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The separatist movement in the Donetsk region has been known since 2005. After Viktor Yushchenkocame to power, an organization named "Donetsk Republic" appeared. It set the goal of creating the "Donetsk Federal Republic", and began to openly collect signatures for holding a referendum.[4] Despite a ban, the organization did not stop its illegal activities, conducting jointly with the Communist Party of Ukraine and other pro-Russian movements separatist actions.[5][6][7]
During the pro-EU Euromaidan movement, a pro-Russian opposition movement known as anti-Maidan emerged, particularly in eastern Ukraine, where there was a large Russian speaking minority.[8]
On December 4, thirteen days after the beginning of Euromaidan, around 15,000 people gathered at a pro-Yanukovych rally in Donetsk, though many of these people were bussed into the city.[9]
On February 18, the revolution of Dignity began in Kyiv.[10] On February 21, following the signing of an agreement between Yanukovych and the opposition, police guarding the government sector of Kyiv withdrew, allowing the opposition to take control.[11] The next day, parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from office. Meanwhile, in Donetsk, a pro-Russian rally was held.[12]
On February 28, pro-Russian activist Pavel Gubarev, leader of the Donbas People's Militia, appeared during a Donetsk city council meeting and issued an ultimatum to the council to not recognise the new Ukrainian government, which was rejected.[13]
On March 1, 2014, about 10,000–15,000 people gathered for a rally demanding the support of Berkut fighters who killed demonstrators in Kyiv. The participants of the rally expressed distrust of the head of the Donetsk regional state administration Andrei Shishatsky and announced the commander of the People's Defence of Donbass Pavel Gubarev as their leader. On the same day, the Donetsk City Council initiated a referendum on the status of the Donetsk region, and the initiative of the city council was supported by the Donetsk Regional Council.[14][15][16]
At about 12:00, supporters of Pavel Gubarev were joined by activists of the separatist organization "Donetsk Republic", who, under anti-Ukrainian slogans, demanded the voluntary resignation of Andrei Shishatsky, and then moved to storm the building of the regional state administration. The protestors faced the Special Forces "Griphon" unit, who held the building for half an hour until being forced to retreat. Under the walls of the Regional State Administration, demonstrators demanded to hold a referendum on the separation of the Donbass from Ukraine. The participants of the assault lowered the flag of Ukraine from the flagpole, replacing it with a Russian flag; the flag of the Donetsk region on another flagpole was not changed by protesters.[17][18]
In the evening, the Donetsk City Council, fearing the pressure of pro-Russian forces, convened an extraordinary session, which unanimously decided to hold a referendum on the region remaining a part of Ukraine.[16] In addition, city deputies decided to grant the Russian language the status of an official language (with Ukrainian) to establish a moratorium on price increases and reduce the level of social payments. This was to create a municipal police force and recognize Russia as a strategic partner of the region. It was also recommended to the Donetsk Regional Council (together with the Luhansk Regional Council) to create a commission for the formation of the stabilization fund of the Donbass.[19]
On March 3, pro-Russian demonstrators seized part of the building of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, where, at a meeting of the regional council, deputies elected a new chairman of the council (Andriy Shyshatsky) and supported the decision to hold a referendum on the territory of the Donetsk region on the most pressing issues for residents of the region, condemning calls for the region's separation from Ukraine.[20] About 1,000[21] people with Russian tricolors (led by self-proclaimed Governor Pavel Gubarev) stormed the session hall of the regional council, causing a clash. Pavel Gubarev addressed the audience; in his speech, he called himself the "people's governor" and ordered information of representatives of the Russian media that the regional state administration in his person did not accept the central government in Kyiv. In addition, the self-proclaimed governor said that it was planned to create a "provisional government of Donbass" and self-defense forces, and it was also proposed to the leadership of the Air Force, prosecutor's office and the SBU of the region to take an oath to the "people's authorities ". Pro-Russian activists blocked the institution, preventing employees from leaving it; it was also reported that about three deputies who did not have time to leave the regional council were forced to write statements about the drafting of their deputy powers. During the seizure of the administration, unknown people attacked the head of the regional council Andrei Shishatsky, who managed to free himself from the attackers thanks to police officers and the SBU, but during other events in the administration, the internal affairs officers did not resist the activists.[22][23]
On March 5, under the pretext of detecting an explosive device in the building, the police cleared the regional administration building of protesters, and the Ukrainian flag was once again hung over the building. By 16:00, about 5,000–7,000[24] protesters of referendum supporters had gathered under the administration, including activists of the "People's Militia of Donbas", "Russian bloc" and activists from Russia (including the former leader of the far-right organization "Shield of Moscow" Oexiy Khudyakov). At the same time, a rally of supporters of Ukraine's unity began at Svobody Square, which gathered about 7,000–10,000 protesters. Some time after the start of the rally near the building of the regional administration, protesters led by Gubarev began to storm the building; there were clashes with soldiers of internal troops and police guarding the building. As a result of clashes with the police, the supporters of the referendum once again occupied the RSA (Regional State Administration) building and hung the Russian flag over it.[citation needed]
After the seizure of the RSA building, the pro-Russian forces split. About a few hundred of them supported Pavel Gubarev and went to seize the building of the Main Directorate of the Treasury in the Donetsk region, first mistakenly arriving at the Financial Inspection building, then, having reached the correct building, they began its blockade. At the same time, another group of about 1,500 pro-Russian activists moved towards Freedom Square, where they got into a fight with rallying supporters of Ukraine. Some supporters of the referendum, about 200 people, remained in the RSA building.[24]
The next day, March 6, at about 06:45, the police freed the RSA building from the protesters, detaining 70 people, and the Ukrainian flag was returned to the building. At the same time, the Security Service of Ukraine arrested Pavel Gubarev. In the evening of this day, about 200 supporters of Gubarev picketed the building of the Main Directorate of the SBU in the Donetsk region, demanding the release of their leader.
On March 13, an anti-war rally for Ukraine's unity was attacked by pro-Russian activists. Law enforcement officers and self-defense tried to protect the participants of the action, which allowed most of them to leave Lenin Square. After the retreat of the main group of supporters of the integrity of Ukraine, police officers hid members of self-defense in their bus. They surrounded the supporters of the union of the Donbass with Russia. They pierced wheels, smashed windows and threw firecrackers at the cars; tear gas was sprayed. The police managed to detain several attackers, but under pressure from the crowd they were released. According to official information, one person died from stab wounds during the fightand 10 people were hospitalized; three were taken to the neurosurgical department of the M. Kalinin Hospital. According to media reports, the death toll is 2–3 people; at least 50 people were injured.[25][26][27]
On March 19, the Security Service of Ukraine arrested Andrei Purgin, the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, who took part in the assaults on the RSA building on March 3 and 5.[28]
Separatist Takeover
On April 6, pro-Russian protesters gathered in Lenin Square. After the end of the rally, around a thousand protesters marched along Artema Street to the RSA, which they began to storm. Protestors gathered in front of the building and clashed with police who guarded a barbed wire gate on the side of the building, eventually overwhelming them and breaking into the courtyard. Meanwhile, another grew threw a grenade inside the building and subsequently stormed it. Despite bringing in a water canon, police were forced to withdraw from the administration, leaving it in separatist hands. There were reportedly 100 protestors occupying the RSA following the police withdrawal.[29][30][31]
On April 7, in the session hall of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, separatists proclaimed a "declaration of sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic", which was proclaimed on the territory of the Donetsk region. Separatists also announced a referendum for independence to take place no later than May 11.[32]
At around 03:32 on April 7, protesters stormed an SBU building at 62 Shchorsa street, making no clear demands.[33][34] Protesters then barricaded themselves inside with barbed wire.[33][35] By evening, Ukrainian forces had retaken the building.[36]
On April 12, separatists seized the Interior Ministry in Donetsk, but failed to takeover the prosecutor's office.[38] Following negotiations, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Donetsk region, Kostyantyn Pozhidayev, resigned.[39]
On April 16, separatists, some armed with machine guns, seized the city hall building at 98 Artema street.[40][41] Some of these separatists came from the Kharkiv-based mixed martial arts group 'Oplot', which would later develop into the Oplot Brigade.[42][43] One of the leaders of the group, Yevhen Zhylin, described the events surrounding the capture of the city hall:[44]
Everyone hoped that it would be like in Crimea. We would turn to Russia and everything would be fine. "Oplot" was almost the only public organization that had a power block at that time. And we seized the city administration building and defended it so that no one would rob it.
Pro-Ukrainian protesters rally in Donetsk on April 17.
At 18:00 on April 17, a pro-Ukrainian rally took place in Victory park with around 5,000 in attendance at its peak. Protestors sung the national anthem of Ukraine and waved Ukrainian flags.[45]
On April 27, the building of the Regional State Television and Radio Company (ODTRK) was seized.[46]
On April 28, around 2,000 people gathered in a pro-Ukrainian rally. During the rally, multiple men dressed in military fatigues and wielding baseball bats entered the crowd and began to attack protesters, who responded by lighting fireworks and firecrackers. Ukrainian riot police managed to drive away the militants ten minutes after the beginning of the attack.[47] As a result, 14 people were injured and 5 were unaccounted for.[48]
During May Day celebrations on May 1, a few thousand festivalgoers gathered in Lenin square before marching south along Artema street towards a registration office on Polehlykh Komunariv avenue, where they raised the flag of the DPR with no resistance. They then continued their march to a police station located on Chelyuskintsiv avenue to ensure the police's loyalty to the republic. Police agreed to work with the protestors, who arrived at around 11:20. After the Ukrainian flag was replaced with the DPR flag at the station, an announcement was made ordering protestors to attack the prosecutor's office on Henerala Antonova street to free arrested activists.
At 12:20, the crowd, calling for the prosecutor to come out, arrived at the entrance to the prosecutor's office, which was guarded by riot police armed with shields. Within three minutes of their arrival, intense fighting had broken out, with officers detonating stun grenades and releasing tear gas whilst protestors threw rocks and chanted "fascists" at the officers. Being pushed back, the police also used shotguns loaded with rubber bullets. By 12:37, the rioters had retreated due to the tear gas. During this pause in fighting, injured officers were evacuated.
Meanwhile, the rioters moved north to attack the courtyard of the building, throwing petrol bombs at the police, who formed a testudo formation, though, by 12:56, protestors had surrounded the police the formation, which surrendered and was disarmed. An armoured personnel carrier was sent to attempt to relieve the siege but was forced to retreat as the crowd advanced towards it.[49][50][51][52][53]
Aftermath
On May 6, heavily armed separatists surrounded the Donetsk Regional Military College and blockaded it. Two hours after their arrival, the militants left following negotiations with the commanders of the base, which now hung the flag of the DPR.[54]
The referendum designed to legitimize the DPR was held on May 11, 2014, and its result, according to the announcement of the initiators, was that 89.07 percent of voters voted for the proclamation of the Donetsk People's Republic.[55]
The official report on the human rights situation in Ukraine by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights states that on May 15, the UOC-KP condemned violence and threats to the life and health of the clergy and believers of eastern Ukraine by armed groups, and also states that numerous attacks on an interreligious prayer marathon (participated in by all major denominations except for the Moscow Patriarchate) are taking place in Donetsk, including severe beatings of participants, destruction of property and threats. Reports of attacks have also come from other denominations, such as Protestants.[56]
On May 16, separatists seized the headquarters of the Eastern Command of the National Guard and the headquarters was relocated.[57]
On the morning of May 26, separatists captured Donetsk Airport.[58] In response, the National Guard issued an ultimatum, calling for militants to leave the airport, which was rejected, causing the Ukrainian army to launch an assault on the airport. Paratroopers and helicopters assisted by airstrikes, managed to recapture the airport by evening.[59][60][61] 33-50 militants were killed in the attack.[62]
Beginning in June 2014, the separatists began seizing bank branches, causing disruptions to the banking system.
On June 16, the separatists seized the Treasury and the NBU office in response, the NBU disabled the payment and settlement system in the Donetsk region and moved the Accounting Chamber, 11 banks, 10 branches and 1,576 branches from Donetsk.
On July 6, due to militant attacks, they were forced to stop the work of PrivatBank and Nova Poshta.
On July 10, the Kirova Palace of Culture was seized.
On November 24, the militants seized the premises of Pivdenkombank in Donetsk.
On November 26, militants seized the buildings of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the regional employment center and the Pension Fund.
On November 30, militants seized a branch of Oschadbank in four districts of the city.
From the end of February 2014, in the aftermath of the Euromaidan and the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the ousting of Russian-leaning Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, demonstrations by Russian-backed, pro-Russian, and anti-government groups took place in Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv and Odesa. The unrest, which was supported by the Russian military and intelligence services, belongs to the early stages of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
The anti-Maidan refers to a number of pro-Russian demonstrations in Ukraine in 2013 and 2014 that were directed against Euromaidan and later the new Ukrainian government. The initial participants were in favor of supporting the cabinet of the second Azarov government, President Viktor Yanukovych, and closer ties with Russia. By the time of the Revolution of Dignity in February 2014, the “anti-Maidan” movement had begun to decline, and after the overthrow of Yanukovych, the anti-Maidan fractured into various other groups, which partially overlapped. These ranged from people protesting against social ills, to supporters of a federalization of Ukraine, to pro-Russian separatists and nationalists.
Pavel Yuryevich Gubarev is a Ukrainian-born Russian public figure, primarily known for his pro-Russian activities in Donbas in 2014. He is married to Ekaterina Gubareva.
The Donetsk People's Republic is a republic of Russia, comprising the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, with its capital in Donetsk.
This is a timeline of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest that has erupted in Ukraine, in the aftermath of the Ukrainian revolution and the Euromaidan movement.
Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, primarily the People's Militias of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), were pro-Russian paramilitaries in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. They were under the overall control of the Russian Federation. They were also referred to as Russian proxy forces. They were active during the war in Donbas (2014–2022), the first stage of the Russo-Ukrainian War. They then supported the Russian Armed Forces against the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the 2022 Russian invasion. In September 2022, Russia annexed the DPR and LPR, and began integrating the paramilitaries into its armed forces. They are designated as terrorist groups by the government of Ukraine.
Ekaterina Yuryevna Gubareva is a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian activist and former public figure.
Referendums on the status of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, parts of Ukraine that together make up the Donbas region, were claimed to have taken place on 11 May 2014 in many towns under the control of the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. These referendums intended to legitimise the establishment of the so-called "republics", in the context of the Russian invasion of Crimea and rising pro-Russian unrest in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian Revolution. In addition, a counter-referendum on accession to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast was held in some Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
The Luhansk People's Republic is a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitaries in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed by Russia in 2022. The entire territory of LPR is viewed as sovereign territory of Ukraine by nearly all UN member states.
A series of armed skirmishes and confrontations between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic took place from 12 April until 5 July 2014, and is known as the Battle of Kramatorsk.
During the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, the city of Mariupol, in Donetsk Oblast, saw skirmishes break out between Ukrainian government forces, local police, and separatist militants affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic. Government forces withdrew from Mariupol on 9 May 2014 after heavy fighting left the city's police headquarters gutted by fire. These forces maintained checkpoints outside the city. Intervention by Metinvest steelworkers on 15 May 2014 led to the removal of barricades from the city centre, and the resumption of patrols by local police. Separatists continued to operate a headquarters in another part of the city until their positions were overrun in a government offensive on 13 June 2014.
The New Russia Party, or Novorossiya Party, is a political party operating in Ukraine, and in particular regions of Ukraine annexed by Russia. The organization was founded by pro-Russian separatists, under the leadership of Pavel Gubarev, on 14 May 2014. The party is formally known as the Social-Political Movement "New Russia Party". It is not registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
Novorossiya or New Russia, also referred to as the Union of People's Republics, was a project for a confederation between the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in Eastern Ukraine, both of which were under the control of pro-Russian separatists.
The First Battle of Donetsk Airport took place between fighters associated with the Donetsk People's Republic and Ukrainian government forces that took place at Donetsk International Airport on 26–27 May 2014, as part of the war in Donbas that began after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. A second battle broke out at the airport on 28 September 2014.
Nelya Ihorivna Shtepa is a Ukrainian politician. She was mayor of Sloviansk from 2010 until 2014, when Russian paramilitary troops occupied the city. She was imprisoned by the separatists because she refused to fully co-operate with them, freed by Ukrainian forces, but then imprisoned again by Ukrainian authorities for alleged collusion with the Donetsk People's Republic.
This is a timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2014.
The premises of the former Izolyatsia factory and art centre are used as a torture prison in Donetsk, Ukraine, created after the city's capture in 2014 by Russian armed forces. The prison was established after representatives of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) seized the site of the Izolyatsia Arts Foundation and converted it into a closed site of the State Security Ministry of the DPR. Izolyatsia functions as a training facility for DPR fighters as well as a depot for automobiles, military technology and weapons. The prison has secret status as detainees are convicted by illegal DPR courts without proper investigation. There are numerous known cases where Izolyatsia inmates only gave confession after being tortured.
Russian sabotage in Ukraine is a set of actions planned, organized, and implemented by Russian special services in Ukraine with the help of local Russian agents of influence, pro-Russian separatists, trained political tourists from Russia, Russian saboteurs, and FSB officers since the end of February 2014. The aim of the Russian sabotage is to destabilize the political situation in Ukraine after the Revolution of Dignity, provoking interethnic and interregional conflicts, strengthening Russian separatist forces in Donbas. These subversive actions are part of the Russian information war against Ukraine and direct military aggression — annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.
The Battle of Artemivsk was a 2014 battle fought in the city of Artemivsk during the war in Donbas in eastern Ukraine as part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. It involved armed confrontation between the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard of Ukraine against pro-Russian militias fighting for the Donetsk People’s Republic.
The Donetsk bus station attack occurred on 22 January 2015, when long-range guns using mortar shells targeted the "Donetskhirmash" bus station stop in the Leninskyi District, Donetsk, Ukraine. At the time, this area was under the control of pro-Russian separatist forces during the War in Donbas, as part of the early stages of the Russo-Ukrainian War. The incident was classified as a terrorist act.
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