Volume 1 of War in Ukraine focuses on the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), the largest of the two separatist entities in the east of Ukraine. Armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic aims to provide an overview of their formation in 2014, their status up to the end of February 2022, and combat equipment, while also exploring issues around identity and symbology.
Loosely confederated with the armed formations of the neighbouring Luhansk People’s Republic into the so-called ‘United Armed Forces of Novorossiya’, in reality the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic have retained a degree of autonomy over their units and planning. Often dismissed in existing literature as mere proxy extensions of Russian forces, since their formation in the fighting in eastern Ukraine during 2014 the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic have developed into an integrated fighting force with more main battle tanks than several major Western military powers combined. The title also details some of the key military commanders who have shaped the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic since 2014.
One area of focus of the title explores the unusual and little-known ‘home grown’ military technological developments made by the Donetsk People’s Republic, including multiple launch rocket systems, armoured vehicles, sniper rifles, small arms and remote weapons stations.
The emerging visual propaganda culture around the armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic is also explored, with military glory and fallen personnel commemorated in large scale military parades, murals, monuments and even postage stamps.
War in Ukraine Volume 1: Armed formations of the Donetsk People’s Republic also presents a wealth of unique visual material including unit patches, a selection of unique photographs, diagrams and maps, and will be of interest to anyone studying the conflict in Ukraine.
