Shchastia
Shchastia (Ukrainian: Ща́стя, romanized: Shchastia, lit. 'Happiness', pronounced [ˈʃt͡ʃɑsʲtʲɐ]; Russian: Сча́стье, romanized: Schaste) is a city and the de jure administrative center of Shchastia Raion of the Luhansk Oblast (province) in Ukraine. Population: 11,411 (2022 estimate).[2]
Shchastia
Щастя | |
|---|---|
 Shchastia | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Shchastia  Shchastia | |
| Coordinates: 48.7333°N 39.2333°E | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast | Luhansk Oblast |
| Raion | Shchastia Raion |
| Founded | 1754 |
| City Status | 1963 |
| Control | Russia[1] |
| Population (2022) | |
| • Total | 11,411 |
| Area code | (+380) |
| Vehicle registration | BB / 13 |
| Climate | Dfa |
The Luhansk power station, a large powerplant built in the 1950s, is located north of Shchastia. The town of Shchastia is situated on the Donets river. During the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, the city became a key site of fighting.
History
The village of Shchastia was founded in 1754.
In 1953, construction began on the Luhansk power station. Shchastia received town status in 1963.
War in Donbas
In 2014 Shchastia was controlled by the separatist Luhansk People's Republic from late April 2014 till the Ukrainian army retook the city on 14 June 2014.[3] It was mainly retaken by the volunteer fighters of the Aidar battalion who according to Amnesty International then with “virtually no oversight or control” committed war crimes in Shchastia and nearby cities.[4] According to Shchastia residents this behaviour continued until Aidar was incorporated into the Ukrainian army in spring 2015.[4]
On 5 August 2014, a monument of Vladimir Lenin was removed from the city of Shchastia.
To facilitate the governance of Luhansk Oblast during the war in Donbas, the Verkhovna Rada on 7 October 2014 made some changes in the administrative divisions, so that the localities in the government-controlled areas were grouped into districts. In particular, Shchastia was transferred from Luhansk Municipality to Novoaidar Raion.
On 9 February 2016 112 Ukraine reported that part of the settlement was under control of Ukrainian forces.
In July 2020, as part of the reform of administrative divisions in Ukraine, Novoaidar Raion was absorbed into the newly created Shchastia Raion. Shchastia was made the administrative center of the new raion, although Novoaidar served as the de facto administrative center because it was located farther from the line of contact in the Donbas War.
Full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine
On February 24, 2022, the first day of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Shchastia came under attack by Russian forces and was quickly occupied.[5] On the second day of the war, the governor Serhiy Haidai said that 80% of the town has been destroyed in the invasion.[6] According to locals 90% of all houses were destroyed by shelling.[7]
Gallery
Shchastia cathedral
Cranes monument
Horse monument
WW2 monument in Shchastia
Mertvy Donets River near Shchastia
Luhansk thermal power plant
References
- ""Майже знищені". Щастя та Станиця Луганська на межі гуманітарної катастрофи — голова Луганської ОДА".
- Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
- "Терористи почали обстріл Луганська із "Граду" - джерело". Ukrainska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 16 June 2014.
- Koshiw, Isobel; Vlasova, Anastasia (31 July 2017). "Growing up apolitical in Ukraine's war zone". openDemocracy.
- "Battles against Russian occupiers ongoing near Shchastia, Sumy, Hostomel Airport". Ukrinform. 24 February 2022.
- "Щастя знищене на 80 відсотків – голова ОДА". Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). 25 February 2022.
- Graham-Harrison, Emma; Koshiw, Isobel (4 March 2022). "'90% of houses are damaged': Russia's Syria-honed tactics lay waste Ukraine towns". The Guardian.
- "Home". ukrcensus.gov.ua.
