War in the Donbas

War in Donbass

Part of the pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine and the Russian military intervention in Ukraine

Map of the war in Donbass.svg

Military situation on 2 February 2017: Pink highlights areas held by the DPR/LPR, yellow highlights areas held by the Ukrainian government.

Date

6 April 2014 – present
(3 years, 5 months and 2 days)

Location

Donbass, includes:
Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine

Status

Pro-Russian insurgents take control of parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts
- Russian intervention in Ukraine
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shot down; 298 killed
ceasefire signed on 5 September 2014
Donbass Commission established placing DNR/LNR under de facto Russian administration
Minsk II ceasefire came into effect on 15 February 2015; DPR and LPR capture the city of Debaltseve shortly after
Renewed attempt to implement Minsk II came into effect on 1 September 2015
More than 10 ceasefire attempts failed

Belligerents

Donetsk People's Republic
Luhansk People's Republic

Support:

Lithuania

Commanders and leaders

Alexander Zakharchenko (Commander-in-Chief of the DPR)
Igor Plotnitsky (Commander-in-Chief of the LPR)
Sergey Kozlov

Vladimir Putin

Petro Poroshenko

Units involved

Pro-Russian separatists:

Russian Armed Forces
Registered Cossacks of the Russian Federation

Chechnya (Kadyrovtsy)

Defence Ministry:

Armed Forces
- Territorial defence battalions

Security Service
State Border Guard
Internal Affairs Ministry:

National Guard

Strength

40,000–45,000 fighters
(3,000–4,000 Russian volunteers)
9,000–12,000 regular Russian soldiers (Ukraine & US estimate)

64,000 troops

Casualties and losses

3,550–3,587 killed

3,786 killed, 153 missing and 11,618+ wounded

2,777 civilians killed
10,090 killed and 23,966 wounded overall
1,414,798 Ukrainians internally displaced; 925,500 fled abroad

^* Lower figure includes 1,168 Russian citizens (per Cargo 200 NGO), of which at least 400–500 are Russian servicemen (per United States Department of State, March 2015)

Donetsk People's Republic
Luhansk People's Republic

Alexander Zakharchenko (Commander-in-Chief of the DPR)
Igor Plotnitsky (Commander-in-Chief of the LPR)
Sergey Kozlov

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Wikipedia

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