page_title: Battle of Kramatorsk
section_title: Events
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Kramatorsk / Events
caption_attribution_description: English: DPR checkpoint with a few members of the civilian-made "self-defense forces" in Kramatorsk.
context_page_description: An entrenched standoff between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic took place from 12 April until 5 July 2014. During the rising unrest in Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, the city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast came under the control of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic on 12 April. In an effort to retake the city, the Ukrainian government launched a counter-offensive against the separatist, who had taken up positions in the city. The DPR army units withdrew from city on 5 July, allowing Ukrainian forces to subsequently recapture the city, ending the standoff.
context_section_description: The standoff began on 12 April, when a group of separatists from the Donbass People's Militia attempted to capture a police station. A shootout with police followed, eventually leading to the capture of the building by the separatists. After capturing the building, they tore the Ukrainian coat of arms off the building, and raised the flag of the Donetsk People's Republic. The insurgents then issued an ultimatum stating that if the city's mayor and his subordinates did not swear allegiance to the People's Republic by Monday, they would "takeover the city council". A crowd of separatists later rallied around the city council building, entered it, and raised the flag of the People's Republic over it. A representative of the Donetsk People's Republic addressed locals outside the captured police station, but was received negatively by the crowd. On the outskirts of the city, some insurgents set up a checkpoint near a local military airfield.
caption: DPR checkpoint in Kramatorsk on 19 April 2014
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