People's Militia (Ukraine)

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People's Militia
народное ополчение

War Flag of Novorussia.svg
Flag often used by the Milzen, sometimes also referred to as "New Russia's war flag"
Lineup April 2014
Country UkraineUkraine Ukraine
Type Paramilitary , supported by units of the Russian armed forces
Strength 40,000 fighters
Nickname People's militia, people's armed forces
Colours White Blue Red
Anniversaries April 6, 2014 (proclamation of the VRD ) (controversial)
Butcher First battle for Donetsk airport
Battle for Mariupol
Battle for Ilowajsk
Second battle for Donetsk airport
Battle for Debaltseve
Battle for Schyrokyne
commander
Proclaimed "President of the Donetsk People's Republic" (controversial) Alexander Sachartschenko †
Proclaimed "President of the LVR " (controversial) Igor Wenediktovich Plotnitsky
Important
commanders

Mikhail Tolstych †
Arsen Pavlov †

People's Militia ( Russian народное ополчение , narodnoje opoltschenije; also translated as People's Army ) is the self-name of paramilitary troops in eastern Ukraine . They became active in different cities at the same time after President Viktor Yanukovych left the capital. Since April 2014 they have been fighting for the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk , and thus against units loyal to the government in the Ukraine war .

As in Crimea, armed special forces invading from Russia were involved. In November 2014, Igor Girkin said that the war in eastern Ukraine was triggered by him and his unit: “I pressed the trigger for the war. If our unit had not crossed the border, everything would have turned out as (without consequences) as in Kharkiv and Odessa ”. Girkin, temporarily defense minister of the Donetsk People's Republic , declared in May 2014 that two-thirds of the rebels were Ukrainians.

Russia supports the militias by infiltrating rioters and delivering heavy weapons and even battle tanks : In the summer of 2014, the leaders of the fighters confirmed the presence of active Russian soldiers “on vacation”. Their equipment repeatedly reveals that they are active Russian soldiers.

The Ukrainian government calls the gunmen " terrorists ". On July 28th, the UNHCHR reported the total breakdown of law and order, of a reign of terror by armed groups over the population of eastern Ukraine with imprisonment, kidnappings, torture and executions.

composition

The militias stated that the majority were citizens of eastern Ukraine. However, a group of 52 Girkin men that invaded Ukraine from Russia found no local leaders and initially only around 150 to 200 supporters. For this reason, Girkin was openly active, which was not intended. Rather, Girkin had planned a sequence similar to that in Crimea and to disappear again without stepping out of the shadows.

From the very beginning, Ukraine assumed that some of the members were former or active members of the Russian armed forces , and on April 22, 2014, comparisons of images that were supposed to support this claim were not very successful.

Support from the Russian Federation

The Ukrainian secret service SBU , NATO members, EU and US agencies have repeatedly stated that the people's militia will be supported by Russian special forces from the military secret service GRU . As early as May 2014, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported from eyewitnesses that Chechen fighters who barely speak the national language belonged to the people's militia, and from those around the governor of Donetsk Oblast Serhij Taruta it was said that only 20% of the fighting insurgents came from the region itself, the remaining 80% of the " mercenaries " are "imported". The time saw the targeted looting of military, police and secret service weapons depots and other facilities as an indication that the people's militias had to be trained in military or secret service. This is also supported by the coordinated approach of the occupants, who are even able to break into mined weapons depots. Russia denied interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs. This was the official Russian position in the spring of 2015 as well, although it contradicted other statements. According to estimates, up to 50,000 Russians would have fought as volunteers in Ukraine by 2018.

At the end of August 2014, the media reported that not only Russian volunteers were crossing the border into Ukraine, but also soldiers from the Russian army . Official Russia reported that a unit "lost its way" when it was shot at 40 km from the Russian border. Reports of Russian soldiers dead in Ukraine increased. The next explanation was that soldiers would be on "vacation". This variant of the "volunteer on leave" had been falsified, at least by those arrested, before this declaration was made.

The Russian newspaper Kommersant described the procedure of using professional Russian soldiers to fight and then showing local militiamen on the streets for the press.

In May 2015, it was possible for the first time to directly interview Russian soldiers captured in line with the opinion of the OSCE. One of them had also stated that he was there on the orders of the unit.

Armed formations

Formations established since the militias were set up in April 2014 are:

  • SSI of the Rapid Response Group "Batman" .svg Batman Battalion was commanded by Alexander Bednow until January 2015. He died in an attack.
  • SSI of the Kalmius Battalion.svg Kalmius Battalion was established on June 21, 2014. The battalion serves as a special unit. Was named after the Kalmius river .
  • Всевеликое войско Донское (шеврон) .png National Guard of the Cossacks ; it consists of volunteer Don Cossacks . It is commanded by Nikolai Konzitsin.
  • Emblem of the Oplot Battalion (Donetsk People's Republic) .svgThe Oplot Battalion is commanded by Alexander Sakharchenko .
  • "Ghost" Brigade shoulder patch.pngThe Prizrak Battalion was commanded by Alexej Mosgowoi until May 2015. He has since died in an attack.
  • Emblem-RG-DPR.jpgThe Republican Guard was formed on January 12, 2015. The unit has 3000 fighters who are considered elite fighters.
  • Flag of the Russian Orthodox Army.svgThe Russian Orthodox Army was led by Igor Girkin until August 2014 . The current commander is unknown.
  • SSI of the Sparta Battalion, svg Sparta Battalion , also known as the Motorola Battalion. It wascommandedby Arsen Pavlov . He died in an attack.
  • SSI of the Somalia Battalion.svg Somalia Battalion , commanded by Mikhail Tolstych .
  • Vostok Battalion , a unit commanded by Alexander Sergejewitsch Chodakowski.
  • SSI of the Zarya Battalion, svg Zarya's battalion commanded by Andrei Pastruchew. The battalion consists mainly of Russian volunteers. Including many members of the National Bolshevik Party of Russia .

According to Ukrainian sources, the following units of the Russian Armed Forces suffered losses in October 2014, which were described as combat losses:

  • Southern Military District : Units of the Seventh Military Base in Abkhazia; the Eighth Guard (Mountain) Motorized Infantry Borzoy, Chechnya; 19th Motorized Infantry, Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia and Ingushetia; 33rd Independent (Mountain) Reconnaissance Brigade, Maykop, Adygea; 136th Motorized Infantry, Botlikh, Dagestan
  • Western Military District: Sixth Panzer Brigade, Mulino; Ninth Motorized Infantry, Nizhniy Novgorod; Divisions of the 275th Artillery Regiment of the 4th Guard Panzer Division, Naro-Fominsk
  • Central Military District: Fifteenth Motorized Brigade (so-called "Peacekeepers"), Roschinskyy (Samara); 21st Motorized Brigade, Totskoye; 23rd Motorized Brigade, Samara; 74th Motorized Brigade, Yurga, Novosibirsk (Military Unit 21005)
  • Russian Navy: 200th Motorized Infantry of the Northern Fleet, Pechenega, Murmansk Region
  • Airborne Forces: Seventh Guards Airborne Division - 247th Regiment, Novorossiysk / Stavropol; 31st Airborne Guard Brigade (“Peacekeepers”), Ulyanovsk. 45th Guard Spetsnaz Regiment, Kubinka; 76th Guard Air Mobile Infantry Division - 234th Air Mobile Infantry Regiment, Pskov ; 98th Air Moving Guard Division - 331st Air Moving Guard Regiment, Ivanovo / Kostroma; 106th Guard Air Mobile Division - 51st and 137th Air Mobile Regiment, Tula;
  • GRU: Air Mobile Reconnaissance Group of the 16th Separate Spetsnaz Brigade, Tambov
  • FSB: Special task forces of the military unit number 35690, center of the task forces with the base code name “Sputnik”, Balashyha, Moscow region

The Royal United Services Institute names a total of 117 combat and supply units of the Russian armed forces, which were involved in the rotations of soldiers to fight in Ukraine.

Goals, points of view, reactions

Militias in Donetsk , May 2014

The original goal was a Russian operation called "Russian Spring" to destabilize cities like Kharkiv and Donetsk . However, militias were only formed in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Spiegel Online reported in mid-April 2014 on the population and members of the People's Militia in Donetsk and stated that the designation as “separatists” or “pro-Russian activists” was incorrect. The goals of the local population, some of which support the militias, as well as members of the militias, are different. The armed citizens of eastern Ukraine would mostly advocate more autonomy for their region within a federal Ukraine. Some are still unsure what exactly they want. Some of the militias proclaimed a “Donetsk People's Republic”, meaning a state of their own, others an autonomous province of Ukraine and a few a part of Russia. They all agree in the rejection of the new Ukrainian government: “We are fed up with what is happening in Kiev. Before that there was at least stability. Now they owe us their wages for two months. ”Was one of the contradicting statements; two weeks later the opposite was heard: “Nobody intends to break off economic relations. It's just not possible. We receive pension payments and subsidies. And we send taxes and fees. So far everything works. "

In the cities it occupies, the militias exercise a monopoly of force. In May 2014 , the Ukrainian oligarch Rinat Akhmetov said: “Bandits and marauders rule in the cities” and “Running through the cities of Donbass with submachine guns - is that supposed to protect the rights of the Donetsk people from the central government?”

The Ukrainian government describes the militias as "terrorists". In June 2014, the UN mission to review the human rights situation in Ukraine accused the separatist militias of creating an atmosphere of constant fear in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by killing civilians, torture and other human rights violations, leading to the flight of tens of thousands of people have led. In July 2014, Amnesty International presented a report from a team that had conducted research in eastern Ukraine. Numerous cases of kidnapping, torture and other human rights violations were documented in it. Armed separatists are responsible for most of the kidnappings, said AI's deputy director for Europe and Central Asia, Denis Krivosheyev.

Popular support for the armed separatists (“more or less strong sympathy for the armed occupiers”) was around 11 percent in April, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) . In the course of the dispute, the media spoke of a consistently dwindling support until mid-August 2014. According to a survey by the Domestic Initiatives Foundation on March 3, 2014, only around a third of the population in Donetsk was in favor of affiliation with Russia. In Luhansk and Odessa it was 24 percent.

Calls

People's militia during the Battle of Ilovajsk
Fighters of the Somalia Battalion , during a battle at Donetsk Airport in June 2015
Militia armored personnel carriers near Donetsk, May 2015

On the night of April 20, 2014, the Ukrainian Security Council decided to carry out an "anti-terrorist operation" with special units of the domestic intelligence service Slushba bespeky Ukrajiny (SBU) in eastern Ukraine. The aim is to restore Ukrainian sovereignty in the east. The Slovyansk railway junction was to be recaptured, but this did not succeed.

On April 24, the People's Militia allegedly attacked one of the largest arsenals of the Ukrainian armed forces around 50 kilometers southeast of Slovyansk near Artyomovsk with around 100 men . The unidentified forces attacked the barracks with grenades, among other things, said Ukrainian interim president Oleksandr Turchynov . According to Ukrainian state information, a Ukrainian soldier was slightly injured while the attackers suffered great losses. There were no independent reports of the attack.

In the Ukrainian city of Mariupol , state security forces restored control of the city council building occupied by the People's Militia.

In April 2014, the militias controlled nine cities in the region. The centers of the people's militias are the Kharkiv , Luhansk and Donetsk regions bordering Russia .

At the beginning of May 2014 the “anti-terrorist operation” of the Ukrainian forces stopped. The Ukrainian army said the militias were holed up in populated areas and used civilians as shields.

During an offensive, Ukrainian government troops fired helicopters and military vehicles at the militias in the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk . On May 2nd, two Mi-24s were shot down. Two helicopter pilots were killed and several crew members were injured. The people's militias also shot at a Mil Mi-8 transport helicopter . of the type Mi-24 were shot down with one-man surface-to-air missiles .

On May 5, 2014, the Ukrainian army cordoned off the city of Slovyansk and tried to gradually advance into the center. The militia could not hold the television tower. The Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov suspected that around 800 members of the People's Militia were in Slovyansk. Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and around 30 others injured in the fighting that day. Another Ukrainian Mi-24 was shot down. The People's Militia attacked the Ukrainian troops with heavy weapons, and grenade launchers were also used, said the Ukrainian Interior Ministry. A spokesman for the People's Militia said about 20 militiamen were killed.

At least six soldiers were killed in a militia attack on a military convoy of the Ukrainian army on May 13, 2014. The unit was ambushed about 20 kilometers west of Kramatorsk, said the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

On May 26, 2014, separatist insurgents occupied the Donetsk airport . Ukrainian troops counterattacked with attack helicopters on the same day. At least 50 rebel fighters were killed, and 31 remains were returned to their native Russia.

On July 14, 2014, an An-26 was shot down southeast of Luhansk after an Ilyushin Il-76 had been shot down in the same area a month earlier . The Ukrainian Defense Minister Valery Heletej indirectly blamed Russia for the downing. The machine was hit by a rocket at an altitude of 6,500 meters and the separatists did not have such powerful weapons that the rocket was probably fired from territory of the Russian Federation or a Russian fighter plane shot down the Ukrainian transport machine. Separatists nevertheless assumed responsibility for the shooting down and said they had captured four of the machine's crew members.

In the area controlled by pro-Russian separatists, the Russian Buk air defense system was used, which presumably accidentally shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17 .

Rocket launchers of the type 9K51 Grad were allegedly also used in residential areas by both parties to the conflict. After the militia could only stay in urban, i.e. often residential, areas, the problem of combat units and positions of heavy weapons in the midst of the population became obvious. The NZZ wrote, "The separatists apparently consciously accept the victims by firing mortar shells from residential areas at Ukrainian positions."

During the Battle of Ilovajsk at the end of August 2014, the militias were able to hold the place with support from Russia.

After months of fighting with the militias, the Ukrainian army withdrew from Donetsk Airport on January 21, 2015 .

Alexander Sachartschenko announced in January 2015 that he wanted to conquer further areas - also beyond the borders of Donetsk.

On February 17, 2015, the militia captured the important Debaltseve railway junction in the battle for Debaltseve, despite the agreed Minsk II ceasefire .

organization

In July 2014 the creation of a professional army of the Donetsk People's Republic was announced, whose members would receive a wage of 5000 to 8000 URH per month, which is quite high for the region .

equipment

The leaders like “People's Mayor” Ponomarev stated in April 2014 that their people had grenade launchers in addition to makeshift hunting weapons, pistols and machine guns. The type Kalashnikovs of the militias were reportedly completed already at that time with the Russian outside the military less common, short assault rifle of the series AK-10x . The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry announced that the Ukrainian security forces do not have this type of weapon.

Very soon, on May 2, 2014, two Mi-24 attack helicopters were shot down with one-man surface-to-air missiles near Slovyansk . On June 12, 2014, the militias "received" battle tanks and artillery. Heavy rocket launchers of the type 9K51 Grad (also in residential areas) were used. One of the Grad throwers was captured by Ukrainian troops near Dobropillja in June 2014. According to Ukrainian sources, the vehicle came from the stocks of the 58th Army of the Russian Federation. In an interview on August 16, 2014, the leader of the pro-Russian separatists, Andrei Sakharchenko, said that the separatists had 150 armored vehicles and 1200 Russian-trained fighters. British experts identified T-72BM main battle tanks, which must clearly have come from Russia, as the model was never exported abroad.

As early as May 2014, Ukraine and Germany, for example, had been urging the Russian Federation to stop the export of weapons, both without success.

Weapon systems of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine

As early as August 2014, T-72 tanks of a version used by the Russian armed forces had been seen in Ukraine. Just as early on there was talk of exclusively Russian rocket launcher systems " Tornado "; this system is even mentioned in the memorandum on heavy weapons to be withdrawn from the combat areas in accordance with the Minsk Protocol in September 2014. Two observation drones of the OSCE were of (pro-) Russian troops with concentrated microwaves brought, so with the latest high-tech weaponry of a modern army to crash. In May 2015, a Russian Forpost fire control drone was shot down over Ukraine, which had only been introduced into the Russian armed forces at the turn of the year 2013/14. Shortly afterwards, Bellingcat published a (further) localization of a modern Russian Panzir S1 system in Luhansk. The presence of 240 mm Russian type 2S4 mortars, known since September 2014 and cautiously reported on the Ukrainian side in late autumn 2014, was confirmed by a sighting by the OSCE in July 2015. In February 2015, the media reported that the militias were said to have T-80 tanks and that the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft system had been deployed in eastern Ukraine. According to NATO, these could only come from Russia .

Military equipment at a parade in Donetsk

In an attempt to take advantage of the commemoration of the end of the war in 1945 and the victims of the Soviet troops for their uprising, the militias in Donetsk staged a parade on May 9, 2015, during which around a dozen tanks and rocket launchers could be seen. The vehicles carried the St. George's ribbon , with which the Russian military vehicles paraded in Moscow on the same day. The parade in Donetsk violated the Minsk Agreement, according to the OSCE.

What could be seen:

Captures

In April 2014, the Ukrainian journalist Irma Krat was arrested by the People's Militia in Slovyansk. She was accused of attacking Berkut members during the Euromaidan protests .

When the militia took over the city, mayor Nelja Schtepa was arrested. The self-proclaimed People's Mayor Vyacheslav Ponomarjow stated that he would protect them from access by the Ukrainian authorities.

Also in Sloviansk, the People's Militia detained a group of international military observers led by German Colonel Axel Schneider. “They are not hostages, they are prisoners of war,” Ponomarev emphasized. On April 27, 2014, the group was presented to a press conference. According to the Geneva Convention , prisoners of war cannot be brought before the public. In the evening, the people's militia released the Swedish member of the team because he had health problems. After eight days the observers were released under strong international pressure and after Russian mediation.

Three SBU employees were captured by the People's Militia on April 24, 2014 in Slovyansk. They were later shown on Russian state television. According to the SBU, the militia leader Strelkov was responsible for the capture. Nothing more is known about the fate of the SBU employees.

At the beginning of May 2014, the militias in Donetsk are said to have taken four hostages. It should be about employees of the city administration.

On May 12, Pavel Kanygin, a journalist from the Kremlin-critical newspaper Novaya Gazeta , who was accompanied by his German colleague Stefan Scholl, was abducted in Bachmut (formerly Artemiwsk, Donetsk Oblast). After his kidnappers had extorted $ 1,000 "for the needs of the People's Republic" from him, they demanded $ 30,000 from his Moscow editorial office. The day after, Kanygin was released in a Donetsk hotel where he had been drugged.

Support groups provided a list of "over one hundred" civilians detained and alleged torture in the majority of these cases. According to a report by Amnesty International on July 11, most of the kidnappings were carried out by armed separatists, but some attacks were also documented by forces loyal to Kiev. One goal of the militias is to "terrify and control the civilian population," then to pay ransom and exchange prisoners. Interior Ministry figures put 500 cases between April and June, and ONHCHR recorded 222 cases in its June 15 report.

War crimes

Amnesty International reported war crimes , including executions , in autumn 2014 . There is also evidence of arbitrary fire, kidnapping and torture. Civilians are also affected. In particular, the militia commanders, Mikhail Tolstych and Arsen Pavlov, are alleged to have been involved in war crimes.

Supporting organizations and origins

Members of the Hundred of Wolves , a Russian paramilitary organization based in Russia, are said to have joined the militia.

The militia leader Vyacheslav Ponomarev , who describes himself as the “People's Mayor” of Sloviansk , said in April 2014 about the character of his forces that they were mainly locals, but there were also like-minded people from other cities and regions, including former Soviet army comrades from Russia, Moldova and Kazakhstan.

Russian National Unity (Всероссийское общественное патриотическое движение "Русское Национальное Единство"), a Russian neo-Nazi group, recruits fighters, while a leader of the "people's militia of Donbass", Pavel Gubarev , was a former member.

Numerous foreign volunteers joined the people's militia, including from Germany , Serbia , France and Spain . Many of these fighters have radical left, anti-Western and nationalist views.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Maxim Zmeyev: A pro-Russian separatist stands with the flag of Novorossiya (New Russia) nearby a rally in support of Novorossiya on Lenin Square in the center of Donetsk. In: Trust.org. July 13, 2014, accessed September 1, 2014 .
  2. ↑ abc.net.au
  3. ^ Andreas Kappeler: Brief history of the Ukraine. Beck, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-406-67019-0 , p. 361
  4. ↑ Julian Hans: Russian secret service agent for Eastern Ukraine - "I pressed the trigger for the war". In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. November 21, 2014, accessed December 21, 2014 .
  5. ↑ Alexandr Koz & Dmitri Steschin: Командующий самообороной Славянска Игорь Стрелков: Задержанные наблюржанные наблююдатели - кадравые. In: Komsomolskaya Pravda . April 26, 2014, accessed on May 12, 2014 (Russian): “ Это все - добровольцы, причем две трети - граждане Украины. ("That's all - two thirds of volunteers - Ukrainian citizens." ) "
  6. ^ A b Florian Hassel : Igor Strelkow, Commander in Eastern Ukraine: The Man Behind the Reign of Terror. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . May 12, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Russia redeploying more troops along Ukraine border, US officials say . Washington Post.
  8. ↑ America: Russia should stop tank deliveries . FAZ, June 21, 2014.
  9. ↑ Separatists confirm arms delivery from Russia . Zeit Online, August 16, 2014.
  10. ↑ In the spring of 2015, two captured Russian soldiers in Ukraine carried the Wintores sniper rifle , although Russia claimed that the two men were no longer in active service at that time: The "Vintorez" rifle was found among "Russian" prisoners in Kiev Military " , slon.ru, May 18, 2015
  11. ↑ UNHCHR declaration on July 28, 2014: A total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and terror have been inflicted by armed groups on the population of eastern Ukraine. The report documents how these armed groups continue to abduct, detain, torture and execute people kept as hostages in order to intimidate and "to exercise their power over the population in raw and brutal ways."
  12. ^ Ulrich Schmid: The war in the Ukraine: Donezk ghost town. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . September 10, 2014, accessed on February 24, 2015 : " " Hooligans? Traitor? Let's shoot on the spot. We also throw some in prison. But in bad cases there is only one thing: shoot immediately. " There are of course judicial authorities in the People's Republic, says one, who ensure law and order. "But there is not enough time for all traitors, so we just shoot them." "
  13. ↑ Russian rebel leader claims he started Ukraine was in: The Times, November 24, 2014, page 24; "However, because no local leaders came foreward and initially only 150-200 locals supported him in Slovyansk, he started a war himself."
  14. ↑ We marched seventeen kilometers across the border. In: Swobodnaya Pressa. November 11, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  15. ↑ Michael R. Gordon & Andrew E. Kramer: Scrutiny Over Photos Said to Tie Russia Units to Ukraine. In: The New York Times . April 22, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  16. ↑ Konrad Schuller : Dozen dead in skirmishes: Battle for the Donbass. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. May 27, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  17. ↑ a b Ulrich Krökel: Russia's aggression can be proven. In: The time . April 15, 2014, accessed on May 12, 2014 : “ Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated: 'We are not interfering in the internal affairs of Ukraine. There are no Russian agents there. ' "
  18. ↑ Putin wants to support enemies of Kiev , Handelsblatt, November 15, 2014; "Russia does not want all political opponents and opponents of the government in Kiev to be destroyed, said Putin (...) The West accuses Russia of providing military support for the rebels in the east of the country. Russia firmly rejects this.
  19. ↑ [https://www.srf.ch/play/tv/10vor10/video/serie-meine-letzt-fragen-kaempfer-alexander-negrebezkich?id=30b9d803-2795-45d5-9559-8db1e29b9eb2&station=69e8ac16-4327- 4af4-b873-fd5cd6e895a7 srf.ch series «My last questions»: Fighter Alexander Negrebezkich], 10vor10 , June 8, 2018
  20. ↑ Putin's soldiers do not know that they are going to war Die Welt, August 26, 2014
  21. ↑ In the pampas of Donbass. In: Kommersant. February 19, 2015, accessed February 24, 2015 (Russian).
  22. ↑ OSCE confirms: captured soldiers in Ukraine are Russians. Der Spiegel , May 21, 2015, accessed on May 23, 2015 .
  23. ↑ Alice Bota: Ukraine: Fighters Out of Control. In: Zeit Online. September 12, 2014, accessed July 15, 2015 .
  24. ↑ t-online.de
  25. ↑ ibtimes.com
  26. ↑ Attack: Separatist leaders killed in eastern Ukraine. In: Zeit Online. May 24, 2015, accessed July 15, 2015 .
  27. ↑ rg-dnr.info ( Memento from October 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  28. ↑ tagesspiegel.de
  29. ^ Benjamin Bidder: Separatist commander "Motorola": The executioner from Donetsk Airport. In: Spiegel Online . May 23, 2015, accessed June 9, 2018 .
  30. ↑ Andrea Sceresini: Ukraine: The Che Guevara of Donbass. In: Zeit Online. May 14, 2015, accessed July 15, 2015 .
  31. ↑ theguardian.com
  32. ↑ theguardian.com
  33. ↑ novorosinform.org ( Memento of November 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  34. ↑ Units of the Russian Armed Forces Which Have Been Deployed to Fight in Eastern Ukraine ( Memento from July 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) burkonews.info, October 13, 2014
  35. ↑ Russian Forces in Ukraine ( Memento from October 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), RUSI Briefing Paper, March 2015
  36. ^ Konrad Schuller : Crimean Crisis Moscow withdraws troops from the Ukrainian border. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . March 31, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  37. ↑ Christian Esch: Leading article on Ukraine: The Russian Spring from Donetsk . In: Berliner Zeitung . April 10, 2014
  38. ↑ Raniah Salloum: escalation in eastern Ukraine: The anger of the people's militia. In: Spiegel Online . April 15, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  39. ↑ Georgi Poroschnjak: Референдум - а что дальше? In: Rossiyskaya Gazeta . April 28, 2014, accessed on February 24, 2015 (German: "Referendum - and how next?" Interview with Vladimir Makowitsch [spokesman for the "Donetsk Republic"]). Translation: Referendum in Eastern Ukraine on May 11, 2014 In: Kaliningrad domicile. April 28, 2014.
  40. ↑ Dirty Lies and Clean Scams. In: 20 minutes . May 12, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  41. ↑ Ukrainian oligarch calls for resistance against separatists. In: The world . May 20, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  42. ^ Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights: Report on the human rights situation in Ukraine . 15th June 2014
  43. ↑ Ukraine: UN accuses separatists of killing civilians . In: The press . June 18, 2014
  44. ↑ Ukraine: Abductions and torture in Eastern Ukraine. Amnesty International Publications, 2014 ( PDF; 488 kB )
  45. ↑ Amnesty International: Ukraine: Mounting evidence of abduction and torture . July 11, 2014
  46. ↑ Ukraine conflict: Amnesty accuses separatists of torture. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . July 11, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  47. ↑ The views and opinions of South-Eastern regions residents of Ukraine: April 2014. Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS), April 20, 2014, accessed on May 13, 2014 (English, press release with survey results).
  48. ↑ Invasion - only in a different form. In: Kurier.at . March 8, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  49. ↑ Calm before the storm. In Donetsk, the pro-Russian occupiers are arming themselves for the test of strength with state power. The population hopes for a peaceful solution. In: taz . April 9, 2014, accessed on February 24, 2014 : " " But the separatists do not have much support in the population. People are expecting a storming of the administration building, as they have observed the action of the security forces in other cities. This action could then give the Russians a reason to invade. That is why everyone is afraid of the storm. " "
  50. ↑ Separatists in eastern Ukraine are waiting in vain for soldiers from Russia. In: wsj.de. April 10, 2014, accessed on February 24, 2015 : "" There will probably not be a quick repetition of the events in Crimea in eastern Ukraine. The support of the population is too low, the resistance in Kiev and in the Ukraine too strong West." "
  51. ↑ Support for separatists is decreasing , Handelsblatt May 20, 2014
  52. ↑ Oligarch Akhmetov clearly opposes the separatists , Der Bund, May 23, 2014 People initially had sympathy for the separatists, but now many have had enough of the growing insecurity.
  53. ↑ Kiev goes on the attack , Süddeutsche Zeitung, May 27, 2014: The people in the east have hardly any support left, where people are tired of the violence, but also frightened. In individual cases, people even fight back against the fighters.
  54. ↑ The separatists have lost support among the population ( memento of the original from July 5, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ZDF, July 7, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.zdf.de
  55. Jump up ↑ The pro-Russian separatists have withdrawn to the city of Donetsk after defeats. You are powerless - but dangerous , Zeit, July 10, 2014: The support of the population is dwindling even more: Last Sunday, just 1,000 people took to the streets in Donetsk to support the separatists. The more arduous everyday life, the greater the impatience with this colorful troop of fighters and bandits who occupy the city.
  56. ↑ tagesspiegel.de Tagesspiegel, July 22, 2014 The separatists have no support from the people of eastern Ukraine. They can only continue the fighting as long as Putin supports them with weapons, ammunition and mercenaries.
  57. ↑ Fear and Frustration in Donetsk , NZZ, July 24, 2014: There are indications that the separatists are rapidly losing support.
  58. ↑ Russia relies on escalation - separatists introduce death penalty , NZZ, August 18, 2014; "There are many indications that the rebels are at odds with one another and have largely lost the support of the local population."
  59. ↑ Possible ceasefire in eastern Ukraine: Putin's stage victory , Spiegel, September 3, 2014: "The situation in the" People's Republics "was fragile to the end, their commanders complained about the lack of support in the population, and by mid-August they lost one village after another. "
  60. ^ Ute Weinmann: Separatists behind sandbags . In: Jungle World . No. 16, April 17, 2014
  61. ↑ Julia Smirnova: Who tortured the city council before his death? In: Die Welt Kompakt . April 25, 2014.
  62. ↑ Escalation in Ukraine: Several dead in an exchange of fire . In: the daily newspaper . April 24, 2014.
  63. ^ Helicopter downing: Ukraine presents arrested separatists . In: Spiegel Online . May 2, 2014
  64. ↑ Maria Zwetkowa: Dozens die in Odessa, rebels down Ukraine helicopters. May 2, 2014, accessed May 14, 2014 .
  65. ↑ Nicholas de Larrinaga: Two Ukrainian Mi-24s shot down by MANPADS. jane's, May 2, 2014, accessed May 14, 2014 .
  66. ↑ Ukraine: Many dead in the fighting for Slavyansk . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . May 5, 2014
  67. ↑ Ambush at Kramatorsk: Six Ukrainian soldiers die in a skirmish with separatists . In: Spiegel Online . May 13, 2014
  68. ↑ Marija Turchenkowa: Груз 200 . In: Echo Moskwy . June 2, 2014 (German translation: Freight 200 . In: euromaidan Press. June 9, 2014)
  69. ^ Friedrich Schmidt: Ukraine crisis: The Russian silence about the Russian dead . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . 4th June 2014
  70. ↑ Aircraft shot down in Ukraine - allegations against Russia, Reuters news agency website of July 14, 2014.
  71. ↑ Shooting instead of talking, ( Memento from July 15, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) website of the Tagesschau from July 14, 2014.
  72. ↑ Karoun Demirjian: Ukrainian military plane shot down; pro-Russian separatists take responsibility , WP of July 14, 2014, viewed on July 14, 2014
  73. ↑ Kiev speaks of shooting down "from Russian soil" from N24, July 14, 2014
  74. ↑ MH17 missile 'came from Russia', Dutch-led investigators say , bBC, September 28, 2016
  75. ↑ a b Human Rights Watch : Ukraine: Unguided Rockets Killing Civilians - Stop Use of Grads in Populated Areas , July 24, 2014.
  76. ↑ Fighting ever more violent NZZ, July 4, 2014
  77. ↑ Ukraine: dead in a shelling of a bus stop in Donetsk. In: Zeit Online. January 22, 2015, accessed July 15, 2015 .
  78. ↑ Donetsk wants to overturn the Minsk Memorandum in its current form , Sputniknews, January 23, 2015
  79. ↑ t-online.de
  80. ^ People's armed forces chief Strelkow wants to set up a treaty army in the Donetsk People's Republic. RIA Novosti, July 8, 2014, accessed August 19, 2014 .
  81. ↑ Ann-Dorit Boy: The fight for Slavyansk. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . April 24, 2014, accessed February 24, 2015 .
  82. ↑ Nicholas de Larrinaga: Two Ukrainian Mi-24s shot down by MANPADS. jane's, May 2, 2014, accessed May 14, 2014 .
  83. ↑ DNR militia admitted that armed with three tanks , RIA-Novosti June 12, 2014
  84. ↑ Ukraine captures 'Russian' T-64 MBT near Donetsk , Jane’s , June 30, 2014
  85. ↑ Eastern Ukraine: Militias throw US bombs in front of RIA in Kiev , July 3, 2014
  86. ↑ "Statement by the Delegation of Ukraine at the 774-th FSC plenary meeting" OSCE of December 10, 2014, viewed on March 2, 2015
  87. ↑ Ukraine crisis: Rebel fighters 'trained in Russia'. In: BBC News. August 16, 2014, accessed February 24, 2014 .
  88. ^ "Russian troops" conquer important border town. In: Tages-Anzeiger . August 28, 2014, accessed on February 24, 2014 : "" According to a separatist leader, several thousand Russians are fighting in the neighboring country ""
  89. ↑ Index for Today's Briefing: Russia / Ukraine. Russia-Ukraine Diplomatic Efforts / Russian Efforts to Support Separatists. In: US State Department website. June 13, 2014, archived from the original on February 5, 2015 ; accessed on February 24, 2015 .
  90. ↑ Ukraine crisis: T-72 tank shoots hole in Russian denial , BBC, August 28, 2014
  91. ↑ "Putin - the war": last report by Boris Nemtsov published ( memento from June 10, 2015 in the web archive archive.today ), RBTH, May 15, 2015
  92. ↑ OSCE releases original of Minsk ceasefire memorandum , Interfax Ukraine, September 22, 2014; the original at http://www.osce.org/ru/home/123807
  93. ↑ UPDATE: Russia's hybrid was 'is working' in Ukraine ( Memento from March 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), Jane’s February 26, 2015
  94. ↑ 12,000 Russian soldiers according to US estimates in eastern Ukraine , Die Zeit, March 3, 2015
  95. ↑ Ukrainian fighters claim to have taken Russian high-tech drone from the sky , Watson, May 22, 2015
  96. ↑ Russia's Pantsir-S1s Geolocated in Ukraine , Bellingcat, May 28, 2015
  97. ↑ 240 mm Mortars for 2S4 “Tyulpan” in Donetsk ( memento of July 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ); Burkonews.info, November 8, 2014
  98. ↑ Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine based on information received as of 19:30 (Kyiv time), 5 July 2015. In: osce.org. OSCE, July 6, 2015, accessed on July 7, 2015 (English): “Also in“ DPR ”-controlled areas, two MBTs were observed… as well as one 240mm mortar (Tyulpan) near Komsomolske (44km south-east of Donetsk ). "
  99. ↑ Thomas Gutschker, Markus Wehner: The rebels cannot be beaten. In: FAZ.net . February 8, 2015, accessed October 13, 2018 .
  100. ↑ heute.de: "Donetsk: History as a self-service shop"
  101. ↑ OSCE sees May 9 military parade in Donetsk as violation of Minsk agreements , Kyivpost, May 13, 2015
  102. ↑ Simon Shuster: Ukraine Conflict Becomes Hostage Crisis as Separatists Take Prisoners . In: Time . April 21, 2014
  103. ↑ Kim Sengupta: Ukraine crisis: Interview with Irma Krat - the journalist and activist being held in Slovyansk: "I came over here to give voice to people who have not been heard" . In: The Independent . April 21, 2014
  104. ↑ Luca De Carli: In the power of the separatists . In: Berner Zeitung . April 22, 2014
  105. ^ Nebi Qena & Dalton Bennett: Official: Military observers detained in Ukraine . In: Salon.com . April 25, 2014
  106. ↑ "Will oppose us" . In: ORF . April 25, 2014
  107. ^ Rebel leaders to picture: "The Germans are prisoners of war" . In: image . April 26, 2014 (video; 1:26 min)
  108. ↑ Appointed OSCE inspectors: Separatists present German military observers ( Memento from June 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). In: Spiegel Online . April 27, 2014
  109. ↑ Separatists show arrested military observers . In: Tagesschau . April 27, 2014 (video; 1:54 min)
  110. ^ The Security Service of Ukraine: Anti-Terrorist Center under the SSU informs ( Memento from April 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ). April 26, 2014
  111. ↑ Eastern Ukraine: Militias report seriously injured people in fighting in Slovyansk . In: manager magazin . May 5, 2014
  112. ↑ Pavel Kanygin: "Это не выкуп, это твой взнос в нашу войну" . In: Novaya Gazeta . May 14, 2014 (translation by Thomas Schmid: "You are a shitty agent! - This is not a ransom, but your contribution to our war!" Facebook page by Boris Reitschuster . May 15, 2014)
  113. ^ Stefan Scholl: Ukraine: Reports under mortal danger . In: Südwest Presse . 17th May 2014
  114. ↑ Torture and kidnapping in Ukraine. Amnesty International, July 11, 2014. Retrieved on February 24, 2015 ( policemen, soldiers, civil servants, journalists, politicians, activists, members of election commissions and businessmen (ger .: It Appears thatmany of the hostages are taken by separatist groups in order to be exchanged for prisoners taken by the Ukrainian forces.) ).
  115. ^ Report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in June
  116. ↑ Amnesty reports on war crimes in eastern Ukraine diepresse.com, October 20, 2014
  117. ↑ Ceasefire in Eastern Ukraine: Amnesty accuses army and separatists of war crimes in front of Tagesspiegel, September 6, 2014
  118. ↑ Amnesty accuses separatists of murders Deutsche Welle, April 9, 2015, accessed on April 19, 2015
  119. ↑ Anna Jikhareva: Russia's mysterious «Hundred of Wolves» . In: Tages-Anzeiger . May 13, 2014
  120. ↑ Ukraine crisis: Slavyansk besieged by the Ukrainian army has 2500 defenders. In: RIA Novosti. April 24, 2014, accessed April 26, 2014 .
  121. ↑ Far-Right Forces are Influencing Russia's Actions in Crimea The New Republic March 17, 2014
  122. ↑ Come to Kiev and Lviv. ( Memento of January 17, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), soratnik.com, homepage of the Russian National Unity, which calls for a holy war for New Russia
  123. ↑ n-tv.de
  124. ↑ bbc.com