Donetsk

Donetsk, city, southeastern Ukraine, on the headwaters of the Kalmius River. It is the capital of Donetsk oblast (province) and the most prominent city in the Donets Basin (Donbas) industrial region.

In 1872 an ironworks was founded there by a Welshman, John Hughes (from whom the town’s pre-Revolutionary name Yuzivka was derived), to produce iron rails for the growing Russian rail network. Later steel rails were made. The plant used coal from the immediate vicinity, and both coal mining and steel making developed rapidly. By 1914 there were four metallurgical plants, 10 coal pits, and a population of about 50,000. Under the Soviet Union, Yuzivka was renamed Stalino and, in 1961, Donetsk. Heavy destruction in World War II led to postwar modernization and an increase in industry, which resulted in substantial and sustained economic growth.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Donetsk became a major industrial engine of the economy of independent Ukraine. The city was also the political stronghold of pro-Russian politician Viktor Yanukovych, and, as Yanukovych gained power, his allies came to dominate local business. With the support of these “oligarchs,” Yanukovych was elected president of Ukraine in 2010, but widespread corruption and his heavy-handed response to the Maidan protest movement led to his removal from power in February 2014. In April 2014 Russian-backed militants and Russian troops in uniforms that lacked insignia seized control of a broad swath of Ukrainian territory in the Donbas. The rebels declared Donetsk to be the capital of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, and fighting continued throughout the region. By 2022 the war in the Donbas had claimed more than 14,000 lives. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of Donetsk as well as three other regions in Ukraine. Much of this territory was still under the control of the Ukrainian government, and the attempted annexation was broadly condemned as illegal and illegitimate.

Coal has been Donetsk’s dominant industry, though it has undergone decline. The centre of the iron and steel industry is the Donetsk Metallurgical Plant. Coke by-products are the basis of a chemical industry producing plastics. There are several heavy engineering works, and light and food industries are also important. Manufactures include clothing, cotton cloth, footwear, furniture, and refrigerators.

The necessity of avoiding areas subject to subsidence caused by mining led to a patchy development of the densely built-up residential and factory areas and open spaces over the extensive area of the city’s administrative limits (162 square miles [420 square km]). The principal street, from the railway station to the steelworks, is 5.5 miles (9 km) long, with the main shops, hotels, and administrative buildings. Donetsk’s international airport, located some 4 miles (6 km) northwest of the city centre, was destroyed during heavy fighting between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed forces in 2014–15. The city has a university; polytechnic, medical, and trade institutes; and scientific research establishments, including a branch of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Cultural amenities include several theatres and a philharmonic hall. The city is home to Shakhtar Donetsk, one of Ukraine’s most popular football (soccer) teams; since the fall of the city to separatists in 2014, the club has played its home games in Lviv. Pop. (2001) 1,016,194; (2021 est.) 905,364.