First Battle of Donetsk Airport [SEP] end time
First Battle of Donetsk Airport
The First Battle of Donetsk Airport was a conflict between separatist insurgents associated with the Donetsk People's Republic and Ukrainian government forces that took place at Donetsk International Airport on 26–27 May 2014, as part of the War in Donbass that began after the 2014 Ukrainian revolution. A second battle broke out at the airport on 28 September 2014.
Background.
The Ukrainian government started an "anti-terrorist" operation against pro-Russian insurgents in the Donetsk Oblast in early April 2014. Pro-
Donetsk Airport and the Battle of Debaltseve. A report released by the Royal United Services Institute in March 2015 said that "the presence of large numbers of Russian troops on Ukrainian sovereign territory" had become a "permanent feature" of the war in Donbass since August 2014. In a press conference on 17 December 2015, Russian president Vladimir Putin acknowledged for the first time that there had been a Russian military presence in the Donbass region, though he said that this did not mean that there were "Russian troops" there.