General information
Type of Incompatibility: Territory
Comment on Type of Incompatibility: Fighting took place over a territory called Luhansk Oblast, a mainly Russian-ethnic populated industrial area on the border with Russia.
Territory: Lugansk
Date of first stated goal of incompatibility: 2014-04-27
Comment on date of first stated goals of incompatibility: The Lugansk Peoples Republic (LPR), was declared on 27 April (after a few previous attempts as early as 4 April) as a centralized rebel administration for Luhansk Oblast (Lugansk in Russian), grouping various pro-Russian forces into a centralized administration. The group was formed by a mix of ethnic Russians, pro-Russian Ukrainians and Don Cossacks, with initially a rather flexible command structure, with most of the power in the hand of local and regional leaders. Its initial goal was independence from Ukraine, with a immediate objective of establishing territorial control over the region in order to hold a referendum for the regions independence.
Date of first use of armed force: 2014-05-04
Comment on first use of armed force: On 4 May 2014 at least one man was killed and two more wounded in Ukraine’s eastern city of Lugansk after soldiers opened fire on pro-federalization activists. Crowds of pro-federalization activists gathered to block a military enlistment office and several military bases in three districts of the city in a protest following reports that additional military forces had arrived in Lugansk from other regions of Ukraine.
Date of first battle related death: 2014-05-04
Comment on first battle related death: On 4 May 2014 at least one man was killed and two more wounded in Ukraine’s eastern city of Lugansk after soldiers opened fire on pro-federalization activists. Crowds of pro-federalization activists gathered to block a military enlistment office and several military bases in three districts of the city in a protest following reports that additional military forces had arrived in Lugansk from other regions of Ukraine.
Date of conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: 2014-06-14
Comment on conflict reached 25 battle releated deaths: The dyad reached 25 battle-related deaths on 14 June 2014 when forty-nine Ukrainian troops were killed when their military Il-76 transport jet was taken down by local militia forces just before it started its descent toward Lugansk Airport.
Annual information
This section contains annual information systematically collected by the UCDP.
2014
Primary Parties: Government of Ukraine - LPR
Secondary Warring Parties Side B: Government of Russia (Soviet Union)
Dimension: Internationalized intrastate
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 1380 |
| Best | 1072 |
| Low | 1048 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2015
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2017
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2018
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2021
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
2022
Primary Parties: -
Dimension: Internal
| Estimated Fatalities | |
|---|---|
| High | 0 |
| Best | 0 |
| Low | 0 |
Numbers include fatalities for all dyads both active and inactive for this year
Conflict Archive
This section contains annual information no longer systematically collected by the UCDP.
2014 Conflict Archive
Comment on Activity: Pro-Western governmental change in Ukraine triggered by the Maidan conflict led to the initiation of a pro-Russian anti-Maidan movement in the Eastern part of the country. This movement consolidated and escalated into a series of territorial conflicts. One of these organisations was Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), claiming sovereignty over Luhansk/Lugansk Oblast and proclaiming the region independent in April 2014 and calling for a referendum on this independence by 11 May. A full-out military confrontation ensued, with large-scale military offensives by both sides, including heavy shelling, tank offensives and heavy fighting. After initial successes by Luhansk separatists over an army in disarray in April and May, the government army recaptured some lost territory in June and July, but lost it again in August and September, amidst accusations of Russian support (including with troops) on the side of LPR. Ukraine and LPR reached a ceasefire on 5 September, that soon proved to be insufficient. In order to further their military offensive and have a better voice in the negotiations, LPR and another separatist group, Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) created a new, unified group called the United Forces of Novorossiya on 16 September, changing their incompatibility to a new territory, Novorossiya, encompassing much larger swathes of land.
Negotiations: YES
Comment on Negotiation: Negotiations took place under the framework of the Minsk Process or the Trilateral Contact Group, as it was known. This was composed of Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE, together with the DPR and the LPR. A temporary cease-fire agreement, the Minsk Protocol was arrived at on 5 September 2014.
Third party involvement: NO
Third party involvement names: Russia, OSCE
Comment on Third Party Involvement: Negotiations took place under the framework of the Minsk Process or the Trilateral Contact Group, as it was known. This was composed of Ukraine, Russia, and the OSCE, together with the DPR and the LPR. A temporary cease-fire agreement, the Minsk Protocol was arrived at on 5 September 2014.
Victory: NO
Terminated: YES
Type of termination: Other
Date of termination: 2014-09-16
Comment on Termination: On 16 September 2014, the DPR joined forces with the Lugansk Peoples Republic to form the United Armed Forces of Novorossiya, having a different incompatibility, the whole of Lugansk and Donetsk oblast (a territory referred to them as Novorossiya).
Comment on Termination Date: Agreement to form DPR/LPR military union was signed at that date. Previous agreements existed, but mostly in the form of loose parliamentary alliances, with the two entities maintaining both a separate political and military command.
2015 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2017 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2018 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2021 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
2022 Conflict Archive
Terminated: NO
