Minsk agreements

Not to be confused with OSCE Minsk Group.
A map of the buffer zone established by the Minsk Protocol follow-up memorandum

The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war fought between armed Russian separatist groups and Armed Forces of Ukraine, with Russian regular forces playing a central part.[1] After a defeat at Ilovaisk at the end of August 2014, Russia forced Ukraine to sign the first Minsk Protocol, or the Minsk I.[2] It was drafted by the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, consisting of Ukraine, Russia, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE),[3][4] with mediation by the leaders of France and Germany in the so-called Normandy Format. After extensive talks in Minsk, Belarus, the agreement was signed on 5 September 2014 by representatives of the Trilateral Contact Group and, without recognition of their status, by the then-leaders of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). This agreement followed multiple previous attempts to stop the fighting in the region and aimed to implement an immediate ceasefire.

The agreement failed to stop fighting.[5] At the start of January 2015, Russia sent another large batch of its regular military.[2] Following the Russian victory at Donetsk International Airport in defiance of the Protocol, Russia repeated its pattern of August 2014, invaded with fresh forces and attacked Ukrainian forces at Debaltseve, where Ukraine suffered a major defeat, and was forced to sign a Package of Measures for the Implementation of the Minsk Agreements, or Minsk II,[2] which was signed on 12 February 2015.[6] This agreement consisted of a package of measures, including a ceasefire, withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line, release of prisoners of war, constitutional reform in Ukraine granting self-government to certain areas of Donbas and restoring control of the state border to the Ukrainian government. While fighting subsided following the agreement's signing, it never ended completely, and the agreement's provisions were never fully implemented.[7] The former German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier suggested a mechanism of granting an autonomy to Eastern Donbas only after "the OSCE certified that the local elections had followed international standards", called the Steinmeier formula.[8]

Amid rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in early 2022, Russia officially recognised the DPR and LPR on 21 February 2022.[9] Following that decision, on 22 February 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that the Minsk agreements "no longer existed", and that Ukraine, not Russia, was to blame for their collapse.[10] Russia then launched a full invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.[11]

  1. ^ Galeotti, Mark (2019). Armies of Russia's War in Ukraine. Elite 228. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. p. 31. ISBN 9781472833440.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Chairperson-in-Office welcomes Minsk agreement, assures President Poroshenko of OSCE support" (Press release). Bern: Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2014.
  4. ^ "OSCE Chief Monitor in Ukraine urges all sides to allow monitors to carry out duties safely" (Press release). Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference SKYNAEMP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Ukraine crisis: Leaders agree peace roadmap". BBC News. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Almost entire 'gray' zone in Donbas liberated by Ukraine without Minsk deal breach – adviser". UNIAN. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  8. ^ Arel, Dominique; Driscoll, Jesse (5 January 2023). Ukraine's Unnamed War: Before the Russian Invasion of 2022. Cambridge University Press. p. 193. ISBN 978-1-316-51149-7.
  9. ^ Roth, Andrew; Borger, Julian (21 February 2022). "Putin orders troops into eastern Ukraine on 'peacekeeping duties'". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Ukraine conflict: Biden sanctions Russia over 'beginning of invasion'". BBC News. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  11. ^ Sarkar, Alisha Rahaman; Marcus, Josh; Giordano, Chiara (24 February 2022). "Dozens dead and airports bombarded after Putin invades Ukraine - live". The Independent. Archived from the original on 15 May 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.