Myth: Ukraine bombed Donbas for 8 years.
Fact: The conflict in Donbas, which started in 2014, involved both Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists, and there were casualties on both sides. According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), between 2014 and 2022, the total number of civilian casualties in the Donbas conflict was 3,404, covering both Ukrainian and separatist-held areas. The claim that Ukraine was solely responsible for these deaths ignores the significant role of Russian-backed separatists and the broader context of the conflict.
However, this is drastically different from Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, which led to the deaths of thousands of Ukrainian civilians within just the first few months, with the UN reporting over 5,000 civilian deaths by mid-2022 alone. Russia’s invasion has caused far more destruction and loss of life than the previous 8 years of fighting, as Russia deliberately targeted civilian areas across Ukraine.
In 2014, Ukraine’s military actions in Donbas were a response to Russian-backed forces, including native Russians like Igor Girkin, who led the separatists and is responsible for the downing of MH17, killing 298 civilians. Ukraine was defending its territory from foreign aggression, not targeting its own people. The Azov Battalion, which formed in May 2014, came after the Russian invasion and was not involved in any “massacres” of Russian-speaking Ukrainians.
Donbas is home to a majority of ethnic Ukrainians, not Russians, and the fighting was a result of an invasion by Russian-backed separatists, not internal warfare against Russian speakers. Ukraine’s efforts were focused on protecting its sovereignty and citizens from foreign aggression, which began with the Russian annexation of Ukrainian territory in Crimea.