Donbas
Донбас (Ukrainian) | |
---|---|
![]() Location of Donbas within Ukraine | |
Country | Ukraine[note 1] |
Largest city | Donetsk |
Area | |
• Total | 53,201 km2 (20,541 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Total | 6,651,378a |
• Density | 125/km2 (320/sq mi) |
a. Before war |
The Donbas (UK: /dɒnˈbɑːs/,[2] US: /ˈdɒnbɑːs, dʌnˈbæs/;[3][4] Ukrainian: Донбас [donˈbɑs];[5]) or Donbass (Russian: Донбасс [dɐnˈbas][6]) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine.[7][8] The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War.[9][10][11]
The word Donbas is a portmanteau formed from "Donets Basin", an abbreviation of "Donets Coal Basin" (Ukrainian: Донецький вугільний басейн, romanized: Donetskyi vuhilnyi basein; Russian: Донецкий угольный бассейн, romanized: Donetskiy ugolnyy basseyn). The name of the coal basin is a reference to the Donets Ridge; the latter is associated with the Donets river.
There are numerous definitions of the region's extent.[12] The Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine defines the "small Donbas" as the northern part of Donetsk and the southern part of Luhansk regions of Ukraine, and the attached part of Rostov region of Russia.[13] The historical coal mining region excluded parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and included areas in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Southern Russia.[8] A Euroregion of the same name is composed of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in Ukraine and Rostov Oblast in Russia.[14]
The Donbas formed the historical border between the Zaporizhian Sich and the Don Cossack Host. It has been an important coal mining area since the late 19th century, when it became a heavily industrialised territory.[15]
In March 2014, following the Euromaidan protest movement and the resulting Revolution of Dignity, large swaths of the Donbas became gripped by pro-Russian and anti-government unrest. This unrest later grew into a war between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists affiliated with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk "People's Republics", who were supported by Russia as part of the broader Russo-Ukrainian War. The conflict split the Donbas into Ukrainian-held territory, constituting about two-thirds of the region, and separatist-held territory, constituting about one-third. The region remained this way for years until Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On 30 September 2022, Russia unilaterally declared its annexation of Donbas together with two other Ukrainian oblasts, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.[16]
The city of Donetsk (the fifth largest city in Ukraine) is considered the unofficial capital of the Donbas. Other large cities (over 100,000 inhabitants) include Mariupol, Luhansk, Makiivka, Horlivka, Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Alchevsk, Sievierodonetsk, and Lysychansk.
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