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92-658: During the war in Donbas the Ukrainian authorities lost control over parts of Zolote to the self proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). Zolote-5 (formally named Maryvka) became under full control of the LPR. Zolote-4 (Patrizansky) and Zolote-3 (Stakhanovets) became situated in the " gray zone " between the warring parties. On 30 June 2018 the Ukrainian army took full control of Zolote-4, although Ukrainian activists stated that

184-574: A visa to enter Ukraine. During the first four months of the visa regime, ten visas were issued and seven Russian citizens entered Ukraine (mostly for humanitarian reasons). Since the start of the war in Donbas in April 2014 Ukraine lost (according to head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Viktor Nazarenko ) control of 409.3 kilometres (254.3 mi) of the state border in southeastern Ukraine. This stretch of land

276-508: 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

368-585: A decree that required Russian citizens and "individuals without citizenship, who come from migration risk countries” (more details were not given) to notify the Ukrainian authorities in advance about their reason for traveling to Ukraine. On 7 November 2018, the Criminal Code of Ukraine was amended to make an illegal crossing of the border into Ukraine "to harm the country's interest" punishable by imprisonment for up to three years. This refers to persons who are denied entry to Ukraine and members of units of

460-572: 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 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

552-620: A new independent state inherited the territory and the boundaries of the former Ukrainian SSR . At the time the Russia–Ukraine border was an administrative line, which was not delimited nor demarcated. Ukraine has been trying to establish a proper border since. The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances refers to three identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary on 5 December 1994. Among other things,

644-501: A plan called " Project Wall " through which it sought to erect a fortified border barrier along the rest of the international border, with the goal of blocking any further Russian incursions into the country. It was estimated that the barrier would cost around US$ 520 million and take four years to complete. Construction began in 2015, but was suspended due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. On 1 January 2018, Ukraine introduced biometric controls for Russian citizens entering

736-489: 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

828-689: 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

920-647: 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

1012-468: 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

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1104-449: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 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

1196-588: Is located in the Kerch Strait and administratively it is part of Crimea , Ukraine . During the Soviet period, the island along with Crimea was transferred to Ukraine in 1954; the fact which was also fiercely contested by several Russian politicians was the legal background of the territorial change. The main trade routes lay completely within the deeper part of the Kerch Strait which is located between

1288-511: Is now controlled by organizations better known as Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic . According to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine the number of Russian citizens who crossed the border with Ukraine (more than 2.5 million Russians in 2014) dropped by almost 50% in 2015. They also refused entry into Ukraine to 16,500 citizens of Russia in 2014 and to 10,800 Russians in 2015. According to

1380-527: Is to the north of this strait, passing it is on the Sea of Azov to the point on the coast which goes to the land border and so on to the tripoint with Belarus to the north. The Russia–Ukraine border has the biggest number of border checkpoints in Ukraine. A treaty on the demarcation of the common border between the foreign ministers of Ukraine and Russia was signed on 17 May 2010 and came into force on 29 July of

1472-721: 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

1564-545: 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

1656-860: 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

1748-420: 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

1840-747: 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

1932-559: 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

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2024-547: The Russo-Ukrainian War , the following border checkpoints were shut down. The section of the border between the Donetsk Oblast and Rostov Oblast has length of 178.5 km (110.9 mi). Since 16 March 2015, the Russia-Ukraine local border traffic agreement was unilaterally terminated by Ukraine citing national security. On 24 March 2015, the Ukrainian side informed that Russia temporarily froze

2116-539: The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine , the Ukrainian government did not control some 409.3 kilometres (254.3 mi) of the international border with Russia. This stretch of land was formerly controlled by pro-Russian separatists under the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic (see War in Donbas ), both of which were annexed by Russia in September 2022 , seven months after

2208-545: The de facto control of the Luhansk People's Republic on 23 June 2022. It was claimed that around 2,000 Ukrainian troops were surrounded in the town before its capture during the battle of Donbas . Ethnic composition and native language as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001 (this list contains Luhansk People's Republic controlled areas as well): This article about a location in Luhansk Oblast

2300-466: 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,

2392-667: The "Ukrainian governorates" (Chernihiv and Kharkiv) and the "Russian governorates" (Bryansk and Kursk) was left intact. It also was agreed that Ukraine would border Crimea at the Perekop Isthmus . On March 10, 1919, a border treaty was signed between the Russian SFSR and the Ukrainian SSR . On April 24, 1919, the Ukrainian SSR was stripped of four counties of the Chernihiv Governorate that on

2484-644: The ' Euromaidan ' protests began in response to Yanukovych's decision to abandon 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 ,

2576-716: 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

2668-693: The Don-Ukrainian Commission was created for the administration of the Taganrog Industrial District, based in Kharkiv . After the second invasion of the Soviet troops during the Russian Civil War in 1919, the new Soviet government of Ukraine intended to retain all territorial gains of the Ukrainian national government ( Ukrainian State ). However, after several rounds of negotiations, the border between

2760-568: 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

2852-640: The Kursk and Voronezh gubernia, which were home to a Ukrainian-speaking population. As a result of the border dispute of the 1920s, Ukraine was granted approximately one-third of the claimed territories, while the Taganrog and Shakhty districts went back to the RSFSR. By 1927, the administrative border between the RSFSR and Ukrainian SSR was established. In 1954, First Secretary of the Communist Party of

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2944-661: The Memorandum promised that its signatories (the Russian Federation, the United States of America, and the United Kingdom) would respect Ukraine's existing borders. The Treaty Between the Russian Federation and Ukraine on the Russian–Ukrainian State Border was signed by President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation on 28 January 2003. It defined

3036-499: 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

3128-476: The Russian Naval Base, in the city of Sevastopol , and its vicinity have not been clearly identified. In December 2018, Russia announced it completed the construction of the 60-km barrier across Perekop Isthmus between Ukraine and Crimea. On 1 January 2018, Ukraine introduced biometric controls for Russians entering the country. On 22 March 2018, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed

3220-458: The Russian armed forces or other law enforcement agencies, who try to cross the state border of Ukraine by any means beyond official checkpoints or at checkpoints without proper travel documents or documents containing inaccurate information. The same acts committed repeatedly or by a group of persons will entail imprisonment from three to five years. Imprisonment from five to eight years is foreseen for committing these acts combined with violence or

3312-695: The Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev transferred the peninsula of Crimea from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR . This event was viewed as an insignificant "symbolic gesture", as both republics were a part of the Soviet Union and answerable to the government in Moscow . Crimean autonomy was re-established after a referendum in 1991 , 11 months prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union . In 1991, Ukraine as

3404-556: The State Border Guard there were 1.5 million trips by Russians to Ukraine in 2017. The border has a length of 2,295.04 kilometres (1,426.07 mi) of which 1,974.04 kilometres (1,226.61 mi) is land border and 321 kilometres (199 mi) is sea border. It extends from a point in the Black Sea 22.5 kilometres (14.0 mi) south of the Kerch Strait , where the first contact the territorial waters of both states,

3496-475: 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

3588-460: 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

3680-583: The Ukrainian proposition, while any contested issues would be decided by plebiscite. Yet any further negotiations led nowhere and were terminated by the Ukrainian delegation in October 1918 as it was becoming apparent that the Russian was using their time more for the pro-Soviet propaganda. More productive were negotiations between the Don Republic and Ukraine that started soon after the Don Republic formed its government on 16 May 1918. The Don side

3772-644: The administrative-territorial division between the Ukrainian SSR and the Russian SFSR . The first real demarcation took place in May 1918 in Kursk . After the fall of the Russian Empire , several factions sought to create an independent Ukrainian state, alternately cooperating and struggling against each other. Most of Ukraine ( Ukrainian People's Republic ) was overrun by the Red Guards of Soviet Russia . With

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3864-441: The beginning of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine . Ukraine has also not had authority over the Kerch Strait since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea ; the Ukrainian administration was pushed out of Crimea and Russian checkpoints were set up at the boundary with Kherson Oblast . In 2014, as the Ukrainian government lost Crimea and a portion of the Donbas to Russia and Russian-backed separatists, respectively, it unveiled

3956-485: 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

4048-734: 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

4140-413: 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

4232-603: 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

4324-752: 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

4416-439: The country, albeit with room for exceptions on humanitarian grounds. Since 1 March 2020, Ukrainian citizens are required to use their " international passport " when crossing the Ukrainian border to enter Russia, but can continue to use their " internal passport " when returning to Ukraine. Prior to this law, Ukraine allowed the "internal passport" to be used for travel to Russia. The border has inherited its location from

4508-538: The country. On 22 March 2018, erstwhile Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko signed a decree into law that required all Russian visitors to inform Ukrainian authorities of their reason for travelling to Ukraine before their date of entry. On 7 November 2018, the Criminal Code of Ukraine was amended to make illegal border crossings by Russians into Ukraine ("to harm the country's interest") punishable by imprisonment for up to three years. Since 30 November 2018, Ukraine has banned all Russian males aged 16–60 from entering

4600-619: The disputed Crimean Peninsula . On 4 and 5 April 2022, units of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine retook control of their border crossing in Chernihiv Oblast . On 4 April, Sumy Oblast 's Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi stated that Russian troops no longer occupied any towns or villages in Sumy Oblast and had mostly withdrawn, while Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units. On 1 July 2022, Ukraine made it compulsory for Russian citizens to apply for

4692-519: The entire land border between the two states (shown in red), except for the point where it met the Belarusian border, which was agreed in a separate treaty. It was ratified by both states, and entered into force on 23 April 2004. However, maritime border wasn't delimitated over controversy concerning the waters of the Azov Sea and the Kerch Strait . A separate Russian–Ukrainian Friendship Treaty

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4784-510: The fighting sides a neutral territory between 10 and 40 km wide was established to prevent further aggression, but the Russian side decided to create guerrilla forces which were transformed into two "Ukrainian divisions" (see Nikolay Shchors ). Peace talks started on 23 May 1918 in Kyiv , where the Russian delegation was headed by Christian Rakovsky and Dmitry Manuilsky , while the Ukrainian - by Serhiy Shelukhin  [ uk ] ( Ambassador of Ukraine to Russia ). On June 12, 1918,

4876-427: The gubernatorial division of the Russian Empire. The Don-Ukraine border outlined the Oblast of Don Host to the west of the Don Republic and Yekaterinoslav, Kharkiv, Voronezh guberniyas to the east of Ukraine. To Ukraine also was ceded some territory of the right bank of the Kalmius river just east of Mariupol "to ensure the proper administration of the city and port". On September 18, 1918, between Don and Ukraine

4968-399: The help of the Central Powers , Ukraine managed to recover all its territories of "Ukrainian governorates" and also annexed a number of neighboring counties of Kursk and Voronezh governorates where the ethnic composition of the population was predominantly Ukrainophone (Ukrainian-speaking). On 6 May 1918, a ceasefire agreement was signed in Konotop between Ukraine and Soviet Russia. Between

5060-453: 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

5152-430: 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

5244-437: 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

5336-404: The island and Crimea and is considered a part of the territorial waters of Ukraine. On the other hand, ships are impeded to travel to the east of the island (towards the Taman peninsula ) due to the fact that there are shallow waters. Between Tuzla and the Taman peninsula, there are two channels; however, none of them are deeper than 3 m (9.8 ft). Fishing spawn also mainly takes place in

5428-408: The local border traffic within the territory of Kharkiv, Sumy and Luhansk regions of Ukraine adjacent to Belgorod and Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation. Local BCPs "Zhuravlivka" and "Oleksandrivka" (Kharkiv region) were exceptions. Simplified local border crossing was allowed for the 2015 Easter holidays in Stanytsia-Luhanska , Milove , Troitske , Novopskov and Bilovodsk raions of

5520-493: 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

5612-603: 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

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5704-446: 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

5796-406: The ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War , which began in early 2014, the de facto border between Russia and Ukraine is different from the legal border recognized by the United Nations . As of 2024 , Russia is militarily occupying a significant portion of Ukraine . Whereas, Ukraine is militarily occupying a very small portion of Russia . According to a 2016 statement by Viktor Nazarenko , the head of

5888-425: The other hand, considers the Crimea to be a federal subject of Russia and Sevastopol to be one of Russia's three federal cities . Since 1991, Russia also leases Sevastopol Naval Base with the current lease extending to the 2040s with an option for another extension, but the Russian State Duma approved the denunciation of this lease agreements unanimously by 433 members of parliament on 31 March 2014. Borders of

5980-417: 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

6072-403: 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

6164-422: 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

6256-432: 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 . Russia%E2%80%93Ukraine border The Russia–Ukraine border is the de jure international boundary between Russia and Ukraine . Over land, the border spans five Russian oblasts and five Ukrainian oblasts . Due to

6348-443: 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

6440-409: 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

6532-481: 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

6624-405: The same year. At that time, Ukraine intended to start work on the demarcation of the border upon ratification of the agreement by the respective governments, but ratification was not completed. However 16 June 2014 the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine ordered the government to carry out a one-side demarcation of the border "in terms of existing threats to national security"; amidst

6716-636: 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,

6808-411: The sides signed a preliminary peace treaty . Further negotiations stalled due to a lack of consensus on the issue of the borders. The Ukrainian side was proposing an ethnic principle based on the already established political, geographical, and economic aspects, while the Russian side insisted on conducting a plebiscite in each populated place. On 22 June 1918, both sides finally agreed to go along with

6900-503: 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

6992-417: The territorial waters of Ukraine, which is favorable for the fishing industry of Crimea. The intensity of the conflict increased due to the forecast of locations of oil and gas in the area and the lack of an established and ratified international border between Russia and Ukraine. On the proposition of the Russian side, it was offered for the border to stretch along the bed of the territorial waters while sharing

7084-670: The unilateral decision of the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the Russian SFSR were transferred to the newly created Gomel Governorate . On April 28, 1919, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine simply acknowledged it. After the USSR was formally created in 1922 and due to the onset of the administrative division reform, issues emerged. The Ukrainian government claimed mainly some parts of

7176-479: 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

7268-419: 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,

7360-580: The use of the Azov Sea and Kerch Strait waters. Since the March 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia, the status of the Crimea and of the city of Sevastopol is currently under dispute between Russia and Ukraine ; Ukraine, and the majority of the international community, consider the Crimea to be an autonomous republic of Ukraine, and Sevastopol to be one of Ukraine's cities with special status . Russia, on

7452-435: The use of weapons. Since 30 November 2018, Ukraine bans all Russian men between 16 and 60 from entering the country with exceptions for humanitarian purposes. Ukraine claims this is a security measure to prevent Russia from forming units of “private” armies on Ukrainian soil. On 24 February 2022, Russian forces crossed the border in a full-scale invasion of Ukraine . Russian forces also entered Ukraine from Belarus and

7544-511: The village takeover was staged, as according to them Ukrainian soldiers had been in the zone since 2014. On 7 October 2014, to facilitate the governance of Luhansk Oblast, the Verkhovna Rada made some changes in the administrative divisions, so that the localities in the government-controlled areas were grouped into districts. Among other changes, Zolote was transferred from Pervomaisk Municipality to Popasna Raion . Zolote came under

7636-500: 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

7728-412: 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. In 2011, Ukrainian Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts had a combined population of 6,1mln. As a result of Russian military aggression in 2014, 2 million had to leave the region as refugees. Despite being recognized as an independent country since 1991 , as

7820-642: 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

7912-504: The worst fighting of the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine . Starting in May 2015, Ukraine had been building a fortified border barrier on the Russia–Ukraine border, popularly known as the " Yatseniuk 's Wall". The project aimed to prevent Russian military and hybrid warfare intervention in Ukraine. As of May 2015, a walled defense system was under construction along the Russian border in Kharkiv Oblast . The project

8004-628: Was deliberately employed by the Yanukovych administration is promoting 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,

8096-406: 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

8188-476: Was planned to be finished in 2018. In June 2020 the State Border Guard of Ukraine expected that the project would be finished by 2025. However, construction work on the wall was stopped when Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The section of the border between the Chernihiv Oblast and Bryansk Oblast has length of 183 km (114 mi). Notes: Notes: Notes: During

8280-600: Was presented by the Minister of trade Vladimir Lebedev and the Ambassador of Don to Ukraine General Aleksandr Cheriachukin , while the Ukrainian side - by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Doroshenko . On 8 August 1918, the sides signed the treaty "About Basic Principles of Bilateral Relations", wherein each side agreed to renounce its territorial contests against the other, and borders were established based on

8372-460: Was signed in 1997, which included the recognition of existing borders. The treaty prevented Ukraine and Russia from invading one another's country respectively, and declaring war. After Russia invaded Crimea in 2014, Ukraine announced that it would not renew the treaty again when it expired in September 2018. The treaty consequently expired on 31 March 2019. The island Tuzla Spit became a major dispute between Russia and Ukraine in 2003. The island

8464-481: 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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