Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have proclaimed a new state on the territories they control.
More than 10,000 people have died in fighting after Russia-backed separatists took control of parts of Ukraine’s industrial heartland in April 2014. Ukraine signed a cease-fire deal with the separatists in 2015 which also provided for a gradual return of the areas into Kyiv’s fold while giving some autonomy to the areas. The agreement was never fully implemented.
