From the beginning of March 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in the Donetsk and Lugansk region of Ukraine. These demonstrations escalated into an armed conflict between the separatist forces of the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and the Ukrainian government. After years of corruption of president Yanukovich’s government, army's fighting capacity critically decreased. Many Ukrainians decided that it is their duty to fight; a number of volunteer battalions were created to confront separatists. People, often without any military training began to join volunteer military formations. One of these formations is volunteer battalion Donbass. Mechanics, lawyers, businessmen and many other people decided to leave their jobs and usual way of life to defend their homeland.