page_title: Separatist forces of the war in Donbass
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Separatist forces of the war in Donbass / History
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Протесты в Донецке
context_page_description: Separatist forces of the War in Donbass, or the United Armed Forces of Novorossiya, is the umbrella name for the militias and armed volunteer groups affiliated with the unrecognized political union called Novorossiya. It consists of the Donbass People's Militia, the Luhansk People's Militia and autonomous armed groups. They are regarded as terrorist groups by the Government of Ukraine.
  The Donbass People's Militia was formed by Pavel Gubarev, who was elected "People's Governor" of Donetsk Oblast by a mob of pro-Russian protesters. It was originally involved in taking control of Ukrainian government buildings in the Donetsk Oblast. Tensions increased to the point of the militia being actively involved in fighting a war against the Ukrainian government in the Donbass region of Ukraine. The militia was accused by the Ukrainian government of culpability in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on 17 July 2014, but the Donetsk People's Republic disputed this claim. The militias of the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic merged into one group on 16 September 2014, forming the "United Armed Forces of Novorossiya".
context_section_description: On 3 March 2014, during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, groups of protesters took control of the regional administration building in Donetsk. A newly created armed opposition group named the Donbass People's Militia participated in it and was led by Pavel Gubarev. This happened when 11 Ukrainian cities with significant populations of ethnic Russians erupted in demonstrations against the new Ukrainian government. On 6 April 2014, 2,000 pro-Russian protesters rallied outside the regional administration building. On the same day, groups of protesters in Eastern Ukraine stormed the regional administration building in Kharkiv, and the SBU headquarters in Luhansk. The groups created a people's council and demanded a referendum like in Crimea. Within a few days, several government buildings in cities such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk were also stormed. On 12 April, the supporters of the Donetsk People's Republic and members of Donbass People's Militia set up checkpoints and barricades in Sloviansk. The same day, former members of the Donetsk "Berkut" unit joined the ranks of the Donbass People's Militia.
  On 13 April, the newly established Ukrainian government gave the separatists a deadline to disarm or face a "full-scale anti-terrorist campaign" in the region. Later that day, the first reports of fighting was reported between the people's militia and Ukrainian troops near Sloviansk, with casualties on both sides. On 14 April, members of the Donbass People's Militia blocked Ukrainian military KrAZ truck's armed with Grad missiles from entering the city.
  On 15 April, a full scale "Anti-Terrorist Operation" was launched by the Ukrainian government with aim of restoring their authority over the areas seized by the militia.
  On 16 April, the militia entered Sloviansk with six BMD airborne amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicles they obtained from parts of the 25th Airborne Brigade who had switched allegiance. The "occupants" were disarmed after the vehicles were blockaded by locals. The militia also received one self-propelled 120 mm mortar 2S9 "Nona-S" On April 20, an unidentified armed group in civilian clothes attacked a Militia checkpoint at the entrance to the city of Sloviansk. Three attackers and three members of Militia were killed. On May 14, eight members of Militia seized an IMR armored vehicle from Novokramatorsky Mashinostroitelny Zavod.
  On May 15, the Donbass People's Militia sent an ultimatum to Kiev. They ordered the withdraw all Ukrainian troops from Donetsk oblast. On May 17, several members of the militia seized two BRDM unarmed armored vehicles from  Severodonetsk and Lysychansk (Luhansk Oblast) On May 22, the Federal State of Novorossiya was declared. On May 23, several members of people's militia seized another BRDM-RKh unarmed armored vehicle from Loskutovka (Luhansk Oblast)
  The militia were widely suspected to be involved in the downing of a civilian airliner, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, on 17 July 2014.
  On August 8, the militia claimed that after battles near border with Russia, they captured 67 pieces of equipment with varying status (serviceable equipment without ammunition and fuel, with faults, damaged in battle and completely unusable), including 18 multiple rocket launching systems "Grad", 15 tanks and armored personnel carriers, howitzers, MANPADS, etc. As of August 12, the militia has at least 200 armored vehicles.
  The months of July and early August were disastrous for the militias with many analysts saying they were on the verge of defeat before a sudden counteroffensive, which the Ukrainian Government claims was supported by Russian troops, encircled thousands of Ukrainian troops and forced them into a retreat. The militias soon re-captured several strategic positions such as Savur-Mohyla and Luhansk International Airport. The armies of both the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) merged on 16 September 2014 to form the "United Armed Forces of Novorossiya".
  On 2 February 2015, Head of the DPR, Alexander Zakharchenko, announced that there would be a gen
caption: Pro-Russian rally in Donetsk on April 6, 2014
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