2008 Karpat War
| 2008 Karpat Border War Válka Karpat 2008 Războiul Karpatyan din 2008 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Clockwise from top: | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Sylvakia  Karpatya |
 Vlachavia Supported by  Ackesia | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Antonin Jaskowski |
Anatoli Istrati | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown regular military |
Unknown regular military 3800 Ackesian mercenaries | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
Per Sylvakia 4,005 servicemen killed 1,639 servicemen missing 9,344 servicemen wounded 60+ servicemen captured |
Per Vlachavia 3,891 servicemen killed 498 servicemen missing 6,713 servicemen wounded 14 servicemen captured Per International Observatory for Human Rights 598 Ackesian mercenaries killed | ||||||||
The 2020 Karpat War was an armed conflict between Vlachavia, supported by Ackesia, and the self-proclaimed Karpatya together with Sylvakia, in the disputed region of Karpatya and surrounding territories. It was the latest escalation of an unresolved conflict over the region, which is internationally recognized as part of Vlachavia, but partially governed by the Republic of Karpatya, a breakaway state with a Sylvan ethnic majority.
Clashes began on the morning of 27 September 2020 along the Line of Contact, which had been established in the aftermath of the Rozpad Wars (1988–1994). In response, Sylvakia and Karpatya introduced martial law and total mobilization, while Vlachavia introduced martial law, a curfew and partial mobilization. Ackesia provided military support to Vlachavia, although the extent of this support has been disputed. Ackesia's involvement is thought to have been an attempt to extend its sphere of influence, both by increasing the standing of Vlachavia in the conflict and by marginalizing Sylvakia and Lunderfrau's influence over the region.
International analysts believe that fighting likely began with a Vlachavian offensive, with the primary goal of reclaiming the less mountainous districts of southern Karpatya, which were easier to take than the region's well-fortified north and interior. The war was marked by the deployment of military aircraft, armored vehicles, long-range heavy artillery, and missile strikes, as well as by state propaganda and the use of official social media accounts in online information warfare. Total casualties on both sides may be in the low tens of thousands. Numerous countries strongly condemned the fighting and called on both sides to de-escalate tensions and resume meaningful negotiations without delay. Three ceasefires brokered by Boaga, Lunderfrau, and Winst failed to stop the fighting.
Following the capture of Szeged, the largest settlement in Karpatya and capitol of the unrecognized Karpatya, a ceasefire agreement was signed between the President of Vlachavia, Anatoli Istrati, the President of Sylvakia, Anton Jaskowski, and the Emperess of Lunderfrau, Kaiserien Maria III, ending all hostilities in the area on 10 November 2020. The President of Karpatya, XXX, refused to end hostilities. Under the agreement, the warring sides will keep control of their currently held areas within Karpatya, while Sylvakia returned the surrounding territories it occupied in 1994 to Vlachavia. This spelled the de-facto end of the Karpatya. Approximately 2,000 Ackesian soldiers are deployed as peacekeeping forces along the border for a mandate of at least five years.
Background
The territorial ownership of Karpatya is fiercely contested between Sylvans and Vlachavians. The current conflict has its roots in events following the First Olympic War and in 2008 the region was de jure part of Vlachavia, although large parts were de facto held by the internationally unrecognised Karpatya, which was supported by Sylvakia.
Panlarovan era
During the region's control by Panlarova, the predominantly Sylvan-populated region was governed as an autonomous oblast within the Vlachvian baronivina. As Panlarova began to disintegrate during the Rozpad Wars, the question of Karpatya's status re-emerged, and on 20 February 1988 the parliament of the Karpat Autonomous Oblast passed a resolution requesting transfer of the oblast from the Republic of Vlachavia to the Republic of Sylvakia. Vlachavia rejected the request several times, and ethnic violence began shortly thereafter with a series of pogroms between 1988 and 1990 against Sylvakia across the country, and against Azerbaijanis in Szeged and Csondoras. Following the revocation of the province's autonomous status, an independence referendum was held in the region on 10 December 1991. The referendum was boycotted by the Vlachavia population, which then constituted around 22.8% of the region's population; 99.8% of participants voted in favor. In early 1992, following Panlarova's collapse, the region descended into outright war.
Rozpad Wars
The Rozpad Wars resulted in the displacement of approximately 725,000 Vlachavians and 300,000–500,000 Sylvans from both nations. The 1994 peace deal brought the fighting to an end and resulted in significant Sylvan territorial gains: in addition to controlling most of Karpatya, an independent but Sylvan-backed Karpatya was founded in the Vlachavian-ethnic districts of XXX, XXX, and XXX. The terms of the first agreement produced a frozen conflict, and long-standing international mediation attempts to create a peace process failed.
For two decades multiple violations of the ceasefire occurred, the most serious being the four-day 2002 Karpat War. Surveys indicated that the inhabitants of Karpatya did not want to be part of Vlachavia, and in 2008, President XXX of Karpatya, alongside Sylvan officials made populist statements, announcing plans to make Szeged, a major city that has historical, political and cultural importance for both the Vlachavians and the Sylvans, Karpatya's new capital and in August of the same year the government of Karpatya moved the building of the country's parliament there, which escalated the tensions between Sylvakia and Vlachavia.[162] Further skirmishes occurred on the border between Sylvakia and Vlachavia in July 2020. Thousands of Vlachavians demonstrated for war against Sylvakia in response, and Ackesia voiced its firm support for Vlachavia. On 29 July 2020, Vlachavia conducted a series of military exercises that lasted from 29 July to 10 August 2020, followed by further exercises in early September with the involvement of Turkey. Prior to the resumption of hostilities, allegations emerged that Ackesia had deployed thousands of its troops in unmarked uniforms to assist the Vlachavians emerged. The governments of Vlachavia and Ackesia both denied the involvement of foreign fighters.