Volnovakha

Volnovakha was founded as a railway station in 1881.[4] It later became a rail hub,[4][5][6] serving as the only onshore rail line between Donetsk and Russia to the north-east and east, and Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Crimea to the west and south-west,[7] and the only rail line south to Mariupol.[8]

It was the location of battles in 1919 and 1920 during the Ukrainian War of Independence.[4]

During World War II, the Soviet Union reported significant fighting in the area around Volnovka during August and September 1943.[9][10] Several units were given honorary titles after the battle in town.[11][10]

Results of shelling in Volnovakha in February 2022

During the war in Donbas, pro-Russian separatists captured the city in May 2014. The Ukrainian military recaptured it in July.[4] On 13 January 2015, 12 civilians were killed and 18 injured, after an attack on a passenger bus at a checkpoint in Buhas, a town north-east of Volnovakha.[12] A monument to those killed in the attack was unveiled on 13 January 2017.[13]

During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces fought for control of the city and engaged in indiscriminate bombing of Volnovakha and Shchastia, shelling civilian areas.[14] The terror bombing of the cities violated international law and echoed tactics Russia had previously used on civilian targets in Syria.[15] Volnovakha was reported to be on the verge of humanitarian crisis on February 28, and almost destroyed by March 1,[16] with around 90% of its buildings either damaged or destroyed.[17] Surviving residents were cut off from food, water, and electricity.[18] Following the assault, bodies lay uncollected in the streets.[15]

On 11 March, Russia claimed that forces of the Donetsk People's Republic had captured Volnovakha.[19] On 12 March, Euronews reported that much of the town was in ruins after the fighting.[20] On 1 April, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donetsk Oblast, said that 90% of its critical infrastructure was destroyed.[3]