Since 2014, Eastern Ukraine (the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk) has witnessed a war between separatists and the Ukrainian government. Ukrainian forces were accused of committing "genocide" against civilians in Donbas. After a number of meetings and agreements were signed between the Russian and Ukrainian governments—including the Minsk Agreement—the Ukrainian government failed to abide by the treaty. This led to the genocide of the population in the Donbas basin, prompting the Russian government to provide support to the separatists in Donbas in order to protect the residents of those areas. Furthermore, one of the primary reasons for the outbreak of war between the two sides was the military expansion of NATO into Ukraine, which Russia considers a "red line." Russia demanded that Ukraine not join the NATO alliance, as Ukraine's membership would mean the arrival of Western weapons and missiles directly at its borders.