15 Battles of the war in Donbass

From mid-January 2015 during the war in the Donbass region of Ukraine, the separatist forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) tried to recapture the city of Debaltseve in Donetsk Oblast, which had been under Ukrainian control since a counter-offensive by government forces in July 2014. The city lay in a "wedge" of Ukrainian-held territory bordered by the DPR on one side, and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) on the other, and is a vital road and railway junction. Separatists began a concerted effort to force Ukrainian troops out of the city on 16–17 January, sparking the Battle of Debaltseve. Heavy fighting went on until 18 February 2015, when Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw.

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.

Fighting between separatist forces affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), and Ukrainian military and volunteer forces broke out at Donetsk International Airport on 28 September 2014, sparking the Second Battle of Donetsk Airport, a part of the ongoing war in the Donbass region of Ukraine. This followed an earlier battle over control of the airport in May 2014, which left it in Ukrainian hands. The new battle was sparked despite a ceasefire agreement, the Minsk Protocol, that had been in place from 5 September. At the start of the battle, the airport was the last part of Donetsk city held by government forces, and it lies between the separatist and Ukrainian lines of control. Heavy fighting over the airport continued into the new year, with some of the worst fighting having taken place in January 2015. On 21 January, DPR forces overran the government's positions at the airport. The remaining Ukrainian forces were either killed, forced to retreat, or captured.

The Great Raid of 2014, also known as the raid of the 95th Brigade, took place from July 19 to August 10, 2014 during the war in eastern Ukraine. According to official information, the units of the 95th Air Assault Brigade, reinforced with assets from the 25th Airborne and 30th and 51st Mechanized Brigades, conducted a 470 km raid, of which 170 km were behind enemy lines. During the raid, the 95th Brigade paratroopers entered into armed clashes with the Russian army.

The Battle of Horlivka began when Ukrainian government forces attempted to recapture the city of Horlivka, in Donetsk Oblast, from pro-Russian insurgents affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) on 21 July 2014.

The Battle of Ilovaisk started on 7 August 2014, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine and pro-Ukrainian paramilitaries began a series of attempts to capture the city of Ilovaisk from pro-Russian insurgents affiliated with the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and detachments of the Russian Armed Forces. Although Ukrainian forces were able to enter the city on 18 August, they were encircled between 24 and 26 August by overwhelming Russian military forces that crossed the border, joining the battle. After days of encirclement, government forces made an agreement with the insurgents to allow them to retreat from the city. This agreement was not honoured, and many soldiers died whilst trying to escape.

An entrenched standoff between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic took place from 12 April until 5 July 2014. During the rising unrest in Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, the city of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast came under the control of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic on 12 April. In an effort to retake the city, the Ukrainian government launched a counter-offensive against the separatist, who had taken up positions in the city. The DPR army units withdrew from city on 5 July, allowing Ukrainian forces to subsequently recapture the city, ending the standoff.

The Siege of the Luhansk Border Base was a two-day-long stand-off at a Ukrainian border base located on the outskirts of Luhansk city. It happened from July 2 to July 4 of 2014.

The Battle of Marinka was a short battle in the War in Donbass in and around Marinka, Donetsk Oblast. The Ukrainian 28th Guards Mechanised Brigade, 30th Mechanised Brigade, 43rd Artillery Brigade and 93rd Mechanised Brigade fought the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic's (DPR) Republican Guard and Pyatnashka Brigade under Akhra Avidzba. The town of Marinka was briefly seized by the DPR forces before it was recaptured by the Ukrainians.

During the rising unrest in Ukraine in the aftermath of the 2014 Ukrainian revolution, the city of Mariupol, in Donetsk Oblast, saw skirmishes break out between Ukrainian government forces, local police, separatist militants affiliated with the Donetsk People's Republic. Government forces withdrew from Mariupol on 9 May 2014 after heavy fighting left the city's police headquarters gutted by fire. These forces maintained checkpoints outside the city. Intervention by Metinvest steelworkers on 15 May 2014 led to the removal of barricades from the city centre, and the resumption of patrols by local police. Separatists continued to operate a headquarters in another part of the city until their positions were overrun in a government offensive on 13 June 2014.

An attack on Mariupol was launched on 24 January 2015 by pro-Russian forces associated with the Donetsk People's Republic against the strategic maritime city of Mariupol, defended by Ukrainian government forces. Mariupol had come under attack multiple times in the past year in the course of the War in Donbass, including in May–June 2014, when the city was under the control of pro-Russian forces; and the September 2014 offensive.

In late August and early September 2014, rebels supporting the Donetsk People's Republic advanced on the government-controlled port city of Mariupol in southern Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine which it had controlled between May and June. This followed a wide offensive by DPR/Novorossiya forces, which led to their capture of Novoazovsk to the east. Fighting reached the outskirts of Mariupol on 6 September.

The Battle in Shakhtarsk Raion began on 16 July 2014, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to cut off insurgent supply lines from Russia. Fighting broke out around the towns of Marynivka, Dmytrivka, Stepanivka, Shakhtarsk, as well as the strategic hill of Savur-Mohyla. It later spread to the cities of Snizhne and Torez. While the battle was in progress, a civilian passenger airliner, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, was shot down near Hrabove. Amidst a wide counter-offensive by the insurgents and their Russian backers across Donbass, government troops were forced out of Shakhtarsk Raion on 26 August.

The Shyrokyne standoff was a battle for the control of the strategic village of Shyrokyne, located approximately 11 km (6.8 mi) east of Mariupol city limits, between Ukrainian forces, led by the Azov Battalion, and Russian backed separatists. It is part of the larger War in Donbass. On 10 February 2015, the Azov battalion launched a surprise offensive against pro-Russian separatists associated with the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) with the aim of pushing the separatist forces away from Mariupol city limits. The village is located just 10 km (6.2 mi) from the Ukrainian-controlled city of Mariupol, and was used as a launching point for separatist attacks on the city, which served as the administrative centre of Donetsk Oblast whilst DPR forces control Donetsk city. Fighting continued until 3 July 2015, when DPR forces unilaterally withdrew from Shyrokyne. Subsequently a cease-fire was declared in the area.

The Siege of Sloviansk was an operation by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to recapture the city of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast from pro-Russian insurgents who had seized it on 12 April 2014. The city was taken back on 5 July 2014 after shelling from artillery and heavy fighting. The fighting in Sloviansk marked the first major military engagement between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces, in the first run of battles in 2014.