110-644: The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine , with Russian regular forces playing a central part. After a defeat at Ilovaisk at the end of August 2014, Russia forced Ukraine to sign the first Minsk Protocol , or the Minsk I . It was drafted by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine , consisting of Ukraine, Russia , and
220-562: A political association and free trade agreement with the European Union (EU), instead choosing closer ties to Russia. Earlier that year, Ukraine's parliament had overwhelmingly approved finalizing the agreement with the EU. Russia had put pressure on Ukraine to reject it. The scope of the protests widened, with calls for Yanukovych's resignation. Protesters opposed what they saw as widespread government corruption and abuse of power ,
330-476: A cease-fire agreement is reached, it will be odd if it isn't violated: Those in the kettle will certainly try to get out of there; those who have boiled that kettle will try to collect the foam". US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on 13 February that the Russian Armed Forces had actively deployed around Debaltseve to assist the separatists in forcing out Ukrainian troops prior to
440-508: A clash with pro-Russian demonstrators there. Despite this, a report by the BBC said that whilst it appeared that Ukrainian troops and the mayor of Mariupol did enter the building in the early morning, Ukrainian troops had abandoned it by the afternoon. Local pro-Russian activists blamed Ukrainian nationalists for the attack upon the building but said that the DPR had regained control. A representative of
550-463: A closer relationship. This approach has been acceptable to eastern Ukrainian oligarchs , who do not harbour anti-Russian feelings". In 2011 Taras Kuzio stated The traditional Soviet policy of dividing eastern against western Ukrainians, then "bourgeois nationalists" and now "crazy Galicians," remains in place. This tactic was deliberately employed by the Yanukovych administration is promoting
660-733: A follow-up to the Minsk Protocol was agreed to on 19 September 2014. This memorandum clarified the implementation of the Protocol. Amongst some of the peacemaking measures agreed to were: After the conclusion of Protocol and Memorandum, a fragile ceasefire was established. However, even although the agreement met Russian interests, the fighting has not stopped. The Second Battle of Donetsk Airport broke out, and both parties continued to accuse each other of ceasefire violations. In late October, DPR prime minister and Minsk Protocol signatory Alexander Zakharchenko said that his forces would retake
770-485: A law on "special status" for Donbas on 17 March, as specified by Minsk II. Later, in 2019, Ukraine's parliament voted to extend regulations giving limited self-rule to separatist-controlled eastern regions, a prerequisite for a deal to settle the five-year conflict there. The law was immediately criticised by Ukrainian politicians, separatist leaders, and the Russian government. Radical Party leader Oleh Lyashko said that
880-611: A major defeat, and was forced to sign a Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, or Minsk II , which was signed on 12 February 2015. This agreement consisted of a package of measures, including a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line, release of prisoners of war , constitutional reform in Ukraine granting self-government to certain areas of Donbas and restoring control of
990-575: A meeting in Paris and decided to withdraw from Parliament the controversial draft law on the reintegration of the Crimea and Donbas region, because the law was contrary to the Minsk II. While the 2015 Ukrainian local elections had been scheduled for 25 October, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko issued a decree on 2 July that ordered local DPR elections to be held on 18 October. He said that this action
1100-532: A new large-scale war in Europe". Umland's joint statement by a hundred experts and scholars, entitled "Protect Peace, Not Encourage Expansion," makes it clear that Russia is clearly acting as an aggressor in the Ukrainian conflict . In 2015, Umland was among scholars from around the world who called on Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Verkhovna Rada Speaker Volodymyr Groysman not to sign bills on
1210-414: A new offensive on Ukrainian-controlled areas, resulting in the complete collapse of the Minsk Protocol ceasefire. After heavy fighting, DPR forces captured the symbolically important Donetsk International Airport on 21 January, the last part of the city of Donetsk that had been under Ukrainian control. Following this victory, russian military together with separatist forces pressed their offensive on
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#17327655511341320-489: A political dialogue and the heavy-handed approach. We are ready for both." Acting president Oleksandr Turchynov had already signed a decree which called for the Donetsk regional state administration building, occupied by separatists, to be taken "under state protection". He offered amnesty to any separatists who laid down their arms and surrendered. By 11 April Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that he had been against
1430-571: A prisoner in Russia, and other political prisoners. In September 2023 a year after the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage Umland argued that the operation was most likely carried out by Russia and that the yacht Andromeda which came under investigation for the sabotage was most likely a false flag by Russia to implicate Ukraine. Umland argued that Russia may have attempted "to kill two birds with one stone" and not only avoid that Gazprom should pay compensation for undelivered gas, but also to threaten
1540-581: A referendum on greater autonomy or joining Russia, similar to the one held in Crimea in March. Hundreds of masked men also seized weapons from the SBU building in the city. A large crowd then stormed and occupied the Donetsk RSA building , raising the Russian flag. They demanded the regional council meet by noon the next day and vote for a referendum on joining Russia. Otherwise, they vowed to take control of
1650-647: A regional administration building in Khartsyzk on 13 April, followed by a local administration building in Zhdanivka on 14 April. On 12 April, unmarked pro-Russian militants seized the Donetsk headquarters of the Interior Ministry and two police stations without resistance, while an assault on the general prosecutor's office was repelled. Following negotiations between the militants and those in
1760-521: A roadmap for ending the war in October 2019, but it remained unresolved. During 2021, Ukrainian fatalities rose sharply and Russian forces massed around Ukraine's borders . Russia recognized the DPR and LPR as independent states on 21 February 2022 and deployed troops to those territories. On 24 February, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine , subsuming the war in Donbas into it. Following
1870-792: A senior fellow at the Institute for Euro-Atlantic Cooperation in Kyiv, in 2019, a Nonresident Fellow at the Center for European Politics of the Institute of International Relations in Prague, and, in 2020, a Senior Expert at the Program for European, Regional and Russian Studies of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future in Kyiv as well as a Research Fellow at the Russia and Eurasia Program of
1980-579: A strategy of regional divide-and-rule through polarization, using May 9–style provocations, to maintain its eastern Ukrainian electorate permanently mobilized. Analysts have stated that as of February 2014, Russia was able to: According to the Institute of Modern Russia, the Kremlin also maintained a tight hold on Ukraine's president, Viktor Yanukovych . In November 2013, the ' Euromaidan ' protests began in response to Yanukovych's decision to abandon
2090-721: The Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Security and Defence Council launched an anti-terrorist operation "in the war waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine". As part of the counter-offensive, Ukrainian troops re-took the airfield in Kramatorsk after a skirmish with members of the Donbas People's Militia. According to Russian media, at least four people died as a result. After
2200-545: The Armed Forces of Ukraine ensued, marking the start of combat in the Donbas. The same day as the capture of Sloviansk, Girkin's men attacked the police station in nearby Kramatorsk , resulting in a shootout. The fighters, claiming to be members of the Donbas People's Militia , later captured the police station. They removed the police station's sign and raised the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic over
2310-668: The Donbas and Crimea conflicts, as well as the neighborhood and enlargement policies of the European Union . He is a Senior Expert at the Ukrainian Institute for the Future in Kyiv as well as a research fellow at the Swedish Institute for International Affairs in Stockholm. He lives in Kyiv , and teaches as an Associate Professor of Politics at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy . In 2005–2014, he
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#17327655511342420-860: The 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. In March 2014, following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity , anti-revolution and pro-Russian protests began in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts , collectively 'the Donbas'. These began as Russia invaded Crimea . Armed Russian-backed separatists seized Ukrainian government buildings and declared
2530-420: The Donetsk and Luhansk republics (DPR and LPR) as independent states, leading to conflict with Ukrainian forces. Russia covertly supported the separatists with troops and weaponry. It only admitted sending "military specialists", but later acknowledged the separatists as Russian combat veterans . In April 2014, Ukraine launched a counter-offensive, called the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" (ATO), later renamed
2640-521: The German foreign minister . Following the talks, it was announced on 12 February 2015 that the parties to the conflict had agreed to a new package of peacemaking measures, the Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements , which is commonly called Minsk II. Some of the measures agreed to were an OSCE-observed unconditional ceasefire from 15 February, withdrawal of heavy weapons from
2750-747: The Minsk Protocol , in September 2014. Ceasefire breaches became rife, 29 in all, and heavy fighting resumed in January 2015, during which the separatists captured Donetsk Airport . A new ceasefire, Minsk II , was agreed on 12 February 2015. Immediately after, separatists renewed their offensive on Debaltseve and forced Ukraine's military to withdraw. Skirmishes continued but the front line did not change. Both sides fortified their position by building networks of trenches , bunkers and tunnels , resulting in static trench warfare . Stalemate led to
2860-653: The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), with mediation by the leaders of France and Germany in the so-called Normandy Format . After extensive talks in Minsk , Belarus , the agreement was signed on 5 September 2014 by representatives of the Trilateral Contact Group and, without recognition of their status, by the then-leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). This agreement followed multiple previous attempts to stop
2970-581: The People's Council of the Donetsk People's Republic and the People's Council of the Luhansk People's Republic were organised and held by the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics on 11 November 2018. In 2016, the so-called Steinmeier Formula was heralded. Steinmeier appears to have used Russia's exclusion from the G8 as pressure. Steinmeier proposal "implicitly acknowledged, and were explicitly based on,
3080-559: The Revolution of Dignity . Immediately following the revolution, unmarked Russian troops occupied the Ukrainian territory of Crimea . After an illegal referendum , Crimea was annexed by Russia . Following the revolution, counter-revolutionary and pro-Russian protests began in parts of the Donbas. A national survey held in March–April 2014 found that 58% of respondents in the Donbas wanted autonomy within Ukraine, while 31% wanted
3190-512: The Russian victory at Donetsk International Airport in defiance of the Protocol, DPR spokesman Eduard Basurin said that "the Minsk Memorandum will not be considered in the form it was adopted". Later in the day, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said that the DPR "will not make any attempts at ceasefire talks any more", and that his forces were going to "attack right up to the borders of Donetsk region". The New York Times said that
3300-664: The Steinmeier formula . Amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in early 2022 , Russia officially recognised the DPR and LPR on 21 February 2022. Following that decision, on 22 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the Minsk agreements "no longer existed", and that Ukraine, not Russia, was to blame for their collapse. Russia then launched a full invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. In February 2014, Russian military covertly attacked and occupied Ukrainian Crimea . Protests and unrest started in
3410-426: The Trilateral Contact Group travelled to Minsk to meet representatives of the DPR and LPR. The DPR and LPR signatories of the Protocol did not attend, and those representatives that did attend were not able to discuss the implementation of the Protocol or memorandum. These representatives asked for the revision of the Protocol and the memorandum. The meeting was adjourned with no result. Successive attempts to resolve
Minsk agreements - Misplaced Pages Continue
3520-519: The ongoing war in the Donbas region of Ukraine had seen no result by the start of February 2015. While the Minsk Protocol of 5 September 2014 did significantly reduce fighting in the conflict zone for many months, minor skirmishes continued. At the start of January 2015, Russia sent another large batch of its regular military, which together with separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) began
3630-466: The "Joint Forces Operation" (JFO). By August 2014, Ukraine had re-taken most separatist-held territory and nearly regained control of the Russia–Ukraine border . In response, Russia covertly sent troops, tanks and artillery into the Donbas . The Russian incursion helped pro-Russian forces regain much of the territory they had lost. Ukraine, Russia, the DPR and LPR signed a ceasefire agreement,
3740-716: The Armed Forces of Ukraine re-took the airfield, the commanding general of the unit that had retaken it, Vasyl Krutov , was surrounded by hostile protesters who demanded to know why the Ukrainian troops had fired upon local residents. Krutov was then dragged back to the airbase along with his unit. They were then blocked by the protesters, who vowed not to let the troops leave the base. Krutov later told reporters that "if they [the separatists] do not lay down their arms, they will be destroyed". Donbas People's Militia insurgents entered Sloviansk on 16 April, along with six armoured personnel carriers they claimed to have obtained from
3850-467: The DPR and LPR held "primaries" in which voters nominated candidates for the 6 November 2016 elections. Ukraine denounced these "primaries" as illegal. On 4 November 2016 both DPR and LPR postponed their local elections "until further notice"; head of the DPR Zakharchenko added that "In 2017, we will hold elections under the Minsk agreements, or we will hold them independently." Elections for
3960-570: The DPR". On the same day, President Petro Poroshenko responded that if DPR elections went forward in this unilateral manner, it would be "extremely irresponsible and will have devastating consequences for the process of deescalation of tension in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions". In addition, the OSCE said that it would only send observers to elections in the conflict zone if Ukraine invited it to do so. As specified in Minsk II, local elections in DPR and LPR-held territories must be observed by
4070-568: The Donbas War. He said "I'm the one who pulled the trigger of war. If our unit hadn't crossed the border, everything would have fizzled out, like in Kharkiv, like in Odesa". He explained that "nobody there wanted to fight" until his unit seized Sloviansk. After militants took over the city, Sloviansk mayor Nelya Shtepa briefly appeared at an occupied police station, and expressed support for
4180-424: The Donbas republics would not be in keeping with the Minsk agreements. However, he also told journalists that Putin's priority in regulating the situation in Donbas is the implementation of mechanisms adopted under those agreements. Russia went on to officially recognise the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk people's republics on 21 February 2022. Following that decision, on 22 February 2022, President Putin said that
4290-567: The East of Ukraine ( Donbas ), which researchers characterize as "unclear to what extent the protests in the east were initiated by local dissatisfaction with the situation in Kyiv, and to what extent they were organized and supported from Russia". In spring, " DPR " and " LPR " - two unrecognized statelets - were created in Ukrainian Donbas by Russian actors . There, the Kremlin government used some of its techniques it used before during
4400-787: The Kremlin’s military achievements" of 2014 and 2015. The Formula, proposed by both Russian and European diplomats, the Formula encouraged Ukraine to carry out elections in the territory controlled by Russia and to provide Russia-occupied territories with "special status". In 2019, Ukraine signed up to the Steinmeier formula, while President Zelenskyy clarified, in light of domestic criticism, that they were not capitulating and that special status would only be possible after elections would be held, but only after regaining control of Ukraine's eastern borders. History professor Michael Kimmage criticizes
4510-793: The Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, in 2010–2014. In 2008–2010, Umland was a senior lecturer (Akademischer Rat) in Contemporary East European History at the Faculty of Historical and Social Studies at Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Bavaria, and, in 2019–2021, an adjunct professor (Lehrbeauftragter) of Post-Soviet Affairs at the Institute of Political Science at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena . In 2014, he became
Minsk agreements - Misplaced Pages Continue
4620-460: The LPR and DPR said that the law was a "one-sided" modification of Minsk II, and that the agreement had been rendered void by this modification. DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said that any change to Minsk II that had not been mutually agreed upon was "legally void", and that "nothing that had been agreed upon in Minsk has been carried out". He added that the DPR "must occupy all of the cities in which
4730-442: The Minsk Protocol also includes the liberation of those hostages who have been abducted from the Ukrainian territory and are illegally detained in Russia, e.g. Nadiya Savchenko and Oleg Sentsov . On 27 December 2018, Ukrainian news agency UNIAN reported that not a single provision of the Minsk deal had been fully implemented. In July 2020, Office of The President of Ukraine announced Leonid Kuchma will no longer take part in
4840-611: The Minsk agreements "no longer existed", and that Ukraine, not Russia, was to blame for their collapse, accusing Ukraine of genocide in Donbas in his comments – a statement largely seen as baseless and factually wrong by the wider world, academics studying genocide, and the United Nations . Russia then invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. On 24 August 2022, after a meeting of the Crimea Platform , Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that current front lines in
4950-859: The Minsk agreements were "the way forward" to end the conflict in Donbas. Blinken added that it was an incomplete step as there were other outstanding issues. The aim of the Russian intervention in Donbas was to establish pro-Russian governments that, upon reincorporation into Ukraine, would facilitate Russian interference in Ukrainian politics. The agreements were thus highly favourable to the Russian side, as their implementation would accomplish these goals. War in Donbas [REDACTED] Ukraine (details) Ukrainian Armed Forces Security Service Internal Affairs Ministry [REDACTED] Russia (details) [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Pro-Russian separatists (details) DPR Armed Forces Post-Minsk II conflict Attacks on civilians Related The war in Donbas , also known as
5060-581: The OSCE to be deemed legitimate. LPR leader Igor Plotnitsky followed the DPR by scheduling elections in the territory that he controlled for 1 November 2015. Amidst a great reduction in violence, following an agreement to restart the implementation of Minsk II that was agreed to on 1 September, the Normandy four held a meeting on 2 October. At the meeting, it was agreed that elections in the conflict zone would be held in accordance with Minsk II. In order to do this, French President François Hollande said that
5170-461: The Protocol, Zakharchenko said "These are historical times. We are creating a new country! It's an insane goal". OSCE chairman Didier Burkhalter confirmed that the elections ran "counter to the letter and spirit of the Minsk Protocol", and said that they would "further complicate its implementation". The Protocol and Memorandum did not stop the war in the east of Ukraine. By January 2015, the Minsk Protocol ceasefire had completely collapsed. Following
5280-499: The Republic, Irina Voropoyeva , said, "We, the Donetsk People's Republic, still control the building. There was an attempted provocation but now it's over." On the same day, Ukrainian government officials said that the Armed Forces had intended to retake the city of Sloviansk, but that an increased threat of "Russian invasion" halted these operations. Russian forces had mobilised within 10 kilometres ( 6 + 1 ⁄ 4 mi) of
5390-533: The Swedish Institute of International Affairs in Stockholm. As of January 2024 Umland is an analyst at the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies , part of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs. Umland has been the founder and general editor of the scholarly book series Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society (est. in 2004) as well as founder and collector of
5500-475: The Ukrainian 25th Airborne Brigade , which had surrendered in the city of Kramatorsk . Reports say members of the brigade were disarmed after the vehicles were blocked from passing by angry locals. In another incident, several hundred residents of the village of Pchyolkino, south of Sloviansk, surrounded another column of 14 Ukrainian armoured vehicles. Following negotiations, the troops were allowed to drive their vehicles away, but only after agreeing to surrender
5610-460: The Ukrainian border. The officials said that seven troops were killed during the day's operations. President Turchynov issued a statement later in the day, and said that the "Anti-Terrorist Operation" would be resumed, citing the ongoing hostage crisis in Sloviansk as a reason. By 6 May, 14 Ukrainian troops had died and 66 had been injured in the fighting. Insurgents took over the offices of
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#17327655511345720-531: The West's position for it being "the opposite of deterrence" and for its weakness. "Western policy was an invitation for Putin to go further". During 2021, Putin prepared Russia for a full-scale war within Europe. On 15 February 2022, the Russian Duma voted to appeal to President Putin to recognise the self-proclaimed LPR and DPR. The next day, a Russian government spokesman acknowledged that officially recognising
5830-449: The book series Ukrainian Voices (est. in 2019) published by ibidem-Verlag at Stuttgart / Hannover and distributed by Columbia University Press . Umland was the initiator and author of the text of an open letter of more than a hundred German-speaking experts on Eastern Europe dated 11 December 2014, in which the authors of the open letter of 60 German, mostly former politicians, which from pro-Russian positions called for "to prevent
5940-485: The building after a tense standoff with the police. Some members of the local police unit had defected to the Donetsk People's Republic earlier in the day, whilst the remaining officers were forced to retreat, allowing the insurgents to take control of the building. The local chief of police was captured and badly beaten by the insurgents. A Horlivka city council deputy, Volodymyr Rybak , was kidnapped by masked men believed to be pro-Russian militants on 17 April. His body
6050-734: The building, the chief of the office resigned from his post. According to anonymous witnesses, some militants wore uniforms of the Berkut special police force, which had been dissolved by the new government following the February revolution. The militants also took over the municipal administration building unopposed on 16 April. Demonstrators hoisted the DPR flag over the city administration buildings in Krasnoarmiisk and Novoazovsk on 16 April. The local administration building in Siversk
6160-413: The building. They then issued an ultimatum that stated that if the city's mayor and administration did not swear allegiance to the Republic by the following Monday, they would remove them from office. Concurrently, a crowd of demonstrators surrounded the city administration building, captured it, and raised the Donetsk People's Republic flag over it. A representative of the Republic addressed locals outside
6270-408: The ceasefire did not apply to Debaltseve , and that fighting would continue there. Though the fighting generally subsided after the ceasefire came into effect at 0:00 EET on 15 February, skirmishes and shelling continued in several parts of the conflict zone. Shelling and fighting at Debaltseve continued, as DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said that the ceasefire did not apply to that area. In
6380-416: The ceasefire had "all but vanished". In January - February, Russia repeated its pattern of August 2014, invaded with fresh forces and attacked and defeated Ukrainian forces at Debaltseve , forcing Ukraine to sign a Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, or Minsk II. Amidst increasing violence in the combat zone, another round of Minsk talks was scheduled for 31 January. Members of
6490-428: The city administration building and raised the DPR flag over it. The city administration buildings in Yenakiieve and Druzhkivka were also captured. Police repelled an attack by pro-Russian militants upon an office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Krasnyi Lyman on 12 April, but the building was later captured by the separatists after a skirmish. Insurgents affiliated with the Donbas People's Militia occupied
6600-401: The city of Debaltseve , which was the site of the most fierce fighting at the time of the plan's drafting. Following the Minsk talks, Chancellor Merkel, President Hollande, and President Poroshenko attended a European Union (EU) summit in Brussels . At the summit, the Minsk participants briefed EU leaders about the talks. During the briefing, they said that President Putin had tried to delay
6710-634: The city was still not under Ukrainian government control. On 22 April pro-Russian demonstrators in Kostiantynivka burned down the offices of a newspaper that had been critical of the DPR. On 21 April, demonstrators gathered for a 'people's assembly' outside the SBU building in Luhansk and called for a 'people's government', demanding either federalization or joining Russia. At this assembly, they elected Valery Bolotov as "People's Governor". Two referendums were announced, one to be held on 11 May to determine whether Luhansk region should seek greater autonomy, and another scheduled for 18 May to determine whether
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#17327655511346820-429: The city. In the week after the fall of Debaltseve to pro-Russian forces, fighting in the conflict zone abated. DPR and LPR forces began to withdraw artillery from the front lines as specified by Minsk II on 24 February, and Ukraine did so on 26 February. Ukraine reported that it had suffered no casualties during 24–26 February, something that had not occurred since early January 2015. The parliament of Ukraine approved
6930-555: The creation of separatist enclaves in Moldova and Georgia . Russia then processed to establish the narrative and negotiation position in order to trap the victims of Russian aggression and involve Western states in the logic of “frozen conflict” ( Umland & Essen). In the beginning of Summer 2014, Ukraine launched a counter-offensive , during which it initially reclaimed large parts of lost territory. Russia has been sending special forces operatives, irregulars and small groups of regular Russian forces until late August 2014, when for
7040-431: The elections would need to be postponed until 2016, as three months were required to prepare for them. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to use his influence to prevent the DPR and LPR from holding early elections. Accordingly, the DPR and LPR announced on 6 October that their planned elections had been postponed until 21 February 2016. Local elections in the rest of Ukraine went ahead on 25 October 2015. Following
7150-439: The fighting in the region and aimed to implement an immediate ceasefire . The agreement failed to stop fighting. At the start of January 2015, Russia sent another large batch of its regular military. Following the Russian victory at Donetsk International Airport in defiance of the Protocol, Russia repeated its pattern of August 2014, invaded with fresh forces and attacked Ukrainian forces at Debaltseve , where Ukraine suffered
7260-419: The first time Russia engaged large amount of unmarked regular military forces to help its proxies in Donbas. After losing the Ilovaisk , Ukraine was forced to sign the Minsk Protocol, or the Minsk I. By the end of August 2014, after defeating Ukraine at Ilovaisk, Russia saved its Donbas proxies from the defeat and showed that it will not allow Ukrainian military to take back occupied lands. The next for Russia
7370-457: The front line, release of prisoners of war, and constitutional reform in Ukraine. The full text of the agreement is as follows: The document was signed by: The new package, commonly referred to as "Minsk II", was criticised for being "highly complicated" and "extremely fragile", and for being very similar to the failed Minsk Protocol. The New York Times reported that the plan had "included some tripwires", such as not demarcating control over
7480-568: The implementation of a ceasefire by ten days, so as to force Ukrainian troops in Debaltseve to surrender their positions. For his part, President Putin said that the Debaltseve defenders were encircled, and that the separatists expected them "to lay down their arms and cease resistance". Kommersant reporter Andrey Kolesnikov wrote that implementation of the ceasefire in Debaltseve hinged upon whether or not Ukrainian forces were truly encircled, "Above all, does it exist or not? Vladimir Putin insisted that it [the encirclement] exists and that if
7590-454: The important railway and road junction of Debaltseve in late January. This renewed heavy fighting caused significant concern in the international community. Ukraine suffered another devastating defeat. French president François Hollande and German chancellor Angela Merkel put forth a new peace plan on 7 February. The Franco-German plan, drawn up after talks with Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and Russian president Vladimir Putin ,
7700-453: The influence of oligarchs , police brutality , and human rights violations . The protests culminated in February 2014 with clashes in Kyiv between protesters and Berkut special riot police, in which 108 protesters were killed . Yanukovych and the opposition signed an agreement on 21 February, but he secretly fled the city that evening. The following day, parliament voted to remove him from office . This series of events became known as
7810-430: The insurgents, but were forced to retreat after many men were wounded by insurgent fire. Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov said that the insurgents were led by a man with "an extensive beard". Some 30 militants seized the police headquarters in Konstantinovka on 28 April. The Internal Affairs Minister, Arsen Avakov , said on 24 April that Ukrainian troops had captured the city administration in Mariupol, after
7920-437: The invasion, Russia held illegitimate referendums on the Ukrainian territory it occupied, annexing the LPR and DPR as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, despite not controlling all of the area of any of these territories nor defining borders for them. Russia now thus views the LPR and DPR as a Republic of Russia , but the international community still overwhelmingly views them as About 14,000 people were killed in
8030-443: The law was "a vote for de facto recognition of the Russian occupation in Donbas". Vice-parliamentary speaker Andriy Parubiy said that law was "not for Putin or the occupiers", but to show Europe that Ukraine was willing to adhere to Minsk II. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said that the law was a "sharp departure from the Minsk agreements" because it demanded local elections under Ukrainian jurisdiction. Representatives of
8140-463: The legal status and commemoration of Ukraine's independence fighters in the twentieth century (№2538-1) and "On the condemnation of the communist and National Socialist (Nazi) totalitarian regimes in Ukraine and the prohibition of propaganda of their symbols" (№2558). In June 2018, Umland supported an open letter from cultural figures, politicians and human rights activists calling on world leaders to speak in defense of Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov ,
8250-607: The magazines from their assault rifles. These incidents led President Turchynov to say he would disband the 25th Airborne Brigade , although this was later cancelled. Three members of the Donbas People's Militia were killed, 11 wounded, and 63 were arrested after they attempted and failed to storm a National Guard base in Mariupol . On 20 April, separatists in Yenakiieve left the city administration building there, which they had occupied since 13 April. Despite this, by 27 May
8360-603: The militants. Others gathered outside the building and similarly voiced their support for the militants. They told Ukrainian journalists who were reporting on the situation to "go back to Kyiv ". Shtepa was later detained by the insurgents, and replaced by the self-proclaimed "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomarev . The pro-Russian militants killed a member of Solviansk town council, Volodymyr Ivanovych Rybak , as well as four other Ukrainians, including 25-year-old Yuri Dyakovsky and an unnamed 19-year-old man. Girkin took responsibility for these summary executions in 2020, even though in
8470-501: The occupied police station, but was received negatively and booed. Pro-Russian militants attempted to seize the police headquarters in Horlivka on 12 April, but were halted. Ukrainska Pravda reported that police said that the purpose of the attempted seizure was to gain access to a weapons cache. They said that they would use force if needed to defend the building from "criminals and terrorists". By 14 April militants had captured
8580-523: The postponement, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that if OSCE observers verified that the planned elections to be held in the separatist areas were in accordance with Ukrainian law and Minsk II, the "law on special status" for these areas would come into immediate effect. On 18 April 2016 the planned (organised by the DPR and LPR) local elections were postponed from 20 April to 24 July 2016. On 22 July 2016 these DPR and LPR elections were again postponed to 6 November 2016. On 2 October 2016
8690-417: The preceding years he and other pro-Russian militants had claimed Rybak had been released. The militants gained control of the city's police weapons cache and seized hundreds of firearms, which prompted the Ukrainian government to launch a "counter-terrorism" operation to retake the city. This government counter-offensive began on the morning of 13 April. An entrenched standoff between pro-Russian forces and
8800-421: The protocol consists of twelve points: The following representatives signed the document: Envoys of so-called DPR and LPR, Alexander Zakharchenko and Igor Plotnitsky , also signed the protocol, without "their self-declared functions" mentioned. In the two weeks after the Minsk Protocol was signed, there were frequent violations of the ceasefire by both parties to the conflict. Talks continued in Minsk , and
8910-440: The referendum took place, and then politically cooperate [with Ukraine] as equal partners". Despite this, representatives of the DPR and LPR continued to forward peace proposals to the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine . Ukrainian defence minister Stepan Poltorak said on 8 June 2015 that over 100 soldiers and at least 50 civilians had been killed since Minsk II came into effect. According to him, pro-Russian forces had violated
9020-403: The region should join Russia, or declare independence. Turchynov relaunched the stalled counter-offensive against pro-Russian insurgents on 22 April, after two men, one a local politician, were found "tortured to death". The politician, Volodymyr Rybak , was found dead near Sloviansk after having been abducted by pro-Russian insurgents. Turchynov said that "the terrorists who effectively took
9130-594: The region to separate from Ukraine. Pro-Russian protesters occupied the Donetsk Regional State Administration Building from 1 to 6 March 2014, before being removed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Pavel Gubarev , a member of the neo-Nazi group Russian National Unity , was proclaimed "people's governor" of Donetsk Oblast. On 6 April, 1,000–2,000 people gathered at a rally in Donetsk to demand
9240-564: The region. They issued an ultimatum that stated that if Kyiv did not meet their demands by 14:00 on 29 April, they would launch an insurgency in tandem with that of the Donetsk People's Republic . Andreas Umland Andreas Umland (born 1967) is a German political scientist studying contemporary Russian and Ukrainian history as well as regime transitions. He has published on the post-Soviet extreme right, municipal decentralization, European fascism, post-communist higher education, East European geopolitics, Ukrainian and Russian nationalism ,
9350-497: The regional government with a "people's mandate", and dismiss all elected regional councillors and members of parliament. As these demands were not met, the following day the activists held a meeting in the building and proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as an independent state. Unrest also began in Luhansk on 6 April, when hundreds of protesters attacked and laid siege to the SBU headquarters for six hours, demanding
9460-409: The regional state television network on 27 April. After capturing the broadcasting centre, the militants began to broadcast Russian television channels. The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) was declared on 27 April. Representatives of the Republic demanded that the Ukrainian government provide amnesty for all protesters, enshrine Russian as an official language, and hold a referendum on the status of
9570-481: The release of anti-government militants held there. They eventually stormed the building, releasing prisoners and seizing weapons. In response to the widening unrest, Acting Ukrainian President, Oleksandr Turchynov announced on 7 April that Ukraine would launch an "anti-terrorist operation". On 8 April, he signed a decree to take the Donetsk regional government buildings "under state protection". The Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov , said on 9 April that
9680-685: The separatist movement in Donetsk from April until August 2014, and were supported by volunteers and materiel from Russia. As the conflict escalated in May 2014, Russia employed a " hybrid approach", deploying a combination of disinformation, irregular fighters, regular Russian troops, and conventional military support to destabilize the Donbas. Between 12 April and 14 April, Russian-allied militants took control of government buildings in several towns and cities in Donetsk oblast, including Sloviansk , Mariupol , Horlivka , Kramatorsk , Yenakiieve , Makiivka , Druzhkivka , and Zhdanivka . On 12 April,
9790-541: The signing of Minsk II, that Russia maintained "command-and-control links" over the DPR and LPR, and that Russia was "pouring heavy weapons" into the Donbas. Deputy head of the OSCE mission in Ukraine Alexander Hug said on 25 March 2016 that the OSCE had observed "armed people with Russian insignia" fighting in Donbas from the beginning of the conflict, that they had talked to prisoners who said they were Russian soldiers, and that they had seen "tire tracks, not
9900-673: The south of Donetsk Oblast, fighting between DPR forces and members of the Azov Battalion continued in villages near Mariupol . By 16 February, Minsk II seemed on the verge of collapse. Separatists continued a heavy assault on Debaltseve. Both sides said that they would not withdraw heavy weaponry as specified by the agreement whilst fighting in Debaltseve was ongoing. Reuters described the ceasefire as "stillborn" in Debaltseve. Ukrainian forces were forced to retreat from Debaltseve on 18 February, leaving separatist forces in control of
10010-606: The start of the ceasefire, the 15 February. Russia denied this, and Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia could not assist in the implementation of Minsk II because it was "not a participant" in the conflict. Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh said that he reserved the right to continue fighting, and that Minsk II was unconstitutional. He said that his Ukrainian Volunteer Corps would continue fighting "until complete liberation of Ukrainian lands from Russian occupants", and promised "death to Russian terrorist-occupiers". DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko said that
10120-420: The state border to the Ukrainian government. While fighting subsided following the agreement's signing, it never ended completely, and the agreement's provisions were never fully implemented. The former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier suggested a mechanism of granting an autonomy to Eastern Donbas only after "the OSCE certified that the local elections had followed international standards", called
10230-503: The strategic town of Sloviansk was captured by a fifty-strong unit of heavily-armed pro-Russian militants. They attacked and occupied the town's administration building, police station, and SBU building, and set up roadblocks with the help of local armed activists. The unit were Russian Armed Forces 'volunteers' under the command of Russian GRU colonel Igor Girkin ('Strelkov'). They had been sent from Russian-occupied Crimea and wore no insignia . Girkin said that this action sparked
10340-402: The territory they had lost to Ukrainian forces during a July 2014 offensive , and that DPR forces would be willing to wage "heavy battles" to do so. Subsequently, Zakharchenko said that he had been misquoted, and that he had meant to say that these areas would be taken through "peaceful means". While campaigning in the lead-up to the 2 November elections held by the DPR and LPR in violation of
10450-476: The truce more than 4,000 times. Contrary to the agreement, DPR representative Denis Pushilin and LPR representative Vladislav Deinego said on 10 June 2015 that their republics "would like to join the Russian Federation". In addition, they said that they consider Crimea , which was annexed by Russia in March 2014, to be part of Russia. American Defense Department official Michael Carpenter said on 2 March 2016 that at least 430 Ukrainian soldiers had died since
10560-479: The unrest would be resolved within 48 hours, either through negotiations or the use of force. On 10 April, President Turchynov offered amnesty to the militants, if they laid down their arms, and also offered to hold referendums on autonomy. While the initial protests were largely native expressions of discontent with the new Ukrainian government, Russia took advantage of them to launch a coordinated political and military campaign against Ukraine. Russian citizens led
10670-419: The use of "law enforcement" at the time, but that "there was a limit" to how much the Ukrainian government would tolerate. In response to the spread of separatist control throughout Donetsk Oblast and the separatists' refusal to lay down their arms, Turchynov vowed to launch a military counter-offensive operation, called the "Anti-Terrorist Operation", against insurgents in the region by 15 April. On 13 April,
10780-462: The vehicles themselves, but the tracks of vehicles crossing the [Russo-Ukrainian] border". Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on 27 March 2016 that Russia was "not a party to the Minsk agreements", and that the agreements were "devoted to two conflicting sides". The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe however claims that
10890-500: The war being called a " frozen conflict ", but Donbas remained a war zone, with dozens killed monthly. In 2017, on average a Ukrainian soldier died every three days, with an estimated 40,000 separatist and 6,000 Russian troops in the region. By the end of 2017, OSCE observers had counted around 30,000 people in military gear crossing from Russia at the two border checkpoints it was allowed to monitor , and documented military convoys crossing from Russia covertly. All sides agreed to
11000-511: The war would not be frozen. "At the point where we are, we are not ready for a ceasefire. We explained that there will be no Minsk-3, Minsk-5, or Minsk-7. We will not play these games, we have lost part of our territories this way … it is a trap". Following the fall of Debaltseve in February 2015, about one-third of the Donbas region remained in separatist control. A few days before the 2022 Russian invasion , French president Emmanuel Macron and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken opined that
11110-468: The war: 6,500 Russian and Russian proxy forces, 4,400 Ukrainian forces, and 3,400 civilians on both sides. Most civilian casualties were in the first year. Despite being recognized as an independent country since 1991 , as a former USSR constituent republic, Ukraine was perceived by the leadership of Russia as part of its sphere of influence . In a 2002 paper Taras Kuzio stated "While accepting Ukrainian independence, Putin has sought to draw Ukraine into
11220-642: The whole Donetsk Oblast hostage have now gone too far". The Internal Affairs Ministry reported that the city of Sviatohirsk , near Sloviansk, was retaken by Ukrainian troops on 23 April. In addition, the Defence Ministry said it had taken control over all points of strategic importance in the area around Kramatorsk . On 24 April, 70 to 100 insurgents armed with assault rifles and rocket launchers attacked an armoury in Artemivsk. The depot housed around 30 tanks . Ukrainian troops attempted to fight off
11330-522: The work of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on resolving the situation in Ukraine's east. Leonid Kuchma met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on 28 July. In June 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin "agreed to pursue diplomacy related to the Minsk agreement." A Normandy Format meeting was planned between Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in Paris on 26 January 2022. Ukraine fulfilled Russia's condition for
11440-414: Was "in accordance with the Minsk agreements". According to Zakharchenko, this move meant that the DPR had "independently started to implement the Minsk agreements". Zakharchenko said that the elections would "take place 'on the basis of Ukraine's law on temporary self-rule status of individual districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions', in so far as they are not at variance with the constitution and laws of
11550-556: Was "to stabilize its gains". Ukraine wanted to prevent the military defeat from growing. Western governments were fearing of more escalations. The Minsk Protocol was drawn up by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine , which consisted of representatives from Ukraine, Russia , and the OSCE . Meetings of the group, along with informal representatives of the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, took place on 31 July, 26 August, 1 September, and 5 September 2014. The text of
11660-702: Was involved in the creation of a Master's program in German and European Studies administered jointly by the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Jena University . In January–December 2004, he was a Temporary Lecturer in Russian and East European Studies, at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of St.Antony's College Oxford. Umland was a German Academic Exchange Service Lecturer at the Institute of International Relations of Kyiv Shevchenko University , in 2005–2008, as well as department of political science of
11770-406: Was later found in a river in occupied Sloviansk on 22 April. The city administration building was seized on 30 April, solidifying separatist control over Horlivka. Other smaller towns, as well as government buildings, were seized by Russian-backed militants in the Donbas. In Artemivsk on 12 April, separatists failed to capture the local Ministry of Internal Affairs office, but instead captured
11880-496: Was scheduled for 11 February at the Independence Palace in Minsk , the capital of Belarus . It was attended by Russian president Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, German chancellor Angela Merkel, French president François Hollande, DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko , and LPR leader Igor Plotnitsky . Negotiations went on overnight for sixteen hours, and were said to have been "very difficult" by
11990-467: Was seen as a revival of the Minsk Protocol. President Hollande said that the plan was the "last chance" for resolution of the conflict. The plan was put forth in response to American proposals to send armaments to the Ukrainian government, something that Chancellor Merkel said would only result in a worsening of the crisis. A summit to discuss the implementation of the Franco-German diplomatic plan
12100-537: Was similarly captured on 18 April. Following the takeover, local police announced that they would co-operate with the activists. Arsen Avakov , the Minister of Internal Affairs, said on 9 April that the separatist problem would be resolved within 48 hours through either negotiations or the use of force. According to the Ukrinform state news agency, he said: "There are two opposite ways for resolving this conflict –
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