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 recognised as part of Ukraine.}} (LPR'''; , ) is a disputed republic of Russia with a capital in Luhansk, established on an illegally annexed part of Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. The LPR was created in 2014 when Russian-backed paramilitaries took control of settlements in the province. This started an eight-year war against Ukraine. The LPR declared itself to be an independent state, but was often described as a puppet state of Russia during the conflict. It was unilaterally annexed by Russia in 2022.

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. 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, with the protection of the two republics presented as one of the justifications. 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 most of the international community considered to be 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".

The head of the Republic is Leonid Pasechnik. Provided by Wikipedia