Ukrainian officials said that Russia had allowed tanks to cross the Russo-Ukrainian border into

Donetsk Oblast on 11 June. Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov said "we have observed
columns passing with armoured personnel carriers, other armoured vehicles and artillery pieces,
and tanks which, according to our information, came across the border and this morning were
in Snizhne". He continued by saying Ukrainian forces had destroyed part of the column, and that
fighting was still under way. Reuters correspondents confirmed the presence of three tanks in
Donetsk city, and the US State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research also said that
Russia had indeed sent tanks, along with other heavy weapons, to the separatists in Ukraine.
[309]

The weapons sent are said to include: a column of three T-64 tanks, several BM-21

Grad multiple rocket launchers, and other military vehicles. "Russia will claim these tanks were
taken from Ukrainian forces, but no Ukrainian tank units have been operating in that area," the
State Department said in a statement. "We are confident that these tanks came from
Russia."[310] The newly elected Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, said that it was
"unacceptable" for tanks to be crossing into Ukraine. Russia called the reports "another fake
piece of information."[311] Nevertheless, the three tanks were later spotted moving
through Makiivka andTorez, flying the flag of the Russian Federation.[312] Insurgents confirmed
that they had obtained three tanks, but leaders refused to elaborate on how they acquired them;
one militant told reporters that they originated "from a military warehouse." [313][314] The president of
the DPR, Denis Pushilin, stated that the three tanks would be stationed in Donetsk city, and that
they gave his forces "at least some hope of defending [Donetsk] because heavy weapons are
already being used against us."[314][315] Konstantin Mashovets, a former Ukrainian Defence Ministry
official, said the tanks had likely been seized by Russian forces in Crimea before making their
way into mainland Ukraine. Anton Heraschenko, an advisor to Arsen Avakov, confirmed at a
briefing in Kiev that the tanks were once in the possession of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
in Crimea, and that they had been transferred by sea to Russia before crossing the border into
Ukraine.[316][317]

BTR-80 in Ukrainian service, 12 June 2014

On the day after the tank incursion, three soldiers were killed when they were ambushed by
insurgents in Stepanivka.[318] Heavy fighting resumed during the morning of 13 June, when the
government launched a new attack against insurgents in Mariupol. Ukrainian troops managed to
recapture the city, and declared it the "provisional capital" of Donetsk Oblast until the government

regains control over Donetsk city.[319] Meanwhile, an agreement between the Minister of Internal
Affairs, Arden Avakov, and the president of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, meant to create a ceasefire
and allow civilians to escape the violence in Sloviansk failed, with both sides blaming each other
for launching new attacks.[320] During the next morning, a convoy of border guardsmen was
attacked by insurgents while passing Mariupol, leaving at least five of the guardsmen dead. [321]
Main article: First Battle of Donetsk Airport
On the morning of 26 May, 200 pro-Russian insurgents, including members of the Vostok
Battalion, captured the main terminal of the Donetsk International Airport, erected roadblocks
around it, and demanded that government forces withdraw.[271] Soon after these demands were
issued, the Ukrainian National Guard issued an ultimatum to the separatists, asking them to
surrender. This was subsequently rejected. Government forces then launched an assault on
separatist positions at the airport with paratroopers and airstrikes.[272][273] Attack helicopters were
also used by government forces. They targeted a separatist-operated anti-aircraft gun. [274] An
estimated forty insurgents died in the fighting, with some civilians caught in the crossfire. [275][276]
[277]

Between fifteen and thirty-five insurgents were killed in a single incident, when two lorries

carrying wounded fighters away from airport were destroyed in an ambush by government
forces.[278][279]
During the fighting at the airport, Druzhba Arena in Donetsk city was ransacked by pro-Russian
insurgents, who looted the building and destroyed surveillance equipment, and set it ablaze. [277]
[280]

Concurrently, Donetsk police said the insurgents had killed two policemen in the nearby town

of Horlivka. The Moscow Times reported that the two men had been executed for "breaking their
oath to the Donetsk People's Republic".[277][281]
Luhansk People's Republic-affiliated insurgents attacked a Ukrainian National Guard unit in the
early hours of 28 May.[282] RIA Novosti reported that eighty National Guard members subsequently
surrendered to the insurgents,[283] whilst the National Guard issued a statement that said "there
have been losses both in the ranks of the military unit and the attacking side." [282] At least one
separatist and one soldier died in the fighting.[283][284]

Escalation in May and June[edit]

Mykhailo Koval, the Minister of Defence, said on 30 May that Ukrainian government forces had
"completely cleared" the insurgents from the southern and western parts of Donetsk Oblast and
the northern part of Luhansk Oblast.[285] On the same day, six insurgents were killed while
attempting to retrieve the bodies of their comrades at the site of the airport battle. A spokesman
for the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that two new attacks on the airport had been repelled, with
no injuries among government forces.[286]Meanwhile, an internal coup replaced the leadership of

the Donetsk People's Republic, and some bodies of Russian fighters killed in the airport battle
were repatriated back to Russia.[287]
Luhansk border post siege[edit]
Main article: Siege of the Luhansk Border Base
Two separatists were killed in a skirmish with Ukrainian border guards on 31 May.[288] Two days
later, five separatists were killed when 500 separatists attacked a border post in Luhansk Oblast.
Eleven border guards and eight separatists were wounded during the fighting, [289][290] which also
killed one civilian.[291] On the same day, between seven and eight people were killed in an
explosion at the occupied RSA building in Luhansk city.[292][293] Separatists blamed the incident on a
government airstrike, but Ukrainian officials denied this, and claimed that the explosion was
caused by a stray surface-to-air missile fired by insurgents.[294][295] The OSCE published a report on
the next day, stating that based on "limited observation", they believed that the explosion was
caused by an airstrike, verifying separatist claims.[296] The Armed Forces of Ukraine later admitted
launching over 150 airstrikes on the day of the explosion in the Luhansk area. [293]
Continued fighting[edit]
Vostok Battalion members dismantling the barricade at Donetsk RSA on 3 June

Government forces destroyed a separatist stronghold in Semenivka, and regained control

of Krasnyi Lyman on 3 June.[297] Two soldiers were killed in the fighting, and forty-five were
wounded. A spokesman for the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that 300 insurgents were killed
during the operation, and that 500 were wounded. Insurgents said they lost between ten and fifty
men.[298][299] They said that at least twenty-five were killed while in hospital at Krasnyi Lyman.
[300]

None of these reports were independently confirmed, and both sides denied the other's

accounts of the battle.[298][301][302]

On the next day, insurgents captured the besieged Luhansk border post, as well as a National
Guard base near Luhansk city. The fighting in these areas left six insurgents dead, and three
government soldiers wounded. Another border post was captured by the insurgents
inSverdlovsk.[303] The National Guard base fell after guardsmen ran out of ammunition.
Separatists had earlier seized vast quantities of munitions from the captured border post. [304]
Another border post was attacked on 5 June, in the village of Marynivka.[305] Government officials
said that between fifteen and sixteen insurgents were killed and that five soldiers were injured as
well.[306][307] A shootout between rival separatist groups in Donetsk city took place on 7 June, near
the Donetsk RSA. The vice-president of the Donetsk People's Republic, Maxim Petrukhin, was
killed in the fighting, and president Denis Pushilin was wounded.[308]

It was reported on 12 May that, following the local autonomy referendum, the Donbass People's
Militia leader Igor Girkin declared himself "Supreme Commander" of the Donetsk People's
Republic. In his decree, he demanded that all military stationed in the region swear an oath of
allegiance to him within 48 hours, and said that all remaining Ukrainian military in the region
would be "destroyed on the spot." He then petitioned the Russian Federation for military support
to protect against "the threat of intervention by NATO" and "genocide."[242][243][244][245] Pavel Gubarev,
president of Donetsk People's Republic, instituted martial law on 15 May, and vowed for "total
annihilation" of Ukrainian forces if they did not pull out of the Donbass by 21:00. Similarly, the
president of the Luhansk People's Republic, Valery Bolotov, declared martial law on 22 May.[246]
The Donetsk-based steel magnate Rinat Akhmetov called on his 300,000 employees within the
Donetsk region to "rally against separatists" on 20 May. Sirens sounded at noon at his factories
to signal the beginning of the rally.[247] A so-called "Peace March" was held in the Donbass
Arena in Donetsk city, accompanied by cars sounding their horns at noon. [248] BBC
News and Ukrayinska Pravda reported that some vehicles were attacked by separatists, and that
gunmen had warned the offices of several city taxi services not to take part. [248][249] In response to
Akhmetov's refusal to pay taxes to the Donetsk People's Republic, on 20 May the chairman of
the State Council of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, announced that the Republic would attempt to
nationalise Akhmetov's assets.[250] On 25 May, between 2,000 to 5,000 protesters marched to
Akhmetov's mansion in Donetsk city, and demanded the nationalisation of Akhmetov's property,
while chanting "Akhmetov is an enemy of the people!". [251][252]
Eighteen soldiers were killed during an insurgent attack upon an army checkpoint near the city
of Volnovakha, on 22 May.[253] Three armoured personnel carriers and several lorries were
destroyed in the attack, whilst one insurgent was killed.[254][255] On the same day, a convoy
consisting of one-hundred soldiers attempted to cross a bridge at Rubizhne, near Luhansk, and
advance into insurgent-held territory.[256] They were ambushed by a group of between 300 and
500 insurgents. After fighting that lasted throughout the day, the soldiers were forced to retreat.
Between two and fourteen soldiers, and seven and twenty insurgents were killed during the
fighting. Three army infantry combat vehicles and one lorry were destroyed, and another three
armoured vehicles were captured by the insurgents. [256][257][258] The Internal Affairs Ministry stated
that some insurgents had attempted to enter Luhansk Oblast from Russia, but had been repelled
by border guards.[259]
Following a declaration by Pavel Gubarev establishing the "New Russia Party" on 22 May,
representatives of the Donetsk and Luhansk republics signed an agreement creating
the confederative state of New Russia. Separatists planned to incorporate most of Ukraine's
southern and eastern regions into the new confederation, including the key cities
ofKharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia and Odessa.[260] The declaration signed
established the position of Russian Orthodoxy as the state religion and an intention to nationalise
key industries.[261]

Separatist barricade in Luhansk city

A unit of the pro-government Donbas Battalion volunteer paramilitary attempted to advance on a

separatist checkpoint near the village ofKarlivka, northwest of Donetsk city, on 23 May.[262][263] They
were ambushed by a group of between 150 and 200 separatists, supported by one of the
captured armoured personnel carriers. The pro-government paramilitary was surrounded by the
separatists, and outnumbered six to one, until fighters affiliated with the nationalist Right
Sector broke through the separatist lines to allow some members of the group to escape. [263] Five
members of the Donbas Battalion were killed, along with four separatists. [263][264][265] Twenty of the
pro-government paramilitaries were wounded, and at least four were captured. The involvement
of Right Sector was disputed by the leadership of the Donbas Battalion. [266] Pro-Russian
leader Igor Bezler said that he executed all of the captured paramilitaries. [267] Another separatist
leader confirmed four of their fighters were killed, and also said that ten pro-government
paramilitaries and two civilians died.[257] During the same day, two pro-Russian separatists were
killed during an assault by the pro-government "Ukraine Battalion" paramilitary on an occupied
local government building in Torez.[268][269][270]

Arsen Avakov, the Minister of Internal Affairs, said on 9 April that the separatist problem would be
resolved within forty-eight hours, through either negotiations or the use of force. "There are two
opposite ways for resolving this conflict a political dialogue and the heavy-handed approach.
We are ready for both," he said, according to the Ukrinform state news agency. At the time,
President Oleksandr Turchynov had already signed a decree which called for the Donetsk
Regional State Administration building, which had been occupied by separatists, to be taken
"under state protection".[139][140] He offered amnesty to any separatists who laid down their arms
and surrendered.[210] By 11 April, the Prime Minister, Arseniy Yatsenyuk, said that he was against
the use of "law enforcement" at the time, but that "there was a limit" to how much the Ukrainian
government would tolerate.[211]
In response to the spread of separatist control throughout Donetsk Oblast, and the refusal of the
separatists to lay down their arms, Turchynov vowed to launch a military counter-offensive
operation against insurgents in the region on 15 April. [138][212] As part of the counter-offensive,

Ukrainian troops re-took the airfield in Kramatorsk after a skirmish with members of the Donbass
People's Militia. At least four people died as a result.[213]
After the Armed Forces of Ukraine re-took the airfield, the commanding general of the unit that
had retaken it, Vasyliy Krutov, was surrounded by hostile protesters who demanded to know why
the Ukrainian troops had fired upon local residents. [214] 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.[214] Krutov later told reporters that "if they [the separatists] do not lay down
their arms, they will be destroyed".[215]

Ukrainian military roadblocks in Donetsk oblast

Donbass People's Militia insurgents entered Sloviansk on 16 April, along with six armoured
personnel carriers they claimed to have obtained from the 25th Airborne Brigade, which had
surrendered in the city of Kramatorsk.[216][217][218][219] Reports say members of the brigade were
disarmed after the vehicles were blocked from passing by angry locals. [220] In another incident,
several hundred residents of the village of Pchyolkino, south of Sloviansk, surrounded another
column of fourteen Ukrainian armoured vehicles. Following negotiations the troops were allowed
to drive their vehicles away, but only after agreeing to surrender the magazines from their assault
rifles.[220]These incidents led President Turchynov to disband the 25th Airborne Brigade. [221] Three
members of the Donbass People's Militia were killed, eleven wounded, and sixty-three were
arrested after they attempted and failed to storm a National Guard base in Mariupol.[222][223]
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". [224][225] 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 the whole Donetsk Oblast
hostage have now gone too far".[224]The Internal Affairs Ministry reported that the city of
Sviatogorsk, near Sloviansk, was retaken by Ukrainian troops on 23 April. [226] In addition, the
Defence Ministry said it had taken control over all points of strategic importance in the area
around Kramatorsk.[227]

Pro-separatist rally in Sloviansk, 9 May 2014

The Internal Affairs Minister, Arsen Avakov, said on 24 April that Ukrainian troops had captured
the city administration in Mariupol, after a clash with pro-Russian demonstrators there.[228]
[229]

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 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".[228]
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.[230] Russian forces had mobilised within 10 kilometres (6 14 mi) of the Ukrainian border.
[230]

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.[231] By 6 May, fourteen
Ukrainian troops had died and sixty-six had been injured in the fighting. [232]

Standoff between pro-Russian locals and Ukrainian forces in Mariupol, 9 May 2014

Early in the morning on 7 May, the National Guard retook the city administration in Mariupol after
heavy fighting with insurgents overnight.[233][234] Anti-government demonstrators said that
government forces had used a "toxic gas" during the operation, resulting in injuries when the
demonstrators tried to re-occupy the building after the National Guard withdrew.[235] By 7 May, the
flag of the DPR was once again flying over the building. [235]
Ukrainian troops launched another attack on insurgents in Mariupol on 9 May. During an assault
on an occupied police building, that building was set alight by government forces, causing the
insurgents to flee.[236] Arsen Avakov said that sixty insurgents attacked the police building, not

Ukrainian troops, and that the police and other government forces had managed to repel the
insurgents. Between six and twenty militants were killed, along with one police officer.[237] Four
militants were captured, and five policemen were wounded.[238]One armoured personnel carrier
was captured by pro-Russian protesters during the fighting. After the clashes, pro-Russian forces
built barricades across the city center.[237] Concurrently, Ukrainian National News said that
separatists attempted to disarm Ukrainian troops near Donetsk. The troops resisted by firing
warning shots, and arresting one-hundred of the separatists.[239] Also, an unnamed Ukrainian
Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)priest attempted to negotiate with separatists
near Druzhkivka, but was later killed after being shot eight times.[240] This was confirmed by the
Church and the Prosecutor's Office.[241]
Donetsk People's Republic activists took control of the city administration building in Mariupol on
13 April.[170][171] The Ukrainian government claimed to have "liberated" the building on 24 April, but
this was denied by locals interviewed by the BBC near the building.[172]
Clashes between government forces and pro-Russian groups escalated in early May, when the
city administration building was briefly retaken by the Ukrainian National Guard. The pro-Russian
forces quickly took the building back.[173] Militants then launched an attack on a local police
station, leading the Ukrainian government to send in military forces. Skirmishes between the
troops and local demonstrators caused the city administration building to be set on fire.
Government forces, however, were unsuccessful in forcing out the pro-Russians, and only further
inflamed tensions in Mariupol.[173] On 16 May, however, Metinvest steelworkers, along with local
police and security forces, routed the insurgents from the city administration and other occupied
government buildings in the city.[174]Most insurgents left the city, and those few remaining were
said to be unarmed. Despite this, the headquarters of the Donetsk People's Republic in the city
remained untouched, and pro-Russian demonstrators could still be seen outside the burnt city
administration.[175]
Ukrainian troops gained control of the city on 13 June, with assistance from the National Guard.
[176]

The headquarters of the DPR was captured. Mariupol was then declared the provisional

capital of Donetsk Oblast, in place of Donetsk city, which was occupied by separatists. [177][178]
Other cities[edit]
Many smaller cities across the Donbass fell to the separatists.
In Artemivsk on 12 April, separatists failed to capture the local Ministry of Internal Affairs office,
but instead captured the city administration building and raised the Donetsk People's Republic
flag over it.[179] The city administration buildings in Yenakiieve andDruzhkivka were also captured.
[180][181][182]

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.[183][184] Insurgents affiliated with the Donbass People's Militia occupied
a regional administration building in Khartsyzk on 13 April, followed by a local administration
building in Zhdanivka on 14 April.[137][165][185] Demonstrators hoisted the flag of the Donetsk People's
Republic over the city administration buildings in Krasnoarmiisk and Novoazovsk on 16 April.[186]
[187]

The local administration building in Siversk was similarly captured on 18 April.[188][189] Following

the takeover, local police announced that they would co-operate with the activists. [188]On 20 April,
separatists in Yenakiieve left the city administration building there which they had occupied since
13 April.[182] Despite this, by 27 May the city was still not under Ukrainian government control.
[190]

Pro-Russian demonstrators in Kostiantynivka burnt down the offices of a newspaper that had

been critical of the DPR on 22 April.[191]

70 to 100 insurgents armed with assault rifles and rocket launches attacked an armoury in
Artemivsk on 24 April.[192] The depot housed around thirty tanks. Ukrainian troops attempted to
fight off the insurgents, but were forced to retreat after a substantial number of men were
wounded by insurgent fire.[192][193] The Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov, said that the
insurgents were led by a man with "an extensive bear", referring to the Russian militant
Alexander Mozhaev.[192] Some thirty militants seized the police headquarters in Konstantinovka on
28 April.[194] On the next day, a city administration building in Pervomaisk was overrun by Luhansk
People's Republic insurgents, who then raised their flag over it.[160][195][196] On the same day,
militants seized control over the city administration building in Alchevsk.[197][198] In Krasnyi Luch, the
city administration conceded to demands by separatist activists to support the referendums on
the status of Donetsk and Luhansk being held on 11 May, and followed by raising the Russian
flag over the city administration building.[195]
Insurgents occupied the city administration building in Stakhanov on 1 May. Later in the week,
they captured the local police station, business centre, and SBU building. [199][200]Activists
in Rovenky occupied a police building on 5 May, but quickly left it.[201] On the same day, the police
headquarters in Slovianoserbsk was seized by members of the Army of the South-East, which is
affiliated with the Luhansk People's Republic.[202][203] The town of Antratsyt was occupied by a
number of renegade Don Cossacks.[204][205][206][207]Insurgents went on to seize the prosecutor's office
in Sievierodonetsk on 7 May.[208] On the next day, supporters of the Luhansk People's Republic
captured government buildings in Starobilsk.[209]
Militants attempted to seize the police headquarters in Horlivka on 12 April, but were
halted. Ukrayinska Pravda reported that police said that the purpose of the attempted seizure
was to gain access to a weapons cache.[162] They said that they would use force if needed to
defend the building from "criminals and terrorists".[163] By 14 April, however, militants had
successfully captured the building after a tense standoff with the police. [136] Some members of the
local police unit defected to the Donetsk People's Republic earlier in the day, whilst the remaining
offices were forced to retreat, allowing the insurgents to take control of the building. [164][164][165] The
local chief of police was captured and badly beaten by the insurgents. [166] A Horlivka city council

deputy, Volodymyr Rybak, was kidnapped by masked men believed to be pro-Russian militants
on 17 April. His body was later found in a river on 22 April. [167] The city administration building was
seized on 30 April, solidifying separatist control over Horlivka.[168] Self-proclaimed mayor of
Horlivka Volodymyr Kolosniuk was arrested by the SBU on suspicion of participation in "terrorist
activities" on 2 July.[169]Separatist militants took control of the city administration building, police
offices, and SBU building in Sloviansk, a city in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast, on 12 April.
[142][149]

After militants took over the city, Sloviansk mayor Nelya Shtepa briefly appeared at an

occupied police station, and expressed support for the militants.[142]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 Kiev".[142] Nelya Shtepa was later detained by the
insurgents, and replaced by the self-proclaimed "people's mayor" Vyacheslav Ponomarev. The
separatists 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.[145][150] This government counter-offensive began on the morning of 13 April.[151] As a result, an
entrenched standoff between pro-Russian forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine ensued,
marking the start of combat in Donbass.[152] The city remained under siege until 5 July, when
Ukrainian forces recaptured it, with an estimated 1520,000 people displaced by the fighting. [153]
[154]

Mayor Shtepa has been jailed since 11 July 2014 for allegedly colluding with pro-Russian

separatists.[155]
Kramatorsk[edit]
Main article: Battle of Kramatorsk
In Kramatorsk, a city in northern Donetsk Oblast, separatists attacked a police station on 13 April,
resulting in a shootout.[156][157] The fighters, members of the Donbass 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 the building.[158] 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.[158][159]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 the occupied
police station, but was received negatively and booed. [158]
After a government counter-offensive as part of the "anti-terror" operation in Donetsk Oblast on
23 May, the insurgents were routed from Kramatorsk's occupied SBU building. [160] Despite this,
Ukrainian troops quickly withdrew from the city for unknown reasons, and the separatists quickly
regained control. Sporadic fighting continued until 5 July, when the insurgents withdrew from
Kramatorsk.[161]
After having gained control of the Donetsk RSA and having declared the Donetsk People's
Republic, pro-Russian groups vowed to fan out and take control of strategic infrastructure across

Donetsk Oblast, and demanded that public officials who wished to continue their work swear
allegiance to the Republic.[133] By 14 April, pro-Russian separatists had taken control of
government buildings in many other cities within the oblast,
including Mariupol, Horlivka, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Yenakiieve,Makiivka, Druzhkivka,
and Zhdanivka.[134][135][136][137]

First standoff[edit]
In response to the widening unrest, the acting Ukrainian President, Oleksandr Turchynov, vowed
to launch a major "anti-terror" operation against separatist movements in Donetsk Oblast. [138] The
Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov, said on 9 April that the unrest in Donetsk Oblast would
be resolved within forty-eight hours, either through negotiations or the use of force. President
Oleksandr Turchynov signed a decree to retake the Donetsk RSA building, and place it "under
state protection,"[139][140] and offered amnesty to the demonstrators if they laid down their arms. [141]

Expansion of territorial control[edit]

Unmarked separatist militants seized the Donetsk city office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on
12 April without resistance.[142] Following negotiations between the militants and those in the
building, the chief of the office resigned from his post.[143] Officers from the Berkut special police
force, which had been dissolved by the government following the February revolution, took part
in the seizure on the separatists' side.[144][145] Following this seizure, the militants began to expand
their control across the city. The municipal administration building was stormed and occupied by
the insurgents on 16 April.[146]Further actions by the separatists resulted in the capture of the
offices of the regional state television network on 27 April.[147] After capturing the broadcasting
centre, the militants began to broadcast Russian television channels. On 4 May, the flag of the
Donetsk People's Republic was raised over the police headquarters in Donetsk city proper.[148]
Attempts to seize the Donetsk Regional State Administration (RSA) building began since proRussian protests erupted in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, in the wake of the 2014
Ukrainian revolution. Pro-Russian protesters occupied the Donetsk RSA from 16 March, before
being removed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).[116][117] On 6 April, 1,0002,000 people
gathered at a rally in Donetsk to demand a status referendum similar to the one held in Crimea in
March.[118][119]The demonstrators stormed the RSA building, and took control of its first two floors.
They said that if an extraordinary legislative session was not held by regional officials to
implement a status referendum, they would take control of the regional government with a
"people's mandate", and dismiss all elected regional councillors and members of parliament. [120][121]
[122]

As these demands were not met, the activists held a meeting in the RSA building, and voted

in favour of independence from Ukraine. They proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
[123]

Luhansk Oblast[edit]
Unrest in Luhansk Oblast began on 6 April, when approximately 1,000 activists seized and
occupied the SBU building in the city of Luhansk, following similar occupations in the cities
of Donetsk and Kharkiv.[124][125] Protesters barricaded the building, and demanded that all arrested
separatist leaders be released.[124][126] Police were able to retake control of the building, but the
demonstrators regathered for a 'people's assembly' outside the building and called for a 'people's
government', demanding either federalisation or incorporation into the Russian Federation.[127]
[128]

At this assembly, they elected Valery Bolotov to the position of "People's Governor".[129] Two

referendums were announced, one on 11 May to determine whether the region should seek
some form of autonomy, and a second scheduled for 18 May to determine whether the region
should join the Russian Federation, or declare independence.[130]
The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) was declared on 27 April.[131] Representatives of the
Republic demanded that Ukrainian government provide amnesty for all protesters, enshrine
Russian as an official language, and hold a referendum on the status of the region. [131] They
issued an ultimatum that stated that if Kiev 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.[131][132]