Donbas Battalion

The Donbas Battalion () is a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and formerly based in Severodonetsk. It was created in 2014 as a volunteer unit () by Semen Semenchenko after the Russian occupation of Crimea and an anticipated invasion of continental Ukraine. The unit was formed in the spring during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. The unit was initially formed as an independent force, but has been fully integrated into the National Guard as the 2nd Special Purpose Battalion "Donbas" in the 15th Regiment of the National Guard.

The battalion was initially formed by Russian-speaking Ukrainians from the Donbas who opposed the separatist movement. It is one of the most notable volunteer battalions, recognized as a highly-effective combat unit during the war in Donbas. The battalion is known for its balaclavas to hide their identity from pro-Russian sympathizers and to create a sense of mystery and fear. The balaclavas and (occasionally) black fatigues led to the nicknames "Men in Black" or "Little Black Men", a Ukrainian analogue of the Russian "Little Green Men".

Anatoliy Vynohrodskyi, a veteran of the former volunteer battalion, announced his intention to revive a volunteer battalion outside the National Guard in October 2016. The new volunteer battalion was never created, but Vynohradskyi became a leaders of the trade blockade with the Russian-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine in January 2017.

History

Background

In February 2014, Donetsk Oblast Militsiya head Roman Romanov ceded his powers to pro-Russian separatists; Pavel Gubarev, leader of the Donbass pro-Russian separatists, seized the Donetsk Oblast Council building. At the beginning of March, separatist sentiment in Donetsk led to the creation of the oblast's pro-Maidan self-defense forces by pro-Ukrainian citizens to protect pro-Maidan protests calling for the creation of a separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). The force protected Ukrainian citizens from violence by the Russian special services and separatists. Semen Semenchenko founded a group of local volunteers to defend Ukrainian territorial integrity due to the weakness of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the capitulation of many local officials to the separatists.

The Donbas self-defense forces asked the leadership of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and the military commissariat to create a territorial defense battalion. They succeeded only after a similar proposal to the administration of Donetsk Oblast was rejected. On 15 April, recruitment of volunteers and officers into the new Donbas Battalion began. A charitable foundation for the battalion was created, and Ukrainians nationwide donated aid and money for the unit's logistical needs. The battalion, based in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, is open to citizens with licensed weapons.

Non-governmental armed formation (April – June 2014)

In March 2014, a self-defense unit in Donetsk Oblast was created. After the first battles with DPR forces, the creation of the Donbas Volunteer Battalion was announced. The commander of the squad was Semenchenko, who announced the recruitment of volunteers for the unit on his Facebook page.

Within a few days, about 600 volunteers signed up for the Donbas Battalion; by the end of April, the unit began operation in Donetsk Oblast. Battalion members provided assistance in moving activists who were in danger and collected information about coordinators of pro-Russian rallies and checkpoints.

The battalion participated in its first operation to capture and destroy civilian checkpoints on 1 May, destroying a separatist checkpoint in Krasnoarmiysk. Three Kalashnikovs were seized and 15 civilians were captured.

The battalion commander was offered a location for a base in Novopidhorodne, at the border of Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk Oblasts. After destroying the Krasnoarmiysk checkpoint, the fighters returned to their base. A few hours later, Russian mercenaries arrived in three buses to assault the Donbas base.

The Donbas fighters were armed with small-caliber rifles and grenades. The Russian attempt to assault the base failed because a Ukrainian military helicopter arrived, forcing the attackers to retreat.

On 11 May, a subdivision of the battalion stationed in Mariupol assisted the Ukrainian National Guard in the recapture of Mariupol's police station. Four days later, the unit cleared Russian sabotage groups from Velyka Novosilka. Control of the district was returned to Ukraine, and its flag was raised over the administration building. Educational work was carried out with the militiamen who had given control of the region to DPR forces. Volnovakha Raion was placed under military occupation, and the Donbas battalion supervised elections. With the region under government control, branches of the largely-defunct Party of Regions and the banned Communist Party were forced to dissolve.

On 21 May, battalion commander Semenchenko referred to Donetsk State Automobile Inspection of Ukraine employees who defected to the DPR side as "traitors". He said the same about those who were serving with DPR soldiers at the checkpoints, accompanying vehicle columns, and guarding administrative buildings. Semenchenko demanded that they hand over their arms and leave Donetsk Oblast by noon the following day, threatening to "eliminate" them if they continued to cooperate with the DPR.

By 21 May, the battalion had taken control of the administration buildings of four districts: Velikonovosilkivsky, Volodarsky, Dobropolsky and Aleksandrivsky. This operation secured polling stations for the 2014 Ukrainian presidential election. On 22 May 2014, Semenchenko announced that Ukrainian control of Volodarske district had been re-established.

On 23 May, Semenchenko's unit was ambushed in Karlivka by a 25-soldier company of the Vostok Battalion. Semenchenko reported that four members of the Donbas Battalion were killed; one died from injuries, about 20 were wounded, and an undisclosed number were captured. The Vostok Battalion lost eleven soldiers.

Special-purpose National Guard of Ukraine battalion (June 2014 – October 2016)

After the battle near Karlivka, the battalion leadership learned that Russian fighters had obtained heavy weapons in addition to small arms. It became clear that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were not providing sufficient assistance to Ukrainian volunteer detachments. The armed-forces units, five kilometers from Karlivka, did not assist the Ukrainian volunteers. Because of this, Semenchenko accepted Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov's proposal to merge his battalion into the National Guard of Ukraine; this armed the battalion and gave it legal status. It also provided an opportunity to coordinate its actions with armed-forces units, the NGU and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

On 1 June, battalion commander Semenchenko spoke at a ''veche'' (a popular assembly) in Kyiv's Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square). He called on participants to join the battalion to protect Ukraine's territorial integrity. About 600 people arrived at the Novy Petrovtsy training range, a base of Ukrainian Army Unit 3027, on the first day of recruitment. After this, several more volunteer enrollments were held in the Maidan Nezalezhnosti. During an enrollment on 8 June 2014, it was reported that ten soldiers from the Presidential Regiment joined the battalion.

On 3 June, while a decision was being made to send volunteer battalions to the anti-terrorist operation zone, the battalion was asked to stand guard near the Verkhovna Rada to support the Internal Troops of Ukraine who could not offer adequate protection. The Donbas fighters faced the Verkhovna Rada building, demonstrating that they were on the side of the people. On 4 June 2014 in Izium, a meeting of Ukraine's political, military and police leadership was held to coordinate the volunteer Donbas and Azov Battalions with other military units. The meeting was attended by Verkhovna Rada chair Oleksandr Turchynov, Minister of Internal Affairs Arseniy Avakov, by representatives of law-enforcement agencies, and commanders of both battalions. Armored vehicles manufactured by the Malyshev plant were displayed, and Dozor-B armored combat vehicles would be supplied to the Donbas Battalion. Semenchenko said that with such vehicles he would be ready to liberate Donetsk, but his battalion never received them.

He spoke again at a 29 June ''veche'' in Maidan Nezalezhnosti, calling for reform of public authorities and state institutions. A mobilization station was created in the square, and many volunteers were recorded as joining. After the assembly, the battalion volunteers went to the Presidential Administration. Headed by Semenchenko, they demanded the end of a cease-fire order that prevented them from engaging Russian forces. President Petro Poroshenko assured the military unit that they would soon have an opportunity to go to the ATO zone and fight. A decision was made to form special-purpose volunteer battalion Crimea on 19 July, and the Donbas Battalion commander announced the recruitment of volunteers for a new unit two days later. The plan was to first liberate Donbas from Russian mercenaries, then involve the Krym Battalion in the liberation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea

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