Luhansk People's Republic

The '''Luhansk People's Republic versus Russian pronunciation of the Cyrillic letter Г. Luhansk is the more common English spelling, as the region is internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.}} (LPR'''; , ) is a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitaries in 2014, and it initially operated as a breakaway state until it was annexed by Russia in 2022. The entire territory of LPR is viewed as sovereign territory of Ukraine by nearly all UN member states. It has a population of

Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity in 2014, pro-Russian, counter-revolutionary unrest erupted in the eastern part of the country. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, while the armed separatists seized government buildings and proclaimed the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) as independent states. This sparked the war in Donbas, part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The LPR and DPR were often described as puppet states of Russia during this conflict. They received no international recognition from United Nations member states before 2022.

On 21 February 2022, Russia recognised the LPR and DPR as sovereign states. Three days later, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, partially under the pretext of protecting the republics. Russian forces captured more of Luhansk Oblast (almost all of it), which became part of the LPR. In September 2022, Russia proclaimed the annexation of the LPR and other occupied territories, following referendums which were considered illegal under international law. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognise what it called the "attempted illegal annexation" and demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw". Provided by Wikipedia