The Donbass People's Militia (DPM) was the main militia of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic in Ukraine from 3 March to 16 September 2014. It was formed by the People's Governor of Luhansk Oblast, Pavel Gubarev, at the start of the Donbass War; likewise, the Luhansk People's Republic formed the Luhansk People's Militia soon after. The DPM initially participated in the takeover of government buildings in Donetsk Oblast before fighting against the Ukrainian Ground Forces. On 14 November 2014, the DPM was merged into the DPR Armed Forces, which came to have a strength of 35,500 in 2017.