Donbass

The Donbass (Russian: Донба́сс) or Donbas (Ukrainian: Донбас) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The word "Donbass" is a portmanteau formed from Donets Basin (Ukrainian: Донецький басейн, translit. Donetskyi basein; Russian: Донецкий бассейн, Donetskiy bassein), which refers to the river Donets that flows through it. Multiple definitions of the region's extent exist, but its boundaries have never been officially demarcated. The most common definition in use today refers to the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine, whilst the historical coal mining region excluded parts of these oblasts, and included areas in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Southern Russia. A Euroregion of the same name is composed of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in Ukraine and Rostov Oblast in Russia. Donbass formed the historical border between the Zaporizhian Sich and Don Cossack Host. It has been an important coal mining area since the late 19th century, when it became a heavily industrialised territory.

Donbas (disambiguation)

Donbas and Donbass are alternative names for the Donets Basin.

Donbas or Donbass may also refer to:

See also

Donbas Battalion

Donbas Battalion, (Ukrainian: Батальйон "Донбас"), is a volunteered National Guard of Ukraine unit subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, based in Severodonetsk. The formation was established in the Spring of 2014 during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine. The battalion was created by Semen Semenchenko, an ethnic Russian native of Donetsk, who is a major in the National Guard of Ukraine. The unit was formed as a territorial defense battalion and has been fully integrated into the armed forces of Ukraine and re-designated as the 3rd Reserve Battalion of the National Guard of Ukraine.

History

Semenchenko, a former Ukrainian reserve captain, states that he and the other members of the Donbas Battalion gained combat experience in the Ukrainian Ground Forces or Soviet Army. According to him the all-volunteer Battalion was initially funded wholly by their own members savings and donations from individuals and "receiving zero salary from either the state or oligarchs". The Ukrainian Interior Ministry adopted Donbas Battalion as a National Guard of Ukraine unit thus allowing them to operate legally.