Siege of the Luhansk Border Base

Last updated
Siege of the Border Base
Part of the war in Donbas
Luhansk oblast detail map.png
Map of the Luhansk Oblast
Date2–4 June 2014
(2 days)
Location
Outskirts of Luhansk
Result

Luhansk People's Republic victory [1]

  • Surrender and withdrawal of Ukrainian troops
  • LPR militiamen take control of two border guard bases and a National guard base in the region
Belligerents
Flag of Ukraine.svg Ukraine

Flag of the Lugansk People's Republic.svg Lugansk People's Republic

Commanders and leaders
Flag of Ukraine.svg UnknownFlag of the Lugansk People's Republic.svg Valery Bolotov
Units involved

Ensign of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.svg Armed Forces of Ukraine:

Emblema MVD Ukrainy.svg Internal Affairs Ministry:

Flag of the St George Ribbon.svg Army of the South-East:

Strength
70 [3] 100–500 [4]
Casualties and losses
10 wounded [5] [6] 11 killed, 8 wounded [5] [6]
8–13 civilians killed [7] [8]

The siege of the Luhansk Border Base was a two-day-long standoff at a Ukrainian border base located on the outskirts of Luhansk city, from 2 to 4 June 2014.

Contents

Background

After the end of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, eastern Ukraine experienced pro-Russian protests. Government buildings that were initially occupied were retaken, but on 6 April the Security Service of Ukraine office in Luhansk was occupied by protesters. [9] On 29 April many other key buildings, such as the Regional State Administration buildings and the prosecutor's office were seized. [10] Pro-Russian separatists soon expanded their control to other cities, and held a referendum on 11 May 2014, which they said showed that 96% of voters backed an independent Luhansk. [11] The border to Luhansk experienced a heavy flow of Russians trying to cross into Ukraine to join the separatists, with many attempts repelled. [12]

Fighting

On 2 June at 12:30 AM, 100 rebel fighters attacked the border guard base, but the guards of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine exchanged fire and managed to repel the attack. However, the numbers of rebels increased to 400, and according to the border guards, the rebels then went to residential areas, and fired from the tops of nearby apartments. [13] [14] Militants used automatic weapons and RPGs against the border guards. [15] A lone plane was detached to try to support the border guards who were battling the rebels. [16] According to the border guards, some of the militants were foreign fighters from Russia. [16]

Ukrainian fighter jets launched air raids on separatist strongholds in Luhansk itself to support the border guards. [17] At least one airplane was seen flying ahead, and a rocket exploded at the Luhansk RSA, killing 8–13 civilians and injuring many others. The Government of Ukraine denied that they were responsible and claimed it was caused by a misfired rebel portable surface-to-air missile. [8] [18] The next day, the OSCE published a report, based on 'limited observation', in which they blamed the explosion on an air-strike. [19] The military admitted conducting over 150 air-strikes during the day in the Luhansk area.[ citation needed ] Heavy fighting raged on until later on in the day. By the end of the first day, the attack had failed and the Border Guards still remained in control, with seven of them wounded. [18] [20]

On 3 June the situation was calmer, but the rebels continued to lay siege to the base. [21] According to a spokesman for the Border Guards, Cossacks were among the separatists besieging them as well. He also said that no Ukrainian troops were coming to the rescue. Valery Bolotov, the "people's governor" of Luhansk stated that if the Border Guards did not withdraw by the evening, they would be "wiped off the face of the earth." [22] Russia called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. They accused Ukraine of crimes against its own people. [23]

On 4 June the Ukrainian troops surrendered. They were authorized to withdraw from the base and were redeployed elsewhere. Pro-Russian separatists captured ammunition from the base, and allowed the remaining the border guards to leave. [24] Separatists took the base, as well as a National Guard base near Luhansk and another border guard base in Sverdlovsk. [6] [25] The National Guard base fell after soldiers there ran out of ammunition, [26] while separatists seized quantities of ammunition and explosives from the Luhansk border guard post. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Border Guard Service of Ukraine</span> Law enforcement agency in Ukraine

The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine is the border guard of Ukraine. It is an independent law enforcement agency, organized by the Constitution of Ukraine as a military formation, the head of which is subordinated to the President of Ukraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Popasna</span> City in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine

Popasna is a city in Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Popasna urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. In 2018, it was estimated that it had a population of 20,600 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine</span>

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 major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine. The unrest, which was supported by Russian military and intelligence, belongs to the early stages of the Russo-Ukrainian War.

The following lists events that happened in 2014 in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russian separatist forces in Ukraine</span> Pro-Russian paramilitary groups in eastern Ukraine

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Sloviansk</span> 2014 siege during the Donbas war

The siege of Sloviansk was conducted by Ukraine between 12 April 2014 and 5 July 2014. It began immediately after Sloviansk was seized by the separatist group, the Donetsk People's Republic, which, having received support from Russia, declared itself independent from Ukraine on 7 April. Following three months of heavy fighting between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the DPR People's Militia, the Ukrainian government retook the city as the pro-Russia rebels retreated to Donetsk. The engagement in Sloviansk marked the first military engagement of the War in Donbas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Donbas</span> 2014–2022 war between Ukraine and Russia

The war in Donbas, or Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the Donbas region of Ukraine. The war began in April 2014, when a commando unit headed by Russian citizen Igor Girkin seized Sloviansk in Donetsk oblast. The Ukrainian military launched an operation against them. The war continued until subsumed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luhansk People's Republic</span> Disputed Russian republic in eastern Ukraine

The Luhansk People's Republic or Lugansk People's Republic is an internationally unrecognized so-called 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kramatorsk</span> 2014 battle in the Donbas war

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Mariupol (2014)</span> 2014 battle in the war in Donbas

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">First Battle of Donetsk Airport</span> 2014 battle in the Donbas war

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle in Shakhtarsk Raion</span> July–August 2014 battle of the war in Donbas

The Battle in Shakhtarsk Raion began on 16 July 2014, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to cut off the Russian backed separatists’ supply lines from Russia. Fighting broke out around the towns of Marynivka, Dmytrivka, Stepanivka, Shakhtarsk, as well as the strategic hill of Savur-Mohyla. It later spread to the cities of Snizhne and Torez. While the battle was in progress, a civilian passenger airliner, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, was shot down near Hrabove on 17 July. Amidst a wide counter-offensive by the Russian proxy forces and their Russian backers across Donbas, government troops were forced out of Shakhtarsk Raion on 26 August.

On 18 August 2014, during the war in Donbas, a convoy of refugees fleeing heavy fighting near Luhansk, Ukraine, was hit by an artillery strike. At least 17 people were killed in the strike which the Ukrainian government blamed on insurgents affiliated with the Luhansk People's Republic. The insurgents denied striking any convoy and blamed the attack on the Ukrainian government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanitarian situation during the war in Donbas</span>

During the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War between the Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the Donbas region of Ukraine that began in April 2014, many international organisations and states noted a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the conflict zone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Debaltseve</span> 2015 battle in the Donbas war

The Battle of Debaltseve was a military confrontation in the city of Debaltseve, Donetsk Oblast, between the pro-Russian separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), and the Ukrainian Armed Forces, starting in mid-January 2015 during the war in the Donbas region. The Russian forces composed mostly of "Wagner Group" soldiers recaptured Debaltseve, which had been under Ukrainian control since a counter-offensive by government forces in July 2014. The city lay in a "wedge" of Ukrainian-held territory bordered by the DPR on one side, and the LPR on the other, and is a vital road and railway junction.

The Zelenopillia rocket attack took place on 11 July 2014 during the war in Donbas. The rocket barrage, which was launched from inside Russian territory by Russian forces, killed 37 Ukrainian soldiers and border guards in a camp at Zelenopillia, Luhansk Oblast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014)</span>

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2015)</span> List of events during the war in Donbas in 2015

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the war in Donbas (2016)</span>

This is a timeline of the war in Donbas for the year 2016.

The combatants of the war in Donbas included foreign and domestic forces.

References

  1. ↑ "Ukraine Separatists Seize Government Bases, Several Killed". The Huffington Post . Associated Press. June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Air attack on pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk kills 8, stuns residents". CNN. June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Ukraine: deaths reported in Luhansk border attack". Euronews. June 3, 2014. Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  4. ↑ Luke Harding (June 2, 2014). "Ukraine: pro-Russia rebels killed attempting to storm border guard base". The Guardian . Archived from the original on June 6, 2014. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Border Control HQ in Luhansk Stormed". UPI. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 "Pro-Russian rebels take control of 3 government bases". Fox News. Associated Press. June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Air attack on pro-Russian separatists kills 8". CNN. June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Lugansk People's Republic claim 13 die in fighting". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. June 3, 2014. Archived from the original on June 7, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Ukraine: Pro-Russians storm offices in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv". BBC News. April 6, 2014. Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Ukraine crisis: Pro-Russia activists take Luhansk offices". BBC News. April 29, 2014. Archived from the original on June 3, 2014. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  11. ↑ Reuters Editorial (12 May 2014). "Results show 96.2 percent support for self-rule in east Ukraine region: RIA". Reuters. Retrieved 6 June 2016.{{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  12. ↑ "Ukraine separatists lay siege to Luhansk base". June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014.
  13. ↑ Christopher J. Miller; Mark Rachkevych (June 2, 2014). "Insurgents assault Ukrainian border guards in Luhansk Oblast; at least 15 wounded, 5 dead". Kyiv Post. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Pro-Russia militia attack Ukraine border post". Reuters . June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on August 25, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  15. ↑ Nebi Qena; Petyer Leonard (June 2, 2014). "Pro-Russia Rebels Attack Ukrainian Border Guards". Yahoo! News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  16. 1 2 "Ukraine crisis: Border guards' camp attacked in Luhansk". BBC News. June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Ukraine separatists lay siege to Luhansk base". Ammon. June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  18. 1 2 "Hundreds of armed pro-Russians attack border camp". Canada.com. Associated Press. June 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  19. ↑ Christopher J. Miller. "Two Ukrainian troops killed in battles with insurgents on June 3; OSCE says Luhansk blast on June 2 likely caused by airstrike (UPDATES, VIDEO)". Kyiv Post. Archived from the original on June 21, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Heavy Gunbattle Erupts at Ukraine Border-Guard Outpost". The Wall Street Journal . June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 29, 2014.
  21. ↑ "Ukraine separatists lay siege to Luhansk base". Al Jazeera. June 3, 2014. Archived from the original on June 8, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Ukraine Pushes Back as rebels attack in the East". The New York Times . June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on July 16, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Ukraine separatists lay siege to Luhansk base". www.aljazeera.com. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  24. ↑ "6 militants killed, 3 Ukrainian troops injured in Luhansk fighting". CTV News. June 4, 2014.
  25. ↑ "Ukraine Crisis: Rebels take bases in Luhansk region". BBC News. June 4, 2014. Archived from the original on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  26. ↑ Nebi Qena; Monika Scislowska (June 4, 2014). "Rebels Seize 3 Government Bases in Eastern Ukraine". ABC News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on June 17, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
  27. ↑ "6 militants killed, 3 Ukrainian troops injured in Luhansk". Global News. 4 June 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.