The 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar" is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces formed in 1992. It has been described as "one of the most brutally effective" of Ukraine’s front-line brigades.
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. The DPR was created by Russian-backed paramilitaries in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed in 2022. The entire territory of DPR is viewed as sovereign territory of Ukraine by nearly all UN member states.
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.
The 2nd Battalion of Special Assignment "Donbas" is a unit of the National Guard of Ukraine subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and formerly based in Severodonetsk. Originally created in 2014 as a volunteer unit called the Donbas Battalion by Semen Semenchenko following the Russian occupation of Crimea and possible invasion of continental Ukraine. The formation of the unit started in the spring of 2014 during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. The unit was initially formed as an independent force, but has been since fully integrated into the National Guard as the 2nd Special Purpose Battalion "Donbas" within the 15th Regiment of the National Guard.
The Battle of Ilovaisk started on 7 August 2014, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine and pro-Ukrainian paramilitaries began a series of attempts to capture the city of Ilovaisk from pro-Russian insurgents affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and detachments of the Russian Armed Forces. Although Ukrainian forces were able to enter the city on 18 August, they were encircled between 24 and 26 August by overwhelming Russian military forces that crossed the border, joining the battle. After days of encirclement, Ukrainian forces rejected the DPR's proposal to open a humanitarian corridor on the condition that they abandon their armored vehicles and ammunition, and on the morning of 29 August 2014 began to leave Ilovaisk with their weapons. The Russian side opened fire on the evacuating Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom died whilst trying to escape.
The Sparta Battalion or 80th Separate Guards Reconnaissance Battalion "Sparta" named after A. S. Pavlov is a special purpose unit of the Russian Armed Forces. Until 2023, unit was part of Russian people's militia military unit of the Russian republic of Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine. The unit has been fighting against the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbas war and the 2022 Russian invasion. Formed in 2014, it was initially led by the Russian-born Arsen Pavlov until his death in October 2016, and then by Vladimir Zhoga, from Sloviansk, until his death in March 2022.
The Right SectorUkrainian Volunteer Corps or simply the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps, was the paramilitary arm of right-wing Ukrainian nationalist party Right Sector. The Ukrainian Volunteer Corps was founded on July 17, 2014, as one of the "volunteer battalions", created as a response to the rise of pro-Russian separatism and the Russian intervention in the war in Donbas.
The Georgian National Legion or Georgian Legion is a military unit formed by mostly ethnic Georgian volunteers fighting on the side of Ukraine in the war in Donbas and the Russo-Ukrainian War. The unit was organized in 2014, and in 2016 it was made part of the Ukrainian Army, under the 25th Mechanized Infantry Battalion "Kyiv Rus". On 15 June 2024, the unit was classified as a terrorist organization by the Russian government.
The combatants of the war in Donbas included foreign and domestic forces.
The 110th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, is a unit of the Russian Ground Forces.
Ukraine's easternmost oblasts, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv, have been the site of an ongoing theatre of operation since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Russo-Ukrainian War has seen foreign volunteers participate on both sides of the conflict. Most foreign fighters joined the conflict during one of two waves. The first wave happened from 2014 to 2019 during the War in the Donbas and consisted of approximately 17,241 foreign fighters. The second wave is considered by researchers to have been much larger and began in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group(DShRG) "Rusich" is a Russian far-right and neo-Nazi paramilitary unit that has been fighting against Ukrainian forces in the Russo-Ukrainian War. Its co-founder and leader is Alexey Milchakov and operates within the Wagner Group. "Rusich" fought on the side of pro-Russian military in the Donbas war from June 2014 to July 2015, and in the Russian invasion of Ukraine alongside Russian troops.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Russo-Ukrainian War:
The Carpathian Sich 49th Infantry Battalion, formerly known as the 49th Rifle Battalion and informally as the Carpathian Sich Separate Volunteer Battalion or the "Carpathian Sich" Battalion, is a battalion of the Ukrainian Ground Forces established in May 2022. It previously existed from 2014 to 2016.
Pervomaiske is a village located in the suburbs of Donetsk, in Pokrovsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is currently occupied by Russia. The population is 2,208. The governing body is the Pervomaiske Silska Rada.
During May–July 2014, a series of military engagements took place for control of the village of Karlivka in Donetsk Oblast, in eastern Ukraine.
Over the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, irregular military units began to play a more prominent role in the fighting, alongside the regular Russian Armed Forces. In the face of waning recruitment levels for the military as casualties mounted, the Russian government increasingly turned to a variety of mercenaries, militias, paramilitaries, and mobilized convicts. In a similar fashion to the pro-Russian people's militias in Ukraine such as the DPR People's Militia and LPR People's Militia, the combat effectiveness of these irregular combatants varies greatly. This can be seen in the contrast between the poorly equipped and virtually untrained prisoners serving under Storm-Z and the professional mercenaries of PMC Wagner. The Wagner group itself also used convicts in its ranks, alongside its more experienced cadre of fighters. The organization garnered much notoriety as it took up an increasingly prominent role in the fighting in late 2022, culminating in the Battle of Bakhmut.
The Pokrovsk offensive is an ongoing military operation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces with the primary goal of capturing the strategic city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast. Fighting increased with the Russian advance into and subsequent capture of Prohres on 18 and 19 July, 2024, a turning point for the Russian offensive northwest of Avdiivka following the latter's capture in February 2024, and has taken place in numerous settlements east of Pokrovsk in Pokrovsk Raion.
On 18 July 2024, Russian forces began an offensive with the goal of capturing the strategically important city of Pokrovsk. Pokrovsk serves as an important supply route and as a transportation hub for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Donetsk People's Republic (2015–2022)
Russia (2022–present)
Russian Ground Forces (2022–present)
51th Combined Arms Army 
