Topic summary
War in Donbas
Ukraine- 40,000–45,000 fighters
- 9,000–12,000 Russian soldiers
- 6,500 killed
- 15,800–16,200 wounded
- 4,535 killed
- 70 missing
- 13,800–14,200 wounded
- 3,404 civilians killed (365 in 2016–2021)
- 14,200–14,400 killed; 51,000–54,000 wounded overall
- 1.6 million Ukrainians internally displaced; over 1 million fled abroad as of March 2016
The war in Donbas, also called the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian war in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war began in April 2014, when Russian-backed paramilitaries began an uprising against the Ukrainian government, seized territory and declared independent states. Ukraine's military launched an operation against them, but failed to fully retake the territory. Covertly, Russia's military were directly involved, and the separatists were largely under Russian control. This phase ended when the war was subsumed by the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In March 2014, following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied Crimea. Anti-revolution and pro-Russian protests began in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, collectively 'the Donbas'. On 12 April, a commando unit led by Russian citizen Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin crossed the border from Russia and seized Sloviansk and other settlements in the Donbas. Separatists declared the Donetsk and Luhansk republics (DPR and LPR) as independent states. Russia covertly supported them with soldiers and weaponry. It only admitted sending "military specialists", but later acknowledged the separatists as Russian combat veterans. On 15 April, Ukraine began an "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (ATO). By August 2014, Ukraine had re-taken most of its territory. Russia reacted by covertly sending troops, tanks and artillery into the Donbas, helping pro-Russian forces regain much of what they had lost. DPR leader Alexander Borodai said 50,000 Russian citizens had fought for the separatists by mid-2015, excluding the regular Russian troops that invaded.
The Minsk agreement was signed in September 2014. There was to be a ceasefire monitored by the OSCE; release of prisoners; withdrawal of illegal armed groups and foreign soldiers from Ukraine; withdrawal of heavy weaponry; elections in the Donbas under Ukrainian law; and granting self-governance ("special status") to rebel-held territories. On 16 September, Ukraine passed a law to grant this self-governance and schedule elections there for December. However, the separatists held their own elections in November, which violated the Minsk agreement. The ceasefire was also broken, and Russian-backed forces began an assault on Donetsk Airport, eventually capturing it in January 2015. A new ceasefire, Minsk II, was agreed on 12 February 2015. Immediately after, Russian forces renewed their offensive on Debaltseve and forced Ukraine's military to withdraw. Both sides fortified their position by building networks of trenches, bunkers and tunnels, resulting in static trench warfare. Donbas remained a war zone, with dozens killed monthly. OSCE observers documented military convoys crossing from Russia covertly, and by the end of 2017 had counted around 30,000 people in military gear crossing from Russia at the two border checkpoints it was allowed to monitor.
All sides agreed to the "Steinmeier formula" for ending the war in October 2019. Following a ceasefire and withdrawal of foreign soldiers, elections would be held under Ukrainian law and, if the OSCE deemed these free and fair, then the Donbas territories would be given "special status" and re-integrated into Ukraine. The Ukrainian side demanded control of its border and the right of internally displaced Ukrainians to return to the Donbas to vote. The Donbas separatists said they would not withdraw or disarm, refused to give up control of the border, and said they would seek integration with Russia. The Russian state continued to deny that its military was in the Donbas, insisting that elections be held while Russian and Russian-backed forces still controlled the territory and the border. During 2021, Russia's proxies stepped up their attacks as Russian forces massed near Ukraine's borders. Russia recognised the DPR and LPR as independent states on 21 February 2022 and deployed "peacekeeping" troops there. On 24 February, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, subsuming the Donbas war into it.
About 14,000 people were killed in the war: 6,500 Russian and Russian proxy forces, 4,400 Ukrainian forces, and 3,400 civilians on both sides. Most civilian casualties were in the first year. In 2011, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts had a combined population of 6.1 million. As a result of the Donbas war, 2 million fled the region.