From April 2014 until September 2022, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) claimed to be independent states. Their sovereignty was recognized by South Ossetian authorities in 2014, Russia and Abkhazian authorities in February 2022,[1][2] Syria in June 2022[3][4] and North Korea in July 2022.[5]
Pro-Russian authorities in the two regions in the Donbas, a historical region in easternmost Ukraine, initially declared independence in response to the Maidan Revolution in 2014. They were backed by Russia, which provided them arms and funding, leading to the protracted War in Donbas. The Minsk Accords aimed to reach a solution to the war that would preserve Ukraine's territorial integrity, but resulted only in a ceasefire.
On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, just a few days after its recognition of the DPR and LPR, citing Ukraine's non-implementation of the Minsk Accords, amongst other stated reasons. On 30 September 2022, Russia formally annexed the two regions, in addition to two others. As a result, the DPR and LPR dropped their independence claims, now considering themselves to be part of Russia.
The United Nations and most of the international community have consistently condemned the DPR and LPR's initial independence claims, as well as the subsequent annexation. Both are illegal under mainstream interpretations of international law, according to which the territory should belong to Ukraine.
:3
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search