Global InformationRussian separatist forces in Ukraine information
 | This article's lead section may be too long. (February 2024) |
| Russian people's militias in Ukraine | |
|---|---|
 The Flag of Novorossiya, which was used as a battle flag by separatist forces | |
| Founded | March 2014 (as the Donbas People's Militia) |
| Leadership | |
| Supreme Commanders-in-Chief |  Denis Pushilin Leonid Pasechnik |
| Commanders of the People's Militia Directorate | Major General Denis Sinenkov[1] Guards Colonel Yan Leshchenko[2] |
| Personnel | |
| Active personnel | ~44,000 (2021)[3] |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |  Russia[4] |
| Related articles | |
| History | Russo-Ukrainian War
|
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,[5] and were also referred to as Russian proxy forces.[6] 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.[7] They are designated as terrorist groups by the government of Ukraine.[8]
The separatist paramilitaries were formed during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. The Donbas People's Militia was formed in March 2014 by Pavel Gubarev, who proclaimed himself "People's Governor" of Donetsk Oblast,[9] while the Army of the South-East was formed in Luhansk Oblast. The Donbas war began in April 2014 after these groups seized Ukrainian government buildings in the Donbas, leading the Ukrainian military to launch its Anti-Terrorist Operation against them.
During the Donbas war, Russian far-right groups were heavily involved in recruiting for the separatists, and many far-right activists joined them and formed volunteer units.[10][11] The Russian separatists have been held responsible for war crimes, among them the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17[12] and the Mariupol rocket attacks, which they have denied.[13] The militias were also responsible for illegal abductions, detention, and torture of civilians of the Donbas.[14]
The separatist paramilitaries were supported by, and were proxies of, the Russian Armed Forces.[15] Ukraine, the United States, and some analysts deemed them to be under the command of Russia's 8th Guards Combined Arms Army.[16][17][18][19] Although the Russian government often denied direct involvement, evidence suggested otherwise.[20] The separatists admitted receiving weaponry and supplies from Russia, being trained there, and having thousands of Russian citizens in their ranks.[20][21][22] By September 2015, the separatist units, at the battalion level and up, were acting under the command of Russian Army officers.[23] In 2023, Russia acknowledged separatists who fought in the Donbas war as being eligible to receive Russian combat veteran status.[24]
Although called "militias",[25] shortly before the 2022 Russian invasion, the separatist republics began forced conscription of men to fight for Russia.[26][27][28] The Donbas conscripts have been described as the "cannon fodder" of the Russian forces;[29][30] by November 2022 the casualty rate of the separatist units was almost 50%, according to official separatist sources.[30]
- ^ "Почётный иуда Донбасса ("Синий")". Archived from the original on March 19, 2023.
- ^ "Главарь "милиции ЛНР" Ян Лещенко пострадал при взрыве в Луганске – РосСМИ". Archived from the original on March 20, 2023.
- ^ The military balance 2021. Abingdon, Oxon: International Institute for Strategic Studies. 2021. ISBN 978-1032012278.
- ^ US: Separatists in eastern Ukraine have weapons, military equipment from Russia, Fox News (June 13, 2014) (Archive)
- ^ Veiligheid, Ministerie van Justitie en (2023-02-08). "Report MH17 – Report – Public Prosecution Service". www.prosecutionservice.nl (in Dutch). Archived from the original on March 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
- ^
- Galeotti, Mark (2019). Armies of Russia's War in Ukraine. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 16–19, 65.
- "Half Russian separatist force dead or wounded – UK". BBC News. 22 June 2022.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:7was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Steven Rosenburg (5 June 2014). "Ukraine crisis: Donetsk rebel leaders still talking tough". BBC. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
- ^ "In northeast Ukraine, pro-Maidan occupiers are routed by counter-demonstrators". The Washington Post. March 1, 2014. Archived from the original on April 20, 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Likhachevwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Averrewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "3 convicted in 2014 downing of Malaysian jet over Ukraine". Associated Press. 18 November 2022.
- ^ Simon Shuster (17 July 2014). "Exclusive: Separatist Leader Says Rebels Did Not Shoot Down Flight MH17". Time. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Ukraine crisis: 'Thousands of Russians' fighting in east". BBC. 28 Aug 2014.
Ukraine conflict: Deadly flare-up on eastern front line, BBC News (18 February 2020) - ^ Presentation by Lieutenant-General Leonid Holopatiuk, Chief of Main Department of Military Cooperation and Verification of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (PDF), 6 July 2020
- ^ "UAWire – Muzhenko: There are more than 30,000 Russian soldiers in the Donbas". UAWire. 2018-08-17. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
- ^ Bielieskov, Mykola (2021-09-21). "The Russian and Ukrainian Spring 2021 War Scare". Center for Strategic & International Studies. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
- ^ Bowen, Andrew S. (2021-11-19). "Russian Troop Movements and Tensions along the Ukrainian Border". Insight. Congressional Research Service.
- ^ a b "Captured Russian troops 'in Ukraine by accident'". BBC. 26 Aug 2014.
- ^ "Ukrainians say Russian troops captured them in east Ukraine". Reuters. 29 Sep 2014.
- ^ Around 3–4 thousand Russian volunteers fighting for Donetsk People's Republic militia Archived 2018-09-29 at the Wayback Machine. Information Telegraph Agency of Russia. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
- ^ "Russia and the Separatists in Eastern Ukraine" (PDF). Crisis Group Europe and Central Asia Briefing (79). Kyiv/Brussels: International Crisis Group: 8. 2016-02-05.
- ^ "State Duma passes law giving Wagner mercenaries 'combat veteran' status". Meduza. 20 April 2023.
- ^ ""Ополченцы" и "террористы": война слов продолжается". BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
- ^ "Russia turns to Donbas conscripts to fill front lines". Financial Times. 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "How Ukraine separatists are mass conscripting anyone of fighting age | DW | 27.04.2022". DW.COM. Retrieved 2022-09-10.
- ^ "Russia turns to Donbas conscripts to fill front lines". Financial Times. 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
:8was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Axe, David. "The Donetsk Separatist Army Went To War In Ukraine With 20,000 Men. Statistically, Almost Every Single One Was Killed Or Wounded". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-12-15.