Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast
Bilohorivka (Ukrainian: Білогорівка, IPA: [b⁽ʲ⁾iɫoˈɦɔr⁽ʲ⁾iu̯kɐ]) is an urban-type settlement in Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located approximately 88 kilometres (55 mi) northwest from the centre of Luhansk and 25 kilometres (16 mi) west-south-west from Sievierodonetsk. The population is 808 (2022 estimate).[1]
Bilohorivka
Білогорівка | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Bilohorivka Location of Bilohorivka within Ukraine  Bilohorivka Bilohorivka (Ukraine) | |
| Coordinates: 48.927222°N 38.248611°E | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast |  Luhansk Oblast |
| Raion | Sievierodonetsk Raion |
| Founded | 1720 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3.26 km2 (1.26 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 86 m (282 ft) |
| Population (2022) | |
| • Total | 808 |
| • Density | 250/km2 (640/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal code | 93310 |
| Area code | +380 6474 |
As of August 2023, Bilohorivka is one of the few settlements in Luhansk Oblast which is still under the control of Ukrainian forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, who have repelled attempts by Russian forces to capture the settlement.[2][3][4]
History
A documented sixty people in Bilohorivka (including the surrounding villages in Bilohorivka settlement council) died as a result of the Holodomor, a manmade famine in Soviet Ukraine that lasted from 1932 to 1933.[5]
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
According to the Governor of Luhansk Oblast Serhiy Haidai, a school in Bilohorivka was bombed by a Russian airstrike on 7 May 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where up to 60 people died, although only 2 were confirmed.[6][7] On 12 May 2022, a Russian battalion tactical group attempted to establish pontoon bridges to cross the Siverskyi Donets River. They were destroyed by Ukrainian forces, with great losses of life and equipment in the ensuing Battle of the Siverskyi Donets.[8][9][10][11][12] The settlement would later be occupied by Russia after the Battle of Lysychansk.
On 19 September 2022, it was confirmed that Ukrainian forces had regained full control over the settlement.[13] On 20 September 2022, Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, said that "Bilohorivka was Ukraine’s last stronghold in Luhansk Oblast. It was the area of constant heavy fighting. Our defenders have squeezed the invaders out and are in full control of the town. However, it is still under artillery fire. The town no longer exists because the invaders razed it to the ground."[14]
References
- 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.
- "Russian forces conducting offensive actions". 10 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- Karolina Hird; Riley Bailey; Grace Mappes; Layne Philipson; George Barros; Frederick W. Kagan (5 January 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 5, 2023". criticalthreats.org. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces also conducted an assault towards Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast (12km south of Kreminna)
- Kateryna Stepanenko; Riley Bailey; Angela Howard; Mason Clark (14 January 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 14, 2023". understandingwar.org. ISW. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
The Ukrainian General Staff also reported that Ukrainian forces repelled a Russian assault near Bilohorivka (12km south of Kreminna).
- "Мартиролог. Луганська" (PDF). pp. 382–383. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
- "Bombing of school in Ukraine kills two, dozens more feared dead - governor". Reuters. 8 May 2022. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- "Ukraine war: Dozens feared dead after bomb hits school". BBC. 8 May 2022. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- Ukraine blows up two Russian pontoon bridges. CNN. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022 – via YouTube.
- "Ukraine stymies Russian efforts to cut off Luhansk in Bilohorivka". english.nv.ua. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- "Russians lose huge amount of military equipment, soldiers near Bilohorivka, says Luhansk governor". Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
- "Institute for the Study of War". Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- "Growing evidence of a military disaster on the Donets pierces a pro-Russian bubble". The New York Times. 15 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- Harding, Luke (19 September 2022). "Russia no longer has full control of Luhansk as Ukraine recaptures village". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ""Russia Razed Several Towns in Luhansk Oblast to the Ground; Bilohorivka Is Fully Controlled by Ukraine's Armed Forces," Serhiy Haidai". mediacenter.org.ua. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.