This dyad belongs to the conflict Ukraine: Donetsk
Summary of conflict Ukraine: Donetsk
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 Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), claiming sovereignty over Donetsk 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, passing well over 1000 battle related deaths, and leading to events including the shoot-down of a civilian airliner overflying the region on 17 July. Large-scale military offensives by both sides, including heavy shelling, tank offensives and heavy fighting were observed. After initial successes by Donetsk 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 DPR. Ukraine and DPR 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, DPR and another separatist group, Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) 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.
Ukraine's Pro-European Turn Leads to Separatism and War in Donetsk
Donetsk is a highly industrial, densely populated region at the easternmost edge of Ukraine in the coal-rich area known as the Donets Basin. Mainly populated by Russian ethnics, highly urbanized (with over 85% of the population living in urban settlements), extremely industrialized and much richer than the rest of the country, this area was considered, for a long time, the capital of industrial East Ukraine and the second capital of the country. This was always put in contrast to Kiev/Kyiv, seen as representative of the more pro-Western, more agricultural, less-dense, poorer, Ukrainian-speaking center and west of the country. This split along ethnic, linguistic, cultural and economic lines was the main background factor for the conflict.
What triggered the actual initiation of fighting was a list of events in rapid succession. First, the victory of the Maidan movement in February 2014 led to the overthrow of the pro-Russian government and its replacement with a pro-Western, Maidan-run government (for further details, see the Ukraine:government conflict). This in turn ment that many former government officials took shelter in either Russia or the pro-Russian East of Ukraine, with voices asking for independence of these regions days after the change in government. Further, the new government showed various signs of hostility towards the East, including the abolition of many pro-East Ukraine pieces of legislation, such as language and minority rights. Next, the refusal of Russia to recognize the new government, calling it "a fascist coup", led to many pro-Russian supporters to look at a Russian-backed independence for the East as a plausible scenario.
This further intensified in March 2014, as Russia, with the help of local supporters, invaded and annexed Crimea, a former Russian province ceded to Ukraine in 1954. The lack of basically any opposition to the invasion and annexation by the Ukrainian military gave hope that a similar situation may occur in Eastern Ukraine.
By early March, organized "anti-Maidan", pro-Russian groups formed in Eastern Ukraine, holding large rallies against "fascism" throughout Donetsk and neighboring provinces, managing to amass tens of thousands of protesters. Armed militias started forming, aiming to occupy local and regional administrative buildings, in order to disrupt any form of Ukrainian administration there. Much of the local police, sharing similar opinions with the pro-Russian groups, defected to these groups. A disorganized, poorly trained, and corrupt military was unwilling to intervene, leading to most towns in Eastern Ukraine being occupied by various armed militias by early April 2014. Around this time, organized political-military groups formed demanding the separation of various parts of Eastern Ukraine from Ukraine.
One of these, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), was declared on 7 April as a centralized rebel administration for Donetsk Oblast, grouping various pro-Russian forces into a centralized administration. 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.
While DPR was not the only such group declared in April, it was the most successful; while over 10 such "republics" were proclaimed throughout Eastern Ukraine, only two survived for more than a few weeks or gained any territorial ground. The other one, the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) in Luhansk Oblast, became DPR's strongest ally and partner.
In the subsequent weeks, many major towns in the area fell under the control of the rebels, including Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Mariupol and Donetsk itself, basically allowing the rebels to exert influence control over almost all the urban population in the oblast. Military and police bases were overran, with rebels obtaining access to weaponry and equipment. Relatively little opposition was encountered, as many local officials and much of the population sided with the DPR. The army itself, disorganized and having low morale, put up little resistance. By early May, the DPR secured sufficient territory to be able to run a referendum for independence of the region on 11 May and declare independence from Ukraine one day later.
The Ukrainian army regrouped and reorganized, receiving significant support from civilians in Western Ukraine. Volunteer factions were formed and sponsored by various political organizations, and many paramilitary groups, including those belonging to right-wing and extreme right Ukrainian parties put themselves under the control of the Ukrainian Army under the National Guard. Much better trained than the general army, and much more motivated, these volunteer battalions would stand as important parts of military action in the coming months. Further, wealthy Ukrainians (known locally as "oligarchs") contributed significant parts of their fortunes to equipping and manning the army; large industrial conglomerates participated in organizing back-line defenses in towns recaptured by the military.
While still having significant organizational issues, by mid-May 2014, the Ukrainian army was back on the offensive, managing to hold the Donetsk airport in late May 2014, recapturing the strategic port Mariupol by 14 June 2014 as well as driving back DPR forces from Kramatorsk and Sloviansk by 7 July 2014. At that point in time, about half of the territory of the DPR returned under governmental control.
Fighting intensified as both sides had access to extremely powerful weaponry, including powerful heavy artillery (Grad missiles), anti-aircraft guns, tanks and heavy infantry vehicles. Tactics were, for the most part, conventional in nature, involving encirclements, sieges and organized offensives with large fire-power on clearly defined front lines. Aviation was used, with aerial bombardment common; anti-aircraft guns, accessible to DPR troops, managed to score significant hits, including a large, jet-powered troop transport on 14 June 2014.
Accusations of Russia supplying rebels with firepower, machinery and even troops came from multiple sources, including NATO (who released images proving this fact), Ukraine (who captured a detachment of Russian paratroopers), Russian NGOs and even parts of the Russian government (the Russian Presidential Committee for Human Rights). Most of the government of Russia, however, while admitting to providing "humanitarian aid", including monetary support for DPR, and supporting its cause politically, refuse to acknowledge any troops were sent under official qualities to Ukraine. Russia, however, admitted that volunteer detachments, including numerous members of the armed forces officially "on leave" were fighting in Ukraine; those Russian servicemen killed in Ukraine were given state funerals on return.
On 17 July 2014, a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 flying overhead at cruise altitude was hit by a missile, crashing near the village of Hrabove/Grabovo in the DPR controlled area of Donetsk, killing its 298 passengers. Both sides traded accusations over the source of the missile, with the most plausible version being that it was a BUK anti-aircraft missile fired by an untrained DPR operator on what he thought was a Ukrainian troop transport.
This led to widespread condemnation of the DPR by most Western governments as well as an intensified offensive by the Ukrainian government. This offensive led to the recapture of significant swathes of territory in the northeastern Shakhtarsk area by late July. Heavy shelling with highly imprecise weaponry led to large levels of casualties on both sides as well as among civilians.
The main objective of the Ukrainian army was recapturing towns around Donetsk proper, in order to impose a siege on the DPR command center in Donetsk town. While initially successful, leading to the capture of Shaktarsk and Torez by late July, the offensive bogged down. The change in tide occurred as the strategic town of Horlivka, important both as the gateway to Donetsk town and as a resupply center to the front line troops, stayed in the hand of the DPR after a fierce battle on 21–22 July.
Given this, the long-stretched Ukrainian frontal offensive found itself without a resupply corridor and fighting deep in enemy territory. The offensive ended in Ilovaisk on 24 August 2014–1 September 2015, where the Ukrainian frontal attack force was encircled and besieged by DPR forces. Heavy fighting ensued, with at least 241 Ukrainian soldiers being killed over a few days, leading to the full destruction of the Ukrainian force and a severe morale blow. Ukrainian forces accused Russia of intervening with troops in Donetsk, blaming the increase in power of the DPR and the destruction of their troops on what was compared to an all-out Russian invasion.
This period (July–August 2014) is marked by the highest intensity of fighting throughout the conflict. Heavy weaponry was used throughout the region, with heavy shelling being used in almost the entirety of the area. Given the intensity of fighting, the poor precision of the mainly Soviet surplus weaponry employed, the poor training of the troops on both sides, the lack of communication, and the high population density, both military and civilian casualties were extremely high. While shelling destroyed much of the civilian infrastructure, and bombing fell extensively over towns such as Donetsk, Torez, Makiivika etc., there is no evidence that targeting of civilians on a large scale took place, the cities being seen as military objectives.
By early September, the rebels were back on the offensive, their main goals being recapturing strategic port Mariupol, as well as securing Donetsk town by conquering the airport. Much territorial gain was made by the rebels, especially in the south of Donetsk oblast, with all pockets of Ukrainian resistance being stamped out; however, by that point, the territorial extent of DPR was still much less than what it was in May–June.
As Ukraine was convinced that they were facing a full-out Russian invasion, and as DPR separatists were faced with a devastated infrastructure not allowing them to provide sufficient support to either the civilian population or their army in the coming winter, the two parties reached a ceasefire in Minsk on 5 September, under the auspices of the OSCE.
The ceasefire proved relatively ineffective – while levels of violence decreased, daily shelling remained pervasive throughout the region, with localized fighting continuing throughout the region.
A new round of negotiations was planned on 19 September. In order to better coordinate their negotiations as well as better work out military cooperation, however, DPR and LPR created a unified military command, the United Forces of Novorossiya on 16 September, changing their incompatibility to a new territory, Novorossiya, encompassing much larger swathes of land. For a description of conflict past 16 September see the Ukraine: Novorossiya conflict.
