War in Donbas

The war in Donbas, or 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 paramilitaries seized several towns. 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. The war continued until subsumed by the 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 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 troops 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 responded 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 ceasefire agreement was signed in September 2014. Despite the ceasefire, 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, separatists 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. By the end of 2017, OSCE observers had counted around 30,000 people in military gear crossing from Russia at the two border checkpoints it was allowed to monitor,[44] and documented military convoys crossing from Russia covertly. All sides agreed to a roadmap for ending the war in October 2019, but it remained unresolved. During 2021, Russia's proxies stepped up their attacks as Russian forces massed near Ukraine's borders. Russia recognized 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 as refugees.

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