Who are Donetsk and Luhansk really and which one launched the war detonator?

On the night of 24 February, Russian soldiers crossed the Ukrainian border without warning. They launched an attack. Russian heavy artillery fired thousands of shells into Ukraine. Ukrainians woke up in the middle of the night from the noise of a loud explosion.
Burning houses, bloody children, destroyed buildings, elderly people covered in smoke and women screaming in panic were the targets of the war. These words fail to describe the whole horror of the situation.  
Eastern Slavs, who once were a nation, after the Donetsk and Luhansk problems, now shed their blood. It would be a mistake to say that it all began on 21 February of this year, after Vladimir Putin recognized the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Luhansk. The root of this wound goes back many years.
So to whom actually do Donetsk and Luhansk belong? Who founded this state? These arguments will be discussed today.

The History of Donetsk and Luhansk

In the 16th century, eastern Ukraine was inhabited by the Cossack people, who always aspired to live freely and loved freedom. They tried to preserve Russian culture and establish good relations with the Russian Empire. The current Donetsk and Luhansk regions were influenced by Russian-speaking Cossacks. Cossacks formed an army called Zaporozhye Sich here.

In 1654, the troops of Zaporozhye Sechi, led by Bogdan Khmelnytsky, appealed to the Russian tsar (king) Alexey Mikhailovich to join the Russian Empire since at that time, the Kingdom of Poland was expanding eastward. The Russian king accepted the Cossacks of Zaporozhye. After that, Cossacks living in eastern Ukraine joined Russia. The western part remained under the control of the Kingdom of Poland.

Donetsk and Luhansk during the Russian Empire

By the end of the 18th century, the Kingdom of Poland had become much weaker. In 1795, Poland was divided between three countries: Prussia, Russia and Austria. Russia took control of the land on the right bank of the Dnieper. Western Ukraine was conquered by Austria-Hungary. Since then, western Ukraine has developed under the influence of European culture, and the eastern part under Russian culture.

By the end of the 18th century, most of modern Ukraine was annexed to the Russian Empire. In 1795-1796, by the decree of Catherine II (Russian queen) (1762-1796), an iron foundry was opened in Luhansk. The plant was named Luhan. Soon the town grew around the factory. In 1882, the town was renamed Luhansk.

As for Donetsk, it was founded by Cossacks living in Zaporozhye and on the Don. In 1869, a metallurgical plant was built in Donetsk. The area around the factory was later given the status of a city. Originally, this city was called Yuzovka. At the time of Pre-soviet Russia, the cities of Yuzovka (Donetsk) and Luhansk were part of the Ekaterinoslav region.

Donetsk and Luhansk during the USSR

After the February Revolution of 1917, royal power in Russia was overthrown. Under Alexander Kerensky, a provisional government was formed. However, after the October Revolution, the Provisional Government was overthrown. As a result, the Bolsheviks came to power. During the Russian uprising, three independent republics were formed in Ukraine: The Ukrainian People’s Republic, the Donetsk-Krivoj Soviet Republic and the Odessa Soviet Republic.

In early 1918, the territory of Ukraine was occupied by the Soviet Army. As a result, the Donetsk-Krivoj and Odessa Soviet republics were abolished. On January 30, at the 4th Congress of the Soviets, Donetsk and Krivoy Rog were declared autonomous republics within the Soviet Republic. However, a month later, two autonomous republics were annexed to the Soviet Republic of Ukraine.

On December 30, 1922, the Ukraine SSR, the Belarus SSR and the Russia SSR jointly formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In 1929, Donetsk region was renamed Stalino in honor of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

On 21 June 1941, Germany declared war on the Soviet Union. Between 1943 and 1944, the Soviet army drove the Germans out of Ukraine. After the German withdrawal, Soviet power was restored to Ukraine.

In 1953, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev became the leader of the Soviet Union. He pursued a policy of Russification in the country.

Donetsk-Luhansk problem in 1991-2014.

On 24 August 1991, Ukraine, the second-largest country in the Soviet Union, declared its independence. Only after the collapse of the Soviet Union, its independence was recognized.

In 1992, at the Second Congress of the Luhansk Regional People’s Movement, MP Viktor Nikolayevich Tikhonov declared the necessity of restoring the Donetsk-Krivoroj Republic. However, his proposal was rejected by the High Rada of Ukraine (parliament).

In 1994, referendums were held in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. About 90 percent of the population voted to recognize Russian language as an official language alongside Ukrainian, and to designate Russian as the only official language at the regional level. But the referendum was cancelled by the Kyiv government. Naturally, the people of Donetsk and Luhansk did not like it. They were pro-Russian.

Orange revolution

Ukraine held presidential elections in 2004. Two candidates were running for the presidency. The first was Viktor Yanukovych, who advocated rapprochement with Russia, the second was Viktor Yushchenko, who advocated closer integration with the European Union. Yanukovych wins the election, but opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko did not accept the election results. As a result, his supporters began to protest in the country.

Following the protests, the Supreme Court of Ukraine began consideration of the election results. The investigation revealed irregularities in the counting of votes. After that, the results of the second round were cancelled and a third round was held. This time, Yushchenko won and became president. Thus, the West’s position in Ukraine strengthened. After these events, conflict between Ukraine and Russia have intensified.

The 2014 crisis

Viktor Yanukovych won the 2010 presidential election in Ukraine. Relations with Russia naturally recovered. The Kharkiv Agreement on the Black Sea Fleet was signed, and an agreement was reached to extend the lease for another twenty-five years.

Yanukovych attempted to continue cooperation with Russia, on the one hand, and the European Union, on the other. However, the «big bro» exerted pressure on Yanukovych and opposed the entry of Ukraine into the European Union. Unable to reject the will of the Kremlin, Yanukovych suspended EU membership. This led to widespread protests in the country.

Unrest in Ukraine resulted in armed activity in the south-eastern part of the country, which is heavily influenced by Russia. Russia used Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk. They did not recognize new power in Ukraine. On 7 April 2014 Donetsk and 27 April Luhansk declared independence from the Ukraine. A referendum was held on 11 May in both unrecognized new republics. In it, the majority of the population voted to join Russia. Naturally, Ukraine did not like this decision, and it brought troops to Donetsk and Luhansk. Eventually, the war broke out. Russia provided arms and military assistance to the separatists.

The Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics did not receive international recognition. On 5 September 2014, a trilateral ceasefire agreement was signed in Minsk and Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Agreement was signed by Mikhail Zurabov, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation, and the former Ukraine President Leonid Kuchma. Also, Heidi Tagliavini, representative of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Igor Plotnitsky and Alexander Zakharchenko of the Luhansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic signed the document. The Armistice came into force on the same day at 6:00 p.m. local time.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

By early 2022, tensions between Russia and Ukraine increased significantly. Several European leaders intervened to soften relations between the two countries. But these efforts were in vain.

On 21 February, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree in the Kremlin recognizing the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Luhansk in eastern Ukraine. It was a direct signal of war.

On February 23, the leaders of the People’s Republic of Donetsk and the People’s Republic of Luhansk appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin for help in repelling «aggression» in Ukraine. Putin then turned to the nation, announcing a special operation to demilitarize Ukraine. On the same day, the Russian military launched missile attacks on the Ukrainian military infrastructure in Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnieper. Russia also deployed soldiers in Mariupol and Odessa. President Zelensky declared a state emergency.

According to the reports, 137 Ukrainians died and 316 were injured during the first day of the Russian attack. It was not immediately clear how many soldiers and civilians were among the victims and wounded.

According to the report of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the statistics of combat losses of the armed forces of Russia are: 7 aircraft, 6 helicopters, more than 30 tanks and 120 armored vehicles, up to 800 personnel.

On social media, there were video flights of Russian military aircraft and helicopters over Kiev. According to the latest news, Russian troops are advancing towards Kyiv.