War in Donbas
April 12, 2014 – February 24, 2022 · Luhansk Oblast
Russian-backed separatists rose against Ukraine in the eastern Donbas, seized territory and proclaimed breakaway states. Ukrainian forces failed to retake it, and Russia's direct involvement grew until the 2022 full-scale invasion absorbed the war.
Russia
Ukraine
Other
Strength and losses
- Strength
- 40,000–45,000
- Killed
- 6,500
- Wounded
- 15,800–16,200
- Strength
- 64,000
- Killed
- 4,535
- Wounded
- 13,800–14,200
- Missing
- 70
Units
Russian Armed Forces
31st Guards Air Assault Brigade
137th Guards Airborne Regiment
Russian Ground Forces
136th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
18th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
21st Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
Russian separatist forces in Ukraine
114th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
5th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
6th Separate Guards Cossack Motor Rifle Brigade
Prizrak Brigade
Pyatnashka Brigade
60th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Battalion
Sparta Battalion
110th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
14th Separate Guards Artillery Brigade
1st Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
3rd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade
4th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
Russian Air Force
Armed Forces of Ukraine
Ukrainian Ground Forces
53rd Mechanized Brigade
57th Motorized Brigade
93rd Mechanized Brigade
22nd Motorized Infantry Battalion (Ukraine)
39th Motorized Infantry Battalion (Ukraine)
40th Motorized Infantry Battalion (Ukraine)
Ukrainian Volunteer Army
Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps
11th Public Order Brigade
15th Operational Brigade
17th Poltava Brigade
21st Public Order Brigade
23rd Public Order Brigade
25th Airborne Brigade
27th Pechersk Brigade
2nd Galician Brigade (Ukraine)
31st Public Order Brigade
36th Marine Brigade
3rd Operational Brigade
46th Airmobile Brigade
54th Mechanized Brigade
58th Motorized Brigade
5th Slobozhanska Brigade
72nd Mechanized Brigade
80th Air Assault Brigade
81st Airmobile Brigade
Azov Brigade
Pomsta Brigade
19th Public Order Regiment (Ukraine)
45th Operational Regiment (Ukraine)
501st Separate Naval Infantry Battalion
Dnipro-1 Regiment
1st Serhii Kulchytskyi Battalion (Ukraine)
Donbas Battalion
Dzhokhar Dudayev Battalion
Sheikh Mansur Battalion
Sich Battalion
Izmail Border Detachment
Sumy Border Detachment
Svitiaz Company (Ukraine)
Ukrainian Air Force
Alpha Group (Ukraine)
51st Guards Combined Arms Army
Operational Command East
Special Operations Forces (Ukraine)
Territorial Defence Forces (Ukraine)
Ukrainian Air Assault Forces
79th Air Assault Brigade
95th Air Assault Brigade
90th Airmobile Battalion (Ukraine)
106th Guards Airborne Division
27th Guards Motor Rifle Division
47th Tank Division (Russia)
71st Guards Motor Rifle Division
76th Guards Air Assault Division
7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division
98th Guards Airborne Division
128th Mountain Assault Brigade
12th Operational Brigade
17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade
28th Mechanized Brigade
30th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine)
37th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade
40th Tactical Aviation Brigade
51st Guards Mechanized Brigade
104th Guards Air Assault Regiment
247th Guards Air Assault Regiment
331st Guards Airborne Regiment
Georgian Legion (Ukraine)
Luhansk Assault Regiment
Special Operations Center "West" (Ukraine)
1st Air Force Combined Rifles Brigade
Battles and events 9
- Siege of Sloviansk April 12 – July 5, 2014 · Ukrainian victory
- Battle of Kramatorsk April 12 – July 5, 2014 · Ukrainian victory
- Battle of Mariupol (May–June 2014) May 6 – June 14, 2014 · Government victory
- Siege of the Luhansk border base June 2–4, 2014 · Luhansk People's Republic victory
- Battle of Ilovaisk August 10 – September 2, 2014
- Battle of Debaltseve January 16 – February 20, 2015 · DPR and LPR victory
- January 2015 Mariupol rocket attack January 24, 2015
- Battle of Marinka (2015) June 3, 2015 · Withdrawal of DPR militia
- Battle of Avdiivka (2017) January 29 – February 4, 2017 · Ceasefire
Also involved 20
- Dmitry Trapeznikov
- Valery Bolotov
- Vladimir Zhoga
- Igor Kakidzyanov
- Olexander Tarnavskyi
- Aleksey Mozgovoy
- Arsen Pavlov
- Mikhail Tolstykh
- Viktor Muzhenko
- Semen Semenchenko
- Andrii Kovalchuk
- Oleh Mikats
- Yevhen Moisiuk
- Eduard Moskaliov
- Serhiy Shaptala
- Valery Gerasimov
- Mikhail Teplinsky
- Valerii Zaluzhnyi
- Oleksandr Syrskyi
- Dmytro Yarosh












