UKRAINE, 2014 Archival footage from 2014 documents the aftermath of fighting in eastern Ukraine, where armed formations of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), supported by Russia, fought against Ukrainian forces.
In the recording, a Ukrainian soldier walks through the battlefield and documents the losses suffered by pro-Russian armed units. The video dates back to the early stages of the conflict in Donbas, which erupted in 2014 following the outbreak of an armed uprising in the eastern part of the country.
In 2014, Ukraine found itself in a deep political and security crisis. Following the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014, Russia annexed Crimea in March, and an armed uprising by pro-Russian separatists broke out in Donbas in eastern Ukraine. The separatists declared the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian military launched a military operation against them. At the time, Moscow denied providing military support to the separatists and portrayed the conflict as an internal Ukrainian matter. However, evidence of Russian weapons deliveries, the presence of Russian fighters, and the involvement of Russian soldiers gradually undermined these claims. Russia continued to deny its direct military involvement for years, despite the presence of its regular military units in fighting in eastern Ukraine being documented later.
