Vuhledar
Vuhledar (Ukrainian: Вугледа́р, IPA: [wʊɦɫeˈdɑr] ⓘ; Russian: Угледа́р, romanized: Ugledar, IPA: [ʊɡlʲɪˈdar]), is a town in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is 55.7 km (34.6 mi) southwest of the city of Donetsk, the administrative centre of the oblast. At the beginning of 2022, the population of Vuhledar was 14,144.[2]
Vuhledar
| |
|---|---|
 The Pivdennodonbaska 1 coal mine | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Vuhledar Vuhledar shown within Donetsk  Vuhledar Vuhledar shown within Ukraine | |
| Coordinates: 47°46′45″N 37°14′54″E | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast |  Donetsk Oblast |
| Raion | Volnovakha Raion |
| Hromada | Vuhledar urban hromada |
| Founded | 1964 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.3 km2 (2.0 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 187 m (614 ft) |
| Population (2023)[1] | |
| • Total |  <500 |
| In January 2022, prior to the Russian invasion, it was 14,144.[2] | |
| Postal code | 85670-85671 |
| Area code | +380-6273 |
| Climate | Warm summer subtype |
| KOATUU | 1414800000 |
| Website | vugledar-rada |
The town has been a battleground between Ukraine and Russia since 13 March 2022, and Russia later claimed the town as belonging to the Donetsk People's Republic following an internationally unrecognised annexation. According to Ukrainian authorities, less than 500 chose to remain inside the town.[3]
History
In the 1960s, during the Soviet era, the mining basin south of the major industrial city of Donetsk was beginning to be developed.[4] The settlement that would later be known as Vuhledar was founded around the Pivdennodonbaska 1 coal mine,[5] originally under the name of "Pivdennyi Donetsk", meaning "South Donetsk".[4] There were initially plans to develop it into a major industrial city with the same name as the mine, inhabited by a hundred thousand inhabitants, with ten mines, but by the 1970s, the development of coal reserves in the southern Donbas basin was less promising than in the Kuzbass, so it only grew to the size of a small town. In 1969, the village was renamed Vuhledar, which means "gift of coal", and in 1991, it received city status.[4]
Russo-Ukrainian War
After the beginning of the war in Donbas in 2014, the city appears to have been strongly fortified because of fighting between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists from the Donetsk People's Republic.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On the day the invasion began, Vuhledar was hit by a Russian ballistic missile carrying a cluster munition. The missile struck outside a hospital and killed four civilians and injured another 10.[6][7] Russian forces attempted to push towards the town throughout 2022 without success.
In early 2023, Russian forces attacked Vuhledar anew.[8] In February 2023, Vuhledar's deputy mayor Maksym Verbovsky stated that Vuhledar "was destroyed", with "one hundred percent of the buildings damaged;"[8] fewer than 500 civilians, and only one child, remained in the town once populated with 15,000 residents.[9][10]
Economy
The Pivdennodonbaska 1 coal mine in Vuhledar is one of the largest coal reserves in Ukraine, having estimated reserves of 69.3 million tonnes.[11] The Pivdennodonbaska 3 mine, also in Vuhledar, is even larger, with estimated reserves of 156.9 million tonnes.[11]
Demographics
As of the 2001 Ukrainian Census, its population was 17,440, and subdivided into:[12]
- Ethnicity
- Ukrainians: 63.1%
- Russians: 33.1%
- Belarusians: 1.0%
- Language
- Russian: 70.8%
- Ukrainian: 28.2%
- Belarusian: 0.1%
Notable people
- Dmytro Khomchenovskyi (born 16 April 1990), footballer
- Anastasiya Lysenko (born 2 December 1995), weightlifter
References
- "«Якесь пекло на землі. Тут тільки хочеться плакати». Репортаж із Вугледару, де досі залишаються люди". novosti.dn.ua. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
- 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.
- Eckel, Mike (2023-02-17). "What Happened In Vuhledar? A Battle Points To Major Russian Military Problems". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 2023-05-28.
- Ivtšenko, A.; Klimenko, N. P. (2006). "Vuhledar (Вугледар)". Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine (in Ukrainian). ISBN 9789660220744. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- "Вугледар, Мар'їнський Район, Донецька Область". Історія міст і сіл Української РСР [The History of Cities and Villages of the Ukrainian SSR] (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 10 February 2023.
- "Ukraine: Russian Cluster Munition Hits Hospital". hrw.org. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- "Rights groups say Russian cluster bombs hit school, hospital in possible war crimes". Times of Israel. AFP. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
- Santora, Marc. "Russia pushes to take Ukrainian town near a vital supply line". Japan Times. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- "Evacuation efforts underway in Vuhledar: One child remaining in city". www.ukrinform.net. 7 February 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- Santora, Marc (2023-02-04). "Russia Pushes to Take Ukrainian Town Near a Vital Supply Line". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-02-07.
- "Coal mine methane in Ukraine" (PDF). epa.gov. January 2001. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
- "Ukrcensus.gov.ua". Retrieved 9 February 2015.
