Kramatorsk

Kramatorsk (Ukrainian: Краматорськ, IPA: [krɐmɐˈtɔrʲsʲk]; Russian: Краматорск) is a city and the administrative centre of Kramatorsk Raion in Donetsk Oblast, Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Prior to 2020, Kramatorsk was a city of oblast significance. Since October 2014, Kramatorsk has been the provisional seat of Donetsk Oblast, following the events surrounding the war in Donbas.[2] Its population is 147,145 (2022 estimate).[3] It is an important industrial and mechanical engineering centre in Ukraine. Kramatorsk is on the banks of the Kazennyi Torets River which is a right tributary of the Siverskyi Donets.

For other uses, see Kramatorsk (disambiguation).
Kramatorsk
Краматорськ
City
Flag of Kramatorsk
Flag
Coat of arms of Kramatorsk
Coat of arms
Kramatorsk is located in Donetsk Oblast
Kramatorsk
Kramatorsk
Kramatorsk on the map of Donetsk Oblast
Kramatorsk is located in Ukraine
Kramatorsk
Kramatorsk
Kramatorsk (Ukraine)
Coordinates: 48°44′21″N 37°35′02″E
Country Ukraine
Oblast Donetsk Oblast
Raion Kramatorsk Raion
HromadaKramatorsk urban hromada
Founded1868
City status since1932
Government
 • HeadOleksandr Honcharenko
Area
 • Total117.1 km2 (45.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)[1]
 • Total147,145
 • Density583/km2 (1,510/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
84300-84390
Area code+380 626(4)
Websitewww.krm.gov.ua

Since the start of Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kramatorsk has been hit by shelling multiple times.[4]

Etymology

According to E. S. Otin, the name of the city comes from a toponymic phrase that has not been preserved: Krom Torov or Krom Torskaya 'border along the Tor River'. The word kroma means 'edge, frontier, border', and Tor is the old name for the Kazennyi Torets River. However, it can be stated succinctly, it's most likely from the train station, the settlement was built around. The original name of the train station, Kram-na-Tore translates as Border-on-Tor (on the bank of the Tor river). Similar to the Russian city Rostov-on-Don, which is located at the mouth of the Don river.

History

In the second half of the 17th and early 18th centuries, the area in which Kramatorsk was to develop was heavily populated by both Cossacks from the Hetmanate and serfs from the southern regions of Muscovy and Mordovia. In the second half of the 18th century, the territory was populated by the Cossacks of the army of Sloboda Ukraine.

Locomotive at the Kramatorsk railway station of the Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov Railway

Kramatorsk came into being in the second half of the 19th century when a station on the Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov Railway was built near to the village of Petrivka which had itself been established in 1767 by a certain Count Taranov. The station was originally called Kram-na-Tore in 1868 but this was later contracted into Kramatorsk and the town of Kramatorsk developed around the railway station,[5] becoming a major urban settlement in the north of Donetsk Oblast with several heavy machine production facilities.

In April 1918 troops loyal to the Ukrainian People's Republic took control of Kramatorsk.[6]

It was occupied by Nazi Germany between 27 October 1941 and 5 February 1943 and again between 27 February 1943 and 6 September 1943.

Between 1980 and 1989, several people were exposed to a radiological source in one of the apartment buildings, resulting in 6 deaths and at least 17 cases of radiation sickness.

War in Donbas (2014–2022)
Further information: Battle of Kramatorsk and February 2015 Kramatorsk rocket attack

On 12 April 2014, at the same time as events in nearby Sloviansk the police station in Kramatorsk was seized by armed pro-Russian militants in military uniform, and later the city council.[7] Kramatorsk would remain under pro-Russian separatist control, until July of 2014. There would be a series of incidents in those 3 months.[8] Located only 13km from Sloviansk, which became a separatist stronghold, Kramatorsk would also be under separatist control, yet in a different situation. Unlike Sloviansk, which had high profile figures Vyacheslav Ponomarev and Igor Girkin/Strelkov associated with it, Kramatorsk was not notable in this sphere. Further, while the Ukrainian army did not enter Sloviansk in its months under separatist control, they made several entries into Kramatorsk in this time.[9] On July 5, after almost 3 months, Ukrainian forces finally retook control of Kramatorsk, as part of sweeping territorial gains at that time, including nearby Sloviansk.[10] In October 2014, Kramatorsk was made the provisional administrative center of Donetsk Oblast after the administration relocated from Mariupol. On 10 February 2015, Kramatorsk was shelled by pro-Russian forces, leaving 17 people dead and 60 injured.[11]

Russian invasion (2022–present)
Further information: Kramatorsk railway station attack and 2023 Kramatorsk restaurant missile strike

On 8 April 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kramatorsk was subjected to missile strikes.[12] The Kramatorsk railway station was hit by Tochka-U missiles which killed at least 57 people and wounded at least 109 others.[13] Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of the Donetsk region, said thousands of people had been at the station at the time the two missiles struck. On 19 April 2022, Russian troops launched rocket attacks on Kramatorsk, as a result of which one person was killed and three were injured.[14] On 21 April 2022, British Defence Ministry intelligence reported that Russian troops in the Donetsk region were advancing towards Kramatorsk.[15]

However, in early September 2022, Ukraine began a major counteroffensive, regaining several settlements in the Kharkiv region. This relieved the pressure on Kramatorsk with the recapture of Lyman by Ukrainian forces on 1 October 2022.

On 27 June 2023, a Russian missile strike killed at least 11 people and injured over 60 in a pizza restaurant in the center of the city.[16]

Geography

The Kramatorsk metro area is located in Kramatorsk Raion, making it a central part of a major urban agglomeration with over 500,000 inhabitants.

Demographics

Kramatorsk has a population of over 164,700 inhabitants (2013) and has a metropolitan area of over 197,000 inhabitants (2013). As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001.[17]

Ethnicity

Language

According to the regional department of statistics, as of January 1, 2017, the population of Kramatorsk was 190,648 people.[18]

Economy and industry

Industrial and mining equipment
Old Kramatorsk machine plant
  • New Kramatorsk Machinebuilding Plant (NKMZ) (founded 1934): design and production of machines and equipment for mining, steel rolling, metallurgy, production and handling of cast iron, artillery weapon systems.
  • Old Kramatorsk Machinebuilding Plant

In the 2000s, a wind turbine production facility was constructed in Kramatorsk. This is a joint venture between German Fuhrländer AG and its Ukrainian partners. According to their site, Fuhrländer became the first company in the renewable energy sector to obtain a building permit from the Ukrainian government.[19]

Transportation

Between 1937 and August 1, 2017, Kramatorsk had a tram network. However, it is now closed and public transportation is provided by buses and trolley-buses.[20]

Twin towns

 United States, Stamford, Connecticut - On 6 April 2023 officially announced Kramatorsk as their sister city.[21]

 Ukraine, Perechyn, Zakarpattia Oblast[22]

Notable people

At various periods, Kramatorsk was a place of residence for a number of notable people, including Leonid Bykov, Joseph Kobzon, and Ruslan Ponomariov.

References
  1. Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 (tr. "Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022") ukrstat.gov.ua
  2. "Kikhtenko to move Donetsk administration to Kramatorsk and to leave power structures in Mariupol". Zerkalo Nedeli (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 October 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. 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.
  4. "There have been attacks in Kramatorsk today. Here are some pictures of the devastation". CNN. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  5. "Encyclopedia of Ukraine".
  6. (in Ukrainian) 100 years ago Bakhmut and the rest of Donbas liberated Archived 2019-05-01 at the Wayback Machine, Ukrayinska Pravda (18 April 2018)
  7. "Ukraine crisis: Kramatorsk police headquarters stormed". BBC. April 13, 2014. Archived from the original on July 29, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  8. Shaun Walker (May 4, 2014). "Ukraine crisis: tension mounts in Kramatorsk after army rolls in". Guardian. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  9. "Kramatorsk Dispatch: Humiliating Capitulation Dampens Troops' Morale". April 17, 2014. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
  10. "Separatists cleared from Sloviansk and Kramatorsk". Kyiv Post. July 7, 2014. Archived from the original on July 8, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
  11. "Годовщина кровавого обстрела Краматорска: пострадавшие хотят забыть тот день, но не могут". ТСН.ua (in Russian). 2016-02-10. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
  12. "Missile strike in Kramatorsk leaves two dead, six injured, says Ukrainian official". CNN. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  13. Semenova, Thaisa (April 8, 2022). "At least 39 killed by Russian strike on train station with evacuating civilians". Kyiv Independent. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  14. Enemy fired missiles at Kramatorsk again, there is one dead
  15. Russian troops advance towards Kramatorsk - British intelligence
  16. Sunita Patel-Carstairs (27 June 2023). "Ukraine war: Russian missile 'designed to bring down a plane' hits crowded pizza restaurant in Kramatorsk". Sky News. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  17. "Офіційна сторінка Всеукраїнського перепису населення" [Official page of the All-Ukrainian Population Census]. Ukrcensus.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
  18. "Население Краматорска продолжает сокращаться" (tr. "The population of Kramatorsk continues to decrease") dnews.dn.uaArchived 2018-04-12 at the Wayback Machine Donetskie Novosti, March 10, 2017
  19. "Fuhrländer opens joint venture park in Ukraine". Archived from the original on 2019-12-15. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
  20. "Kramatorsk tram network closes | News | Railway Gazette International". Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  21. "Ukraine Aid International: Stamford joins CT communities providing humanitarian support to overseas victims". 6 April 2023.
  22. "Схід і захід разом: Краматорськ та Перечи́н віднині — міста-побратими! – Краматорська міська рада" (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-06-18.
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