Welcome to Donetsk!
Donetsk (Ukrainian: Донецьк, Russian: Доне́цк) is a city in the Donetsk People's Republic, on the banks of the River Kalmius. Donetsk (Ukrainian: Донецьк, romanized: Donećk), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in the disputed area of Donetsk Oblast. While internationally recognized in Ukraine, the city is under the de facto administration of the unrecognized Donetsk People's Republic, which claims it as its capital city. The population was estimated at 905,364 (2021) in the city core, with over 2 million in the metropolitan area (2011). According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census, Donetsk was the fifth-largest city in Ukraine. Administratively, Donetsk has been the center of Donetsk Oblast, while historically, it is the unofficial capital and largest city of the larger economic and cultural Donets Basin (Donbas) region. Donetsk is adjacent to another major city, Makiivka, and along with other surrounding cities forms a major urban sprawl and conurbation in the region. Donetsk has been a major economic, industrial, and scientific center of Ukraine with a high concentration of heavy industries and a skilled workforce. The density of heavy industries (predominantly steel production, chemical industry, and coal mining) determined the city's challenging ecological situation. In 2012 a UN report ranked Donetsk among the world's fastest depopulating cities. The original settlement in the south of the European part of the Russian Empire was first mentioned as Aleksandrovka in 1779, during the reign of Empress Catherine the Great. In 1869 the Welsh businessman John Hughes founded a steel plant and several coal mines in the region, and the town was named Hughesovka or Yuzovka (Юзовка) in recognition of his role ("Yuz" being a Russian-language approximation of Hughes). During Soviet times, the city's steel industry expanded. In 1924 Yuzovka was renamed, Stalin. In 1929 Stalin was renamed Stalino, and in 1932 the city became the center of the Donetsk region. Renamed Donetsk (also Donetske, according to the Kharkiv orthography) in 1961, the city today remains a center for coal mining and for the steel industry.
Since April 2014 Donetsk and its surrounding areas have been one of the major sites of fighting in the ongoing Donbas War, as pro-Russian separatist forces battle against Ukrainian military forces for control of the city and surrounding areas. Throughout the war, the city of Donetsk has been administered by the pro-Russian separatist forces as the center of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), with outlying territories of the Donetsk region divided between the two sides. Donetsk International Airport became the epicenter of the war with almost a year-long battle leading to massive casualties among civilians and total ruination of the northwestern neighborhoods of the city.