Славянск: история, разрушения и современное состояние города

City in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine

is a city in Donetsk Oblast, northern part of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The city was known as Tor until 1784. While it did not actually belong to the raion itself, Sloviansk served as the administrative center of the Sloviansk Raion (district) until its abolition on 18 July 2020. Sloviansk was one of the focal points in the early stages of the war in Donbas, in 2014, as it was one of the first cities to be seized and controlled by Russian backed rebels (separatists), in mid April 2014. Ukrainian forces then retook control of the city in July 2014, and since then, Sloviansk has been under Ukrainian control. The 2001 population of Sloviansk was 141,066. Largely due to the ongoing war in Donbass, by early 2022 this was down to 105,141. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city's population fell markedly, to around 24,000 by July 2022, due to shelling, and ongoing war, according to Ukrainian authorities. In April 2023, The Financial Times estimated the population to have recovered to 40 50,000.

Sloviansk is in the valley of the Kazennyi Torets River, a right tributary of the Donets, in the Donbas region. Karachun Mountains are the highest point of Sloviansk, situated to the south of the city.

The climate in Sloviansk is a mild to warm summer subtype (Köppen: Dfb) of the humid continental climate.

Before the war in 2014, Sloviansk was an important industrial and health resort center, providing spa treatments and mud baths using mud from the bottom of salt lakes located nearby, and attracting tourists from across Ukraine and beyond. After sustaining damage in 2014, some of the city's resort facilities were repaired, and operated until active war broke out in Sloviansk again in 2022. As of 2023, none of Sloviansk's spa resorts or tourist facilities are in operation. The Slovvazhmash heavy machinery production plant, specialised in chemical equipment for coke production. The Sloviansk mechanical plant, specialised in coke production as well as overhead cranes and other machinery.

Sloviansk is a nexus of a number of railways and roads. The city is served by three railway passenger stations: Slovianskyi Resort (in the northeast), ‘Mashchormet’ (at the junction), and 'Sloviansk' (the main station, west of the junction, on the southwest side of the city). Three railway lines leave the city in directions of Lozova, Lyman and Kramatorsk. The local population is served by a trolleybus network consisting of two permanent routes and one summer route. Marshrutkas are widely used. The M03 goes by the edge of Sloviansk. In early 2015, Ukraine lost control of the section of this from Debaltsevo on, then in early 2023 Ukraine lost control of the section from Soledar to Debaltsevo. H20 leaves from the city toward Mariupol, via Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, Donetsk, and Volnovakha. Ukraine lost control of part of this highway, around Donetsk, in 2014. The first part of 2022 saw fierce fighting on or around the highway, and by summer of 2022, Ukraine had lost control of the H20 highway, from around Donetsk onto Mariupol.