The War in Donbass is an armed Bearing_arms conflict Quarreling in the Donbass region of Ukraine .

The War in Donbass is an armed Bearing_arms conflict Quarreling in the Donbass region of Ukraine .

From the beginning Process_start of March 2014 , protests by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place Process_start in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine , commonly collectively called Name_conferral the `` Donbass '' , in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution Change_of_leadership and the Euromaidan movement .

Russia 's official position on the presence of Russian forces in Donbass has been vague : while official bodies have denied Agree_or_refuse_to_act presence of `` regular armed forces '' in Ukraine , it has on numerous occasions confirmed Check presence of `` military specialists '' , along with other euphemisms , usually accompanied by an argument that Russia `` was forced Motion '' to deploy Arranging them to `` defend Defending the Russian-speaking population '' .

By the end Process_end of 2017 , OSCE observatory mission had accounted Cost for around 30,000 individuals in military-style dress Wearing crossing Motion_directional from Russia to Donbass just at two border checkpoints it was allowed Preventing_or_letting to monitor .

The attack Attack was the largest single loss of life since the signing Sign_agreement of the Minsk Protocol in September 2014 , which attempted to halt Process_end the ongoing War in Donbass .

These protests escalated Cause_change_of_position_on_a_scale into the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation , War in Donbass , Russian military intervention , and the establishment of de facto independent states in Donetsk and Luhansk .

From late 2014 , cities outside of the Donbass combat zone , such as Kharkiv , Odessa , Kiev and Mariupol , were struck Attack by bombings Catastrophe that targeted Aiming pro-Ukrainian unity organizations .

The shoot-down occurred Coming_to_be in the War Hostile_encounter in Donbass , during the Battle Hostile_encounter of Shakhtarsk , in an area controlled Control by pro-Russian rebels .

Immediately after the crash Catastrophe , a post appeared Coming_to_be on the VKontakte social media profile attributed Causation to Igor Girkin , leader of the Donbass separatist militia , claiming Statement responsibility for shooting down Use_firearm a Ukrainian An-26 military transporter near Torez .

Russian news agency TASS also reported Reporting eyewitness accounts claiming Statement that the Donbass militia had just shot down Use_firearm a Ukrainian An-26 military plane with a missile .