Khrestivka (Ukrainian: Хрестівка; Russian: Крестовка, romanizedKrestovka) or Kirovske (Ukrainian: Кіровське; Russian: Кировское, romanizedKirovskoye) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Its population is approximately 27,370 (2022 estimate).[1]

Khrestivka
Ukrainian: Хрестівка
Russian: Кировское
Khrestivka
Yuvileiny Stadium, Khrestivka
Yuvileiny Stadium, Khrestivka
Flag of Khrestivka
Coat of arms of Khrestivka
Khrestivka is located in Donetsk Oblast
Khrestivka
Khrestivka
Khrestivka is located in Ukraine
Khrestivka
Khrestivka
Coordinates: 48°08′47″N 38°21′38″E / 48.14639°N 38.36056°E / 48.14639; 38.36056
Country Ukraine
OblastDonetsk Oblast
RaionHorlivka Raion
HromadaKhrestivka urban hromada
Founded1954
City status1958
Area
 • Total
725 km2 (280 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total
27,370
 • Density3,882/km2 (10,050/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
86300-86390
Map

Since 2014, Khrestivka has been occupied by Russia and its proxy forces.

History

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Early history

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Until 1941, there was a German settlement at the site of the modern city named Mannheim. The legal name of the settlement in Imperial Russian and later Soviet records was Davydo-Orlivka (Ukrainian: Давидо-Орлівка), but it was also colloquially known as "Khrestivka" (roughly meaning "Cross-town") due to a cross-shaped road sign near the village. During World War II, in which Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, the German population was deported to Siberia.[2]

The modern settlement was officially founded at the same site in 1954 as Nova Khrestivka (Ukrainian: Нова Хрестівка), in connection with the coal mines that were dug at the same time. In 1958, it was given city status and renamed to Kirovske.[2]

In 1987, Kirovske was designated as a city of regional significance - a city that did not belong to any raion and was directly subordinate to Donetsk Oblast.[2]

21st century

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On 14 April 2014 pro-Russian activists captured Kirovske's town hall and declared that the city was part of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).[3]

On 12 May 2016, the Ukrainian parliament renamed the city Kirovske back to Khrestivka in accordance with decommunization laws.[4]

On 3 July 2019, two boys in Khrestivka were injured after playing with a hand grenade.[5]

In Ukraine, the administrative divisions were changed on 18 July 2020, and the reform reduced the number of raions of Donetsk Oblast to eight. The city of Khrestivka was merged into newly established Horlivka Raion.[6][7]

On 30 September 2022, during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree claiming to annex four regions, including Donetsk Oblast, as part of Russia. This annexation has been seen by the global community as a breach of international law.[8] On 20 June 2023, Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin claimed that doctors from the Sakha Republic in Russia would be working in a hospital in occupied Khrestivka. This was among a number of instances of patronage programs being established between Russia-occupied territories and actual Russian federal subjects, particularly Sakha.[9] On 9 August the same year, Ukrainian resistance outlets reported that Russia began deporting teenagers from several settlements in occupied Donetsk Oblast to Russia, including from Khrestivka.[10]

Demographics

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Population history
YearPop.±% p.a.
1959 16,300[2]—    
1979 20,400[2]+1.13%
1998 32,100[2]+2.41%
2001 30,910[2]−1.25%
2022 27,370[1]−0.58%

As of the Ukrainian census of 2001:[11]

Ethnicity
Language

Notable people

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  • Sasha Korban (born 1987), a Ukrainian miner and street artist

References

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  1. ^ a b Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Ткаченко, В. І. (2013-02-01). "Кіровське". Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Vol. 13. NASU Institute of Encyclopaedic Research. ISBN 978-966-02-2074-4.
  3. ^ (in Russian) As part of the People's Republic of Donetsk steel Zhdanovka and Kirov [map], Komsomolskaya Pravda in Ukraine (14 April 2014)
  4. ^ "Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine No 1351-VIII On renaming of some localities and districts in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions".
  5. ^ "Ukraine: Protection Cluster Factsheet - July 2019 [EN/RU/UK] - Ukraine | ReliefWeb". 21 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Про утворення та ліквідацію районів. Постанова Верховної Ради України № 807-ІХ". Голос України (in Ukrainian). 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  7. ^ "Нові райони: карти + склад" (in Ukrainian). Міністерство розвитку громад та територій України. 17 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin annexes Ukrainian regions; Kyiv applies for Nato membership". TheGuardian.com. 30 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 20, 2023". Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  10. ^ "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 9, 2023".
  11. ^ "Офіційна сторінка Всеукраїнського перепису населення". Ukrcensus.gov.ua. Retrieved 2022-03-16.