Horlivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine

🇺🇦 Horlivka, also known by its Russian name Gorlovka or Gorlowka, is a city of regional significance in the Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine. Economic activity is predominantly coal mining and the chemical industry. The Horlivka State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages has a two building campus in the city centre. The city is divided into three city districts: Mykytivka, Kalinin, and City Centre.

The city municipality also includes several towns and villages. Most of populated places belongs to the City Center district, while Hladosove, Holmivsky and Zaitseve is part of Mykytivka district. Urban-type settlements: Holmivsky, Zaitseve, Panteleymonivka; villages: Mykhailivka, Ryasne; Hamlets: Hladosove, Ozeryanivka, Piatykhatky, Stavky, Fedorivka, Shyroka Balka.

The city was severely damaged during the Battle of Horlivka in 2014 as part of the war in Donbas, and again during the eastern Ukraine campaign of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since 2014, it has been mainly under Russian occupation.

History In 1779, the city was founded as Gosudarev Posad and in 1869 it was renamed after Pyotr Gorlov as Gorlovka. The workers' town provided basic services to and organization of a series of mining camps. During the Russian Revolution of 1905, it was the scene of an armed uprising.

In April 1918, troops loyal to the Ukrainian People's Republic took control of Horlivka. Subsequently, under Soviet control, by the 1930s it had expanded considerably and become a major centre for mining operations in the Ukrainian SSR.

The city was occupied by German troops from 1941 to 1943. During World War II retreating Nazis burned buildings and perpetrated mass shootings. Nonetheless, the city's population had risen to over 400,000 by the end of the war. In recent years many mines have closed. The population fell by more than ten percent during the 1990s.

War in Donbas In the middle of April 2014, and shortly thereafter, pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast. A group of separatists seized the police station in Horlivka on April 14; the city hall was seized on April 30. The mayor of the city, Yevhen Klep, was detained by the separatists on June 11, and not released until July 18. Local chief of police Andriy Kryschenko was captured and badly beaten by the insurgents.[nb 1] A Horlivka city council deputy, Volodymyr Rybak, was kidnapped by the pro-Russian militants on April 17. His body was later found in a river on April 22. The city administration building was seized on April 30, solidifying separatist control over Horlivka. Self-proclaimed mayor of Horlivka Volodymyr Kolosniuk was arrested by the SBU on suspicion of participation in "terrorist activities" on July 2.

On July 21 and 22, 2014, the city saw heavy fighting. The Ukrainian army reportedly retook parts of Horlivka on July 21. After the Ukrainian army had retaken Lysychansk on July 25, 2014, the recapture of Horlivka became a priority, for the city was seen as "a direct path to the regional centre – Donetsk". As of July 28, the city was reported to be fully surrounded by Ukrainian troops, with rebels holding their positions inside. However, Horlivka continued to be controlled by separatist forces. As of June 2015 it was situated ten km from the war front. Suburbs of Horlivka stayed under Ukrainian army control. In November 2017 they regained control of the villages of Travneve and Hladosove north of Horlivka.

As reported by the city administration, from the beginning of the conflict until late January 2015, 274 local civilians were wounded and 92 killed, including nine children. Because of the conflict the city's population shrank to 180,000.

In late March 2019, according to Ukrainian media reports, Ukrainian army mine clearance specialist Andriy Shor, who participated in both battles for the Donetsk Airport and the Battle of Pisky, announced on Facebook that the Ukrainian army had recently taken control of Horlivka city. Unian reported that Ukrainian forces had secured the outskirts of the city and are slowly advancing further towards the centre of Horlivka, citing Ukrainian volunteer Yuriy Mysiahin. In May the separatists tried to push the Ukrainian forces back, but failed.

As of 2020, the majority of the town remains under separatist control. In June 2020, the former head of DPR propaganda in Horlivka handed himself to SBU.

In July 2020, as part of the reform of administrative divisions in Ukraine, Horlivka was made the administrative centre of Horlivka Raion. This new status is not recognised by the pro-Russian occupation authorities.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 15 September 2022, the Intelligence Directorate under the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence reported that the occupying Russian forces were tasked with conscripting an additional 6,000 local residents. This, combined with previous conscription campaigns, and residents fleeing the city, left Horlivka devoid of a male population of military age. On 16 August 2023, Russian-installed city officials claimed that more than 20,000 local residents were killed after being forcibly enlisted into the Russian army.

Demographics Ethnic composition as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001: Ukrainians, 51.4%; Russians, 44.8%; Belarusians, 1.3%; Tatars, 0.3%; Armenians, 0.3%; Moldovans, 0.2%; Azeris, 0.2%.

First language as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001: • Russian 85.1%; • Ukrainian 13.9%; • Belarusian 0.1%; • Armenian 0.1%.

Culture The Museum of the City History, the Art Museum (the largest collection of paintings by N. Roerich in Ukraine), the Miniature Book Museum by V.A. Razumov (the only state in the world). 62 out of 84 comprehensive schools (29,700 students, 7,000 teachers), 55 kindergartens (5,700 children), 19 out of 25 houses of culture and clubs, 7 parks, 29 libraries, 7 cinemas.

Infrastructure and environment Despite the fall of communism a statue of Lenin still stands in a central square bearing his name. Horlivka is well served by CNG-buses but much of the city's Soviet-era infrastructure shows signs of deterioration. By contrast, a number of modern shops and a new cathedral (completed 2014) in the town centre indicate some rejuvenation.

On the eastern side of Horlivka there is an abandoned chemical plant which used to produce toxic explosives and has been reported to be in a dangerous condition. Mining activity has resulted in large spoil tips being visible around the city, but a tree planting project and ongoing forestry maintenance has revitalised an area to the north.

The city was severely damaged during the war in Donbas.

Administrative divisions 1 — Hladosove; 2 — Holmivskyi; 3 — Zaitseve; 4 — Mykhailivka; 5 — Ozeryanivka; 6 — Panteleymonivka; 7 — Piatykhatky; 8 — Ryasne; 9 — Stavky; 10 — Fedorivka; 11 — Shyroka Balka.

The city is divided into three city districts: Mykytivka, Kalinin, and City Center.

The city municipality also includes several towns and villages. Most of populated places belongs to the City Center district, while Hladosove, Holmivsky and Zaitseve is part of Mykytivka district. • urban-type settlements: Holmivsky, Zaitseve, Panteleymonivka • villages: Mykhailivka, Ryasne • hamlets: Hladosove, Ozeryanivka, Piatykhatky, Stavky, Fedorivka, Shyroka Balka