Changes

The '''Donbas war''' began with the 2014 [[Obama administration]]-backed [[Maidan coup]] which overthrew the [[democracy|democratically]] elected president of [[Ukraine]].<ref>https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/06/03/how-why-us-government-perpetrated-2014-coup-ukraine/</ref>  [[President Viktor Yanukovych]]'s election had been certified by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).  He was the first democratically elected official overthrown in a violent revolution in recent memory.  The [[coup]] was accomplished with the aid anti-Russian [[neo-Nazi]]s. Following the upheaval, [[Donetsk]] and [[Lugansk]] in the Don River Basin (or Donbas) of [[Eastern Europe]] declared their independence from [[Kyiv]] and became known as the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, collectively known as the Donbas.  

The '''Donbas war''' began with the 2014 [[Obama administration]]-backed [[Maidan coup]] which overthrew the [[democracy|democratically]] elected president of [[Ukraine]].<ref>https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2018/06/03/how-why-us-government-perpetrated-2014-coup-ukraine/</ref>  [[President Viktor Yanukovych]]'s election had been certified by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).  He was the first democratically elected official overthrown in a violent revolution in recent memory.  The [[coup]] was accomplished with the aid anti-Russian [[neo-Nazi]]s. It was an unconstitutional [[regime change]].

Since 2014, the [[Russian]] speaking majority of the region has been at war with Kyiv government. The two sides negotiated a truce in 2015 in the Minsk II Agreements.

[[Crimea]] held a referendum and rejoined Russia rather than live under an illegal government.  However, Russia did not accept the results of the [[Donetsk]] and [[Luhansk]] referendums. Donetsk and Luhansk then declared their independence from [[Kyiv]] and became known as the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, collectively known as the Donbas.  A truce known as the Minsk agreements between the separatist republics and the Kyiv government was negotiated in 2015 with help of [[France]] and [[Germany]].  [[Moscow]] backed the Minsk agreements which Kyiv also agreed to and the [[United Nations Security Council]] endorsed. The Minsk Agreements would give autonomy to those two provinces while remaining part of Ukraine.

==Allegations of genocide==

==Allegations of genocide==

In February 2022 Russia accused Ukraine's military of committing "crimes against residents of the eastern Donbas region" in a report filed with the [[United Nations]].<ref>https://theweek.com/russia/1010313/russia-in-report-to-un-again-accuses-ukraine-of-genocide-amid-shelling-in-donbas</ref>  The Russian news outlet ''Sputnik'' reported that the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal investigation after the discovery of mass graves of civilians in Donbass.  "The remains of at least 295 civilians who died as a result of indiscriminate shelling by Ukrainian armed forces in 2014 were exhumed from them. It is already known that among the remains there are bodies of women of different ages," a statement from the committee said.<ref>https://sputniknews.com/20220216/russia-opens-criminal-case-after-discovery-of-mass-graves-of-civilians-in-donbass-1093089542.html</ref>  

In February 2022 Russia accused Ukraine's military of committing "crimes against residents of the eastern Donbas region" in a report filed with the [[United Nations]].<ref>https://theweek.com/russia/1010313/russia-in-report-to-un-again-accuses-ukraine-of-genocide-amid-shelling-in-donbas</ref>  The Russian news outlet ''Sputnik'' reported that the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal investigation after the discovery of mass graves of civilians in Donbass.  "The remains of at least 295 civilians who died as a result of indiscriminate shelling by Ukrainian armed forces in 2014 were exhumed from them. It is already known that among the remains there are bodies of women of different ages," a statement from the committee said.<ref>https://sputniknews.com/20220216/russia-opens-criminal-case-after-discovery-of-mass-graves-of-civilians-in-donbass-1093089542.html</ref>  

Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] called the events in Donbass a "[[genocide]],"<ref>https://www.marketwatch.com/story/russian-documents-level-genocide-allegation-against-ukraine-in-eastern-donbas-region-11645114453</ref> saying that the Ukrainian government continues to violate [[human rights]], including by legalizing the [[discrimination]] of the Russian-speaking population in the country.  On January 16, 2022 ''Tass'' reported that Ukraine mandated all print media are to switch to the Ukrainian language.<ref>https://tass.com/world/1388729</ref>

Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] called the events in Donbass a "[[genocide]],"<ref>https://www.marketwatch.com/story/russian-documents-level-genocide-allegation-against-ukraine-in-eastern-donbas-region-11645114453</ref> saying that the Ukrainian government continues to violate [[human rights]], including by legalizing the [[discrimination]] of the Russian-speaking population in the country.  On January 16, 2022 ''Tass'' reported that Ukraine mandated all print media are to switch to the Ukrainian language.<ref>https://tass.com/world/1388729</ref>

== See also ==

== See also ==