Separatist forces of the war in Donbass
| United Armed Forces of Novorossiya | |
|---|---|
| Объединённые Вооруженные Силы Новороссии | |
|
|
| Founded | 3 March 2014 (as Donbass People's Militia) |
| Current form | 16 September 2014 |
| Leadership | |
| Minister of Defence |
Vladimir Kononov (Donetsk People's Republic) Oleg Bugrov (Luhansk People's Republic) |
| Manpower | |
| Active personnel | 10,000 – 20,000 (July 2014) 30,000 – 35,000 (March 2015) 40,000 – 45,000 (June 2015) |
Separatist forces of the War in Donbass, or the United Armed Forces of Novorossiya (Russian: Объединённые Вооруженные Силы Новороссии; acronym NAF) is the umbrella name for the militias and armed volunteer groups affiliated with the unrecognized political union called Novorossiya (New Russia). It consists of the Donbass People's Militia, the Luhansk People's Militia and autonomous armed groups. They are regarded as terrorist groups by the Government of Ukraine.
The Donbass People's Militia was formed by Pavel Gubarev, who was elected "People's Governor" of Donetsk Oblast by pro-Russian protesters. It was originally involved in taking control of Ukrainian government buildings in the Donetsk oblast. Tensions increased to the point of the militia being actively involved in fighting a war against the Ukrainian government in the Donbass region of Ukraine. The militia was accused by the Ukrainian government of culpability in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on 17 July 2014, but the Donetsk People's Republic disputed this claim. The militias of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic, merged into one group on 16 September 2014, forming the "United Armed Forces of Novorossiya".
It is widely believed that the separatists are supported by Russian armed forces. Although the Russian government often denies direct involvement stating that their soldiers were there voluntarily and not under orders, some of them were detained riding their combat vehicles with documents proving their origin in Russian armed forces. Moreover, separatists admitted receiving supplies from Russia and being trained there. BBC reported that separatist ranks are composed of thousands of Russian citizens, and NATO accused Russia of deploying their regular troops into Ukraine.Registered Cossacks of the Russian Federation have been reported to be supporting separatists in the conflict as well. Head of the DPR, Alexander Zakharchenko, claimed in August 2014 that there are around 3,000 to 4,000 Russian volunteers fighting for the militia, which includes current and many retired Russian Army servicemen.
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