 Chechens who are willing to go to bring order to the territory of Ukraine," and that he would not send them to Donetsk, but to Kiev.

Ossetian and Abkhaz paramilitaries

Starting on 4 May 2014, the United Ossetia Party and the Union of Paratroopers in the pro-Russian breakaway Republic of South Ossetia announced a recruitment drive meant to send veterans of the Georgian-Ossetian conflict to protect "the peaceful population of Ukraine's southeast". Some videos issued by an Ossetian militant group indicated that they were operating in Donetsk. Donbass insurgents interviewed on 27 May admitted that there were sixteen fighters from Ossetia operating around Donetsk for at least two months prior. Head of the State Border Guard of Ukraine Mykola Lytvyn said that officials reports indicatde the presence of Abkhaz militants as well. Militants from North and South Ossetia were open about their presence in Donbass in June. One militant named Oleg, part of the Vostok Battalion, told reporters "In 2008 they were killing us and the Russians saved us. I came here to pay my dues to them".

Others

There are reports that volunteers from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Spain and Turkey have fought on the insurgent-side. There are at least 100 Serbian volunteers fighting on the side of the pro-Russian forces in Ukraine, including 45 members of the Chetnik movement.

Counter-insurgency forces

Donbas Battalion training group near Kiev

Armed Forces of Ukraine

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are the primary military force of Ukraine, and have taken a leading role in countering the insurgency in the Donbass.

National Guard of Ukraine

The National Guard of Ukraine was re-established on 13 March 2014, amidst rising tensions in Ukraine during the Crimean crisis. It is a reserve component of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a light infantry force. This stands in contrast to the old National Guard, which was a mechanised infantry force.

Ministry of Internal Affairs

The Ministry of Internal Affairs is commonly known as the militsiya, and is the primary police force in Ukraine. It is led by the Internal Affairs Minister, Arsen Avakov, a key figure in leading the counter-insurgency operations in the Donbass.

Pro-government paramilitaries

Donbas Battalion in Donetsk region, 9 August 2014

Dmytro Yarosh (right), Right Sector's leader, meets Semen Semenchenko, Donbas Battalion commander, July 2014

Several pro-Ukrainian paramilitaries, called "territorial defence battalions", have been formed, and have fought against the Donbass People's Militia and other insurgent groups. These forces include the Donbas Battalion, Azov Battalion, Kharkiv Battalion, and Oleh Lyashko's militia.

After having defeated separatists there, the town of Shchastya in Luhansk Oblast was occupied by the Aidar Battalion on 9 July. While subordinate to the Ministry of Defence, the battalion took control of the town in the same manner has the separatists had done earlier. Another paramilitary unit, the Azov Battalion, is aligned with the far-right ultranationalist group Social-National Assembly. "More than half of the battalion's fighters are Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainians." The Internal Affairs ministry has denied claims that foreign citizens are fighting in the Azov Battalion, though a man calling himself "Mikael Skillt" told a BBC journalist on the telephone that he was a Swedish sniper serving in the Azov Battalion. According to the BBC report, Mr Skillt said "there are only a handful of foreign fighters in the Azov Battalion and they do not get paid". Al-Jazeera interviewed a Canadian volunteer with the Azov Battalion, and reported that the battalion's "ideological alignment with other far-right, social-nationalist groups has attracted volunteers from organisations in Sweden, Italy, France, Canada, and Russia".

The Russian Foreign Ministry asked the governments of Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and France to conduct a thorough investigation into reports of mercenaries from their countries serving Ukrainian forces, following a story in the Italian newspaper Il Giornale.

The ultra-nationalist group Right Sector has its own volunteer battalion that is fighting against the separatists. It lost twelve fighters when it was ambushed outside Donetsk in August 2014. Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh vowed his group would avenge the deaths.

Russian involvement

Main article: 2014 Russian military intervention in Ukraine

Following its annexation of Crimea, Russia intervened in different ways throughout the war in the Donbass region. Reports and statements by the US State Department repeatedly accused Russia of orchestrating the April unrest across eastern and southern Ukraine. Russia denied these reports. As the unrest escalated into a war in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, Russia supplied arms, armoured vehicles, tanks, and other equipment to the forces of the DPR and LPR. A significant number of Russian citizens and military men have fought in the war as "volunteers", something that the leaders of the DPR and LPR admitted. Recruitment for Donbass insurgent groups was performed openly in Russian cities, using private and military facilities. This culminated on 25 August, when the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that it captured a group of Russian paratroopers in Ukrainian territory. The SBU released photographs of them, and their names. On the following day, the Russian Defence Ministry said these soldiers crossed the border "by accident".

A new front in the war was opened on 27 August. Vast amounts of military equipment and troops crossed the border from Russia into southern Donetsk Oblast, an area previously controlled by the Ukrainian government. Western officials described this new offensive as a "stealth invasion" by the Russian Federation. US State Department spokesman Jen Psaki said that "these incursions indicate a Russian-directed counteroffensive is likely underway", and Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko said "An invasion of Russian forces has taken place". NATO commander Brig. Gen. Nico Tak said on 28 August that "well over" 1,000 Russian soldiers were operating in the Donbass conflict zone. The week before the "invasion", Russia had been shelling Ukrainian units from across the border, though instances of cross-border shelling from Russia had been reported since mid-July. At the time, Russian government spokesmen denied these reports. An August 2014 survey by the Levada Center reported that only 13% of those Russians polled would support the Russian government in an open war with Ukraine.

Humanitarian concerns

Main article: Humanitarian situation during the war in Donbass

The United Nations observed an "alarming deterioration" in human rights in territory held by insurgents affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic. The UN reported growing lawlessness in the region, documenting cases of targeted killings, torture, and abduction, primarily carried out by the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic. The UN also reported threats against, attacks on, and abductions of journalists and international observers, as well as the beatings and attacks on supporters of Ukrainian unity. A report by Human Rights Watch said "Anti-Kiev forces in eastern Ukraine are abducting, attacking, and harassing people they suspect of supporting the Ukrainian government or consider undesirable...anti-Kiev insurgents are using beatings and kidnappings to send the message that anyone who doesn't support them had better shut up or leave". There were also multiple instances of beatings and abductions of local residents by Ukrainian troops, such as Oleh Lyashko's militia and the Aidar territorial defence battalion. In August, Igor Druz, a senior advisor to pro-Russian insurgent commander Igor Girkin, said that "On several occasions, in a state of emergency, we have carried out executions by shooting to prevent chaos. As a result, our troops, the ones who have pulled out of Sloviansk, are highly disciplined".

Damaged building in Lysychansk, 4 August 2014

A report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released on 28 July said that based on "conservative estimates", at least 1,129 civilians had been killed since mid-April during the fighting, and at least 3,442 had been wounded. In addition, the report found that at least 750 million US dollars worth of damage has been done to property and infrastructure in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Human Rights Watch said that Ukrainian government forces, pro-government paramilitaries, and the insurgents had used unguided Grad rockets in attacks on civilian areas, stating that "The use of indiscriminate rockets in populated areas violates international humanitarian law, or the laws of war, and may amount to war crimes". The New York Times reported that the high rate of civilian deaths had "left the population in eastern Ukraine embittered toward Ukraine's pro-Western government", and that this sentiment helped to "spur recruitment" for the insurgents.

By early August, at least 730,000 had fled fighting in the Donbass and left for Russia. This number, much larger than earlier estimates, was given by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The number of internal refugees rose to 117,000. By the start of September, after a sharp escalation over the course of August, the number of people displaced people from Donbass within Ukraine more than doubled to 260,000. The number of refugees that fled from Donbass to Russia rose to 814,000.

Reactions

Main article: International reactions to the war in Donbass

Many observers have asked both the Ukrainian government and the insurgents to seek peace, and ease tensions in Donetsk and Luhansk.

• NATO – NATO published a statement on the war in Donbass and the Crimean Crisis in August 2014. It attempted to debunk the Russian government's accusations against the Ukrainian government, and also other statements made by Russia to justify its presence in Ukraine. According to the statement, Russia attempted to "divert attention away from its actions" and "levelled a series of accusations against NATO which are based on misrepresentations of the facts". It also said that Russia "made baseless attacks on the legitimacy of the Ukrainian authorities and has used force to seize part of Ukraine's territory". In response to the unauthorised entry of the Russian humanitarian convoy on 22 August, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated that this incident could "only deepen the crisis in the region, which Russia itself has created and has continued to fuel. The disregard of international humanitarian principles raises further questions about whether the true purpose of the aid convoy is to support civilians or to resupply armed separatists". Late in August, NATO generals met and revised their assessment of the military situation in Donbass. They said that, from the Ukrainian government's point of view, the war is already lost. It was anticipated that the late-August offensive in southern Donetsk Oblast could be used to create a Russian land corridor to Crimea, consolidating the illegal annexation of the peninsula.
• Russia – The Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukrainian authorities of "blaming" the Russian government for all its troubles and stated "Ukrainian people want to get a clear answer from Kiev to all their questions. It's time to listen to these legal claims". It also stated it was "carefully observing" events in the east and south of Ukraine, and again called for "real constitutional reform" that would turn Ukraine into a federation. In an 7 April opinion piece in The Guardian, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov wrote that it was Europe and the United States, and not Russia, that was guilty of destabilising Ukraine and that "Russia is doing all it can to promote early stabilisation in Ukraine". The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a stern condemnation of the "criminal order" by Kiev for armed aggression against Donetsk: "The Kiev authorities, who self-proclaimed themselves as a result of a coup, have embarked on the violent military suppression of the protests," demanding that "the Maidan henchmen, who overthrew the legitimate president, to immediately stop the war against their own people, to fulfill all the obligations under the Agreement of 21 February." Russian president Vladimir Putin compared the siege of the DPR and LPR-controlled cities of Donetsk and Luhansk to the Siege of Leningrad during the Second World War: "Sadly, it reminds me of World War II, when German fascist forces surrounded our cities, like Leningrad, and shelled population centres and their residents".
• United States – US Secretary of State John Kerry said on 7 April 2014 that the events "did not appear to be spontaneous" and called on Russia to "publicly disavow the activities of separatists, saboteurs and provocateurs" in a phone call to his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. A spokeswoman for the US National Security Council noted that the separatists appeared to be supported by Russia. "We saw similar so-called protest activities in Crimea before Russia's purported annexation," she said in a statement, adding: "We call on President (Vladimir) Putin and his government to cease all efforts to destabilize Ukraine, and we caution against further military intervention." American ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey R. Pyatt characterised the pro-Russian insurgents as "terrorists". The US government is sending military advisors to Ukraine to aid the Ukrainian government in its fight against the insurgents. In April, the US Defence Department shipped a 7 million US dollar package of non-lethal military equipment to the Ukrainian forces. Plans for another 8 million dollar million aid package were announced on 1 August. The package was meant to include armoured personnel carriers, goods and patrol vehicles, binoculars, night vision goggles and small patrol boats. On the same day, the Defence Department also proposed a 19 million dollar aid package to help train the National Guard of Ukraine. This proposal required congressional approval, and would come into effect in 2015. It had been announced in July that a group of Defence Department specialists in strategy and policy would visit Kiev to evaluate the military needs of the Ukrainian government. On 8 September, The New York Times reported that only a portion of the initial non-lethal aid package had actually arrived in Ukraine. While this report cited concerns about provoking escalation in the region as the reason for the delay, a 13 September report by The Globe and Mail cited various sources that indicated that both the American package and a $200 million Canadian military aid package were delayed by concerns about diversion of saleable equipment due to corruption among Ukrainian officials.

Labelling of the conflict

NATO considers the conflict a war with Russian irregulars, and others consider it to be a proxy war between Russia and NATO. The International Committee of the Red Cross, the arbiter of international humanitarian law for the United Nations, described the events in the Donbass region as a "non-international armed conflict". Some news agencies, such as the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia and Reuters, interpreted this statement as meaning that Ukraine was in a state of "civil war". From early September, Amnesty International said that it considered the war to be "international", as opposed to "non-international". Secretary General of Amnesty International Salil Shetty said that "satellite images, coupled with reports of Russian troops captured inside Ukraine and eyewitness accounts of Russian troops and military vehicles rolling across the border leave no doubt that this is now an international armed conflict".

Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada and former acting Ukrainian president Oleksandr Turchynov considers the conflict a direct war with Russia. According to Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, the war will be known in history of Ukraine as the "Patriotic War".

Gallery

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  Civilians block the Ukrainian military's movement near Sloviansk (April 2014)
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  Pro-Russian militants inside the occupied Donetsk police headquarters (12 April 2014)
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  Pro-Russian militants with captured vehicles in Sloviansk (16 April 2014)
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  A government building in Sloviansk occupied by separatists (April 2014)
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  Ukrainian soldiers from SBU Alpha Group near Kramatorsk (25 April 2014)
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  A captured (by the Ukrainian Aidar Battalion) LPR vehicle (9 June 2014)
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  Leader of the pro-Ukrainian Donbass Battalion Semen Semenchenko (2 June 2014)
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  Changes of the territories controlled by insurgents since 2014.07.01.

See also

• Little green men (GRU)
• Iryna Dovhan

External links

• 12 May report on human rights and minority rights situation in Ukraine by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
• 15 July report on the human rights situation in Ukraine by the OHCHR
• 28 August report on claims of war crimes by the insurgents in Donbass by Human Rights Watch