Conflict in Ukraine

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine
Part of the Ukrainian crisis
Map of protests by region, indicating the severity of the unrest at its peak
Date	In Crimea: 20 February–19 March 2014 In Donbass: 6 April 2014–present
Location	Eastern Ukraine Southern Ukraine Crimea
Caused by	Opposition to the Euromaidan, 2014 Ukrainian revolution, and the composition of the transitional government
Goals	Union with Russia Transforming Ukraine into a federal state Referendums on status for Eastern Ukraine and Southern Ukraine Establishing Russian as a second official language in Ukraine
Methods	Protests Armed insurgency Occupation of administrative buildings
Resulted in	Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Insurgents take control of parts of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts Government counteroffensive, which initiated the war in the Donbass region.
Parties to the civil conflict
Ukrainian Government Ministry of Internal Affairs National Guard of Ukraine Azov Battalion Dnipro Battalion Donbas Battalion Kharkiv Battalion Armed Forces of Ukraine Ground Forces Aidar Battalion Security Service of Ukraine Euromaidan activists Right Sector Pro-Russian activists Novorossiya Donetsk People's Republic Luhansk People's Republic Donbass People's Militia Vostok Battalion Russian Orthodox Army Army of the Southeast Oplot Battalion Zarya Battalion Kalmius Battalion Ukrainian police and military defectors Union of Mine Workers Russian Federation Armed Forces of Russia Chechen and Russian paramilitaries
Number
50,000 ≈10,000 to ≈20,000
Casualties
Killed: 2,112–2,854 servicemen, 8 activists Wounded: 6,331 servicemen Missing: 340 servicemen Captured: 2,663 servicemen Killed: 1,400–2,040, 46 activists Captured: 2,768 militants and supporters
6,254 killed overall in the Donbass war only (including 304 foreign civilians) 1,177,748 Ukrainians internally displaced and 763,632 fled abroad (mostly to Russia) For more information see Casualties of the Ukrainian crisis

Ukrainian Government

Pro-Russian activists

Russian Federation

Killed: 2,112–2,854 servicemen, 8 activists

Wounded: 6,331 servicemen

Missing: 340 servicemen

Killed: 1,400–2,040, 46 activists

6,254 killed overall in the Donbass war only (including 304 foreign civilians)

1,177,748 Ukrainians internally displaced and 763,632 fled abroad (mostly to Russia)

From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, in the aftermath of the Euromaidan movement and the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. During the first stage of the unrest, Crimea was invaded and annexed by the Russian Federation after a Russian military intervention, and an internationally criticized (based on UN resolution 68/262) Crimean "referendum". Protests in Donetsk and Luhansk regions (oblasts) escalated into an armed pro-Russian separatist insurgency. From late 2014, cities outside of the Donbass combat zone, such as Kharkiv, Odessa, Kiev and Mariupol, were struck by bombings that targeted pro-Ukrainian unity organizations.