Popasna
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Popasna
Попасна (Ukrainian) | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Popasna railway station in 2019 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Popasna  Popasna | |
| Coordinates: 48°38′00″N 38°22′48″E / 48.63333°N 38.38000°E | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast |  Luhansk Oblast |
| Raion | Sievierodonetsk Raion |
| Country (de jure) | Ukraine |
| Control | Occupied by Luhansk People's Republic and Russia |
| Population (2021) |  19,672 (2021 est.)[1] |
 | |
Popasna (Ukrainian: Попасна, Russian: Попасная, romanized: Popasnaya) was a city in the Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine (in Russia within the Luhansk People's Republic according to Russia). In 2013, it had almost 22,000 inhabitants. Prior to 2020, it was the administrative center of the former Popasna Raion. In 2022, the city was completely destroyed and occupied by Russia, which later claimed the region's annexation among all the other Russian-occupied territories.
History
During World War II, in 1941–1943, the German occupiers operated a Nazi prison in the town.[2] A local newspaper has been published in the city since March 1979.[3]
2014-2022
On 19 June 2014, Ukrainian forces reportedly secured the town from pro-Russian separatists.[4] On 8 July 2014, the pro-Russian separatists retook control of the town.[5][6] On 22 July 2014 the Ukrainian Donbas Battalion took back the town from the separatists,[7][8] who abandoned the town that day.[7] Afterwards, the city came under periodic artillery shelling and rocket attacks from the separatists.[9][10] Land mines have been also laid near Popasna.[11] By March 2015, the city only had two stores with some basic products and one pharmacy and residents received food distribution through a volunteer organization.[9] Meanwhile, residents complained about having to pay for public utilities and for having been cut off from social benefits supplied by the Ukrainian government.[9]
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
In early March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Popasna was attacked by Russian forces.[12] During the Battle of Donbas (2022), the city has been at the frontlines of fighting between Russia and Ukraine. In the fighting near Popasna, Russian forces reportedly damaged or destroyed every property in the town center. Governor of Luhansk Oblast, Serhiy Haidai, claimed that Russian forces were "removing [Popasna] from the map of Luhansk region".[13]
On 8 May 2022, Haidai confirmed that Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat from the city of Popasna to take up more fortified positions, adding "everything was destroyed there". Ukrainian forces announced that they had withdrawn from Popasna, allowing Russia to fully occupy the town.[14] Russia's Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov stated that his troops now control most of the city.[15] Photographic evidence supplied by the governor of Luhansk Oblast has revealed that Russian forces had beheaded and dismembered a Ukrainian soldier and displayed his body parts stuck on poles in the captured city.[16] On August 15, 2022, it was reported that Ukrainian forces hit the regional headquarters of the Wagner Group after a pro-Kremlin reporter revealed its location at Mironovskaya 12 in a photo.[17]
Two months after the Battle of Popasna, a Reuters reporter toured the town in July and reported that the town looked entirely deserted by both humans and animals, with nearly all of its buildings either destroyed or heavily damaged.[18] The leader of the Russian Luhansk People's Republic stated there is no point in rebuilding the city destroyed during the Russian assault.[19]
References
- ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2021 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2021] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine.
- ^ "Gefängnis Popasna". Bundesarchiv.de (in German). Retrieved 9 April 2022.
- ^ № 2923. Знамя Октября // Летопись периодических и продолжающихся изданий СССР 1986 - 1990. Часть 2. Газеты. М., «Книжная палата», 1994. стр.382
- ^ (19 June 2014). Ukraine rebels speak of heavy losses in battle against government troops, Reuters.
(in Ukrainian) In the National Security Council said that the border is still a hole, Ukrayinska Pravda (20 June 2014). - ^ Ukraine Moves to Destroy Rebel Bases in East, Ruling Out Cease-Fire, Bloomberg News (8 July 2014).
- ^ (in Ukrainian) Luhansk terrorists arranged himself a new headquarters in Popasna, Ukrayinska Pravda (9 July 2014).
- ^ a b We Can Win After All, The Ukrainian Week (6 August 2015).
- ^ (in Ukrainian) Popasna released, there hung Ukrainian flags, Ukrayinska Pravda (22 July 2014).
- ^ a b c People in Luhansk Oblast's Popasna suffer humanitarian crisis, Kyiv Post (2 March 2015).
- ^ Luhansk authorities say militants shell Popasna, injure Ukrainian soldier, Kyiv Post (19 June 2015).
Ukrainian soldiers in Luhansk Oblast's Popasna brace for Independence Day attack, Kyiv Post (23 August 2015).
Militants fire mortar shells on Popasna town, Ukrinform (10 November 2015).
(in Ukrainian) Police recorded the effects of shelling residential neighborhoods Popasna - video, Hromadske Radio (27 October 2016).
Escalation in Donbas: 30 attacks on Ukraine troops, 3 WIA's in last day, UNIAN (3 December 2017
(in Ukrainian) The mercenaries fired a rocket, which caused a fire near Popasna, Ukrayinska Pravda (5 May 2021). - ^ At least 2,353 soldiers killed in Russia’s war against Ukraine, Kyiv Post (24 September 2015).
- ^ "RUSSIAN OFFENSIVE CAMPAIGN ASSESSMENT, APRIL 21". The Institute for the Study of War. 2022-04-21.
- ^ Drone footage shows how Russians destroyed one Ukrainian town in savage battle, CNN, 5 May 2022
- ^ Reuters (2022-05-08). "Ukraine troops retreat from Popasna, Luhansk governor confirms". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
{{cite news}}:|last=has generic name (help) - ^ "Ukraine troops retreat from Popasna, Luhansk governor confirms". reuters.com. 8 May 2022.
- ^ "Footage appears to show fresh atrocity against Ukrainian PoW". the Guardian. 2022-08-06. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
- ^ "Ukraine hits Russian Wagner mercenary HQ in east". BBC News. 15 August 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ Babington, Deepa (2022-07-14). "Russian-held Popasna in Ukraine is a ghost town after end of siege". Retrieved 12 December 2022.
On a visit to Popasna on Thursday by a Reuters reporter, the town looked deserted, with nearly all apartment buildings either destroyed or heavily damaged. Barren streets bore no sign of people or animals.
- ^ Coynash, Halya (2022-08-15). "Russia razes Ukrainian city to the ground and says 'there's no point' to rebuilding it". Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
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