Avdiivka

History

Early history

The presence of nomadic peoples in the area of Avdiivka dates back to at least the ninth to thirteenth centuries, as evidenced by a stone sculpture (or baba) that was discovered in a mound.

The first settlement on the territory of the modern city was founded , by fugitive serfs from the Kursk, Voronezh and Poltava Governorates. It was named after the name of the first settler, Avdiivka. The way of life of the early Avdiivka settlers was agricultural farming of crops, mainly cereals. In 1798, it had a population of about 500 people. The fertile land attracted more settlers over time, and Avdiivka was located near a postal route connecting Mariupol and Bakhmut. By 1861, 2,300 people lived there.

In the late 19th century, the Catherine Railway was built. It passed through a newly built railway station at Avdiivka, spurring on further development. According to the 1897 census, the number of residents decreased to 2,153 (1,282 males and 871 females), of whom 2,057 were of the Orthodox faith. A brick factory was built in the village in 1900. The factory expanded its output to include tiles in 1905. In 1908, 5,475 people (2,736 males and 2,739 females) lived in the village and there were 865 farm households.

20th century and early 21st century

In April 1920, a detachment of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine attacked the Avdiivka railway station, where they destroyed railway property and telephone sets. In November 1920, Nestor Makhno ordered the detachment of Fyodor Shuss to occupy Avdiivka and the village near it.

Between 1923 and 1931, Avdiivka served as the administrative center of Avdiivka Raion in Stalino Okruh.

It served again as district center of Avdiivka Raion starting in 1938. During World War II, Avdiivka was occupied by Nazi Germany between 21 October 1941 and 8 September 1943, when it was recaptured by detachments of the 40th Rifle Division and the 127th Rifle Division of the Red Army.

Avdiivka received city status in 1956.

Russo-Ukrainian war

War in Donbas

During the war in Donbas, starting in April 2014, pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast; including Avdiivka. On 30 July 2014, Ukrainian forces reportedly secured the city from separatists. Ukrainian forces kept control of Avdiivka, which became a frontline city and was frequently shelled. According to the OSCE, the area between Avdiivka and neighboring separatist-controlled Yasynuvata is one of the hotspots of the Russo-Ukrainian war.

In March 2016 the Ukrainian army set up its fortifications in the area's "industrial zone", until then a buffer zone between the Donetsk People's Republic controlled territories and government-held territory in the eastern part of Avdiivka. This meant that the pro-Russian separatists no longer had full control of the highway that connected Donetsk and Horlivka (two major cities under their control), and that it was more difficult for them to fire at Avdiivka, even with weapons that Minsk II did not prohibit. After March 2016, fighting for Avdiivka's "industrial zone" greatly intensified.

In 2017, the city was embroiled in a battle from 29 January to 4 February, which left the city without electricity and heating for several days. The population dropped to 5,000 during the most violent part of the fighting, but people returned as fighting died down.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Main article: Battle of Avdiivka (2023–2024)

As part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian forces fired rockets towards Avdiivka, most notably the coke plant in the city. Much of the civilian population fled due to the battle. On 24 October 2023, BBC News reported that "just over 1,000" people, or 3% of the city's pre-war population, were still living in Avdiivka. In March, Russian troops were attempting to encircle the city while also attempting to capture Bakhmut. Beginning on 14 October 2023, Russia made a general push to attempt to encircle the city once more, at first with very limited success and high losses of soldiers, armour and other important assets.

On 17 February 2024, Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi announced that Ukrainian forces were being withdrawn from the city "to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of service personnel."

In November 2025, a Ukraine drone unit destroyed a Russian Rubikon unit stationed in Avdiivka.

Demographics

| 1798 |500 | 1861 |2300 | 2001 |37200 | 2017 |35000 | 2022 |31392 | 2023 |1600 | 2024 | 941

In the 2001 Ukrainian census, ethnic and linguistic data was recorded. Avdiivka's population are majority ethnic Ukrainians (63.5%), with a large minority of Russians (33.7%), and small minorities of Belarusians (0.9%) and Greeks (0.6%). At the time, it had an overall population of 37,200 people.

In terms of native language, Avdiivka is overwhelmingly Russian-speaking, with 87.2% of Avdiivka residents reporting their native language as Russian. The largest linguistic minority are Ukrainian speakers, with 12.5% reporting their native language as Ukrainian. There are also two very small linguistic minorities, with 0.1% reporting Belarusian as their native language and another 0.1% reporting Armenian.

Industry and infrastructure

Local heating energy prior to the war was normally provided via natural gas from the Avdiivka Coke Plant. In 2017, the plant was damaged during a bombardment by pro-Russian separatists, leaving the town without heating for several days.

The city was also home to the Avdiivka Factory of Metallic Structures, a quartz sand quarry and a number of other factories and industrial facilities, prior to the heavy shelling and destruction, mostly in 2023.

Connecting Avdiivka Coke Plant with the city centre was a local tramway service. Due to the war in Donbas it is no longer operating. The line had three rail stops and the city train station.

A railway divided the city into the old city and the "Khimik" () microdistrict.

Notable people

• Oleksandr Filippov, footballer
• Alexander Novak, Russian politician

Gallery

File:Avdiivka church.jpg|St. Mary Magdalene Church, January 2008 File:Avdeevka stone.jpg|Memorial stone commemorating the opening of Avdiivka railway station in 1884 File:Avdijivka trams juni 2012 (13).JPG|A tram in Avdiivka, July 2012 File:Федоренко. Авдеевский карьер 01.jpg|Old sand quarry in Avdiivka, June 2007 File:Пам'ятник Т. Г. Шевченку авд3.jpg|Memorial to Taras Shevchenko, April 2020

References

References

1. (22 August 2023). "Head of the VA Vitalii Barabash: "black" taxi drivers return people to Avdiivka for 18 thousand hryvnias. We take them out again in armoured capsules".
2. (8 February 2024). "Russian, Ukrainian forces fighting inside Avdiivka, Ukrainian military says". Reuters.
3. Abdurasulov, A. [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-67095103 Ukraine war: Russia attacks Avdiivka stronghold in eastern Ukraine], BBC News, published 12 October 2023, accessed 20 October 2023
4. (24 October 2023). "Ukraine war: Avdiivka civilians cling on amid Russian assault".
5. "Avdiivka: Ukraine troops leave embattled eastern town".
6. Стешенко, М. М.. (2001). "Авдіївка". Інститут енциклопедичних досліджень НАН України.
7. "Авдіївка, Ясинуватський район, Донецька область".
8. Ragozin, Leonid. (16 April 2014). "Putin Is Accidentally Helping Unite Eastern and Western Ukraine - The New Republic".
9. "TASS: World - Donbass defenders put WWII tank back into service". TASS.
10. "TASS: World - Ukraine's army launches massive offensive operation on Donetsk". TASS.
11. (30 July 2014). "BBC: Ukrainian military 'seizes Avdiivka' in rebel Donetsk stronghold". Kyiv Post.
12. [http://uatoday.tv/news/bloomberg-ukraine-pushes-for-un-peacekeepers-as-rockets-disrupt-truce-422723.html Bloomberg: Ukraine pushes for UN peacekeepers], [[Ukraine Today]] (21 April 2015)
    [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32336354 Ukraine crisis: The factory that has been shelled 165 times], [[BBC News]] (17 April 2015)
    [http://www.themoscowtimes.com/mobile/opinion/article/civilians-stuck-in-the-middle-of-donbass-horror/526388.html Civilians Stuck in the Middle of Donbass Horror], [[Moscow Times]] (29 July 2015)
13. [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38807778 Ukraine conflict: Evacuation planned in frontline town of Avdiivka], [[BBC News]] (31 January 2017)
14. [http://www.rferl.mobi/a/spike-in-fighting-ukraine-cease-fire-avdiivka-yasynuvata/27648459.html Spike In Fighting In Eastern Ukraine Threatens Fragile Cease-Fire], [[Radio Free Europe]] (1 April 2016)
15. (31 January 2017). "Замерзнути у вогні. Що відбувається в Авдіївці?". [[Ukrainska Pravda]].
16. [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/14/avdiivka-frontline-ukraine-war-russia-backed-separatists Violence flares in war-weary Ukraine as US dithers and Russia pounces], [[The Guardian]] (14 February 2017)
17. (31 January 2017). "Ukraine clashes rage for third day, sparking EU concern". [[Agence France-Presse]].
18. [http://pda.pravda.com.ua/news/id_7134509/ In Avdiivka, the heat supply was switched to a stable mode] 02/05/2017 pda.pravda.com.ua accessed 1 November 2023
19. Longman, Jeré. (15 June 2018). "Watching the World Cup in a War Zone, Where Every Goal Matters". [[The New York Times]].
20. (2 March 2022). "Russian troops target Avdiivka with rocket launcher Smerch". [[Ukrinform]].
21. "In Ukraine's Avdiivka, 'hope is all we have'".
22. (22 February 2023). "Avdiivka is almost completely destroyed, Bakhmut – by 80%". [[Ukrainska Pravda]].
23. (20 March 2023). "Ukraine says eastern town of Avdiivka could become 'second Bakhmut'".
24. (15 October 2023). "Russia's Avdiivka offensive is failing, says top Ukrainian officer". [[The Guardian]].
25. (27 October 2023). "Ukraine war: Russia executing own retreating soldiers, US says". BBC News.
26. Lukiv, Jaroslav. (2024-02-17). "Avdiivka: Ukraine troops leaving embattled eastern town".
27. Walker, Shaun. (2024-02-17). "Ukrainian forces withdraw from Avdiivka to avoid encirclement, army chief says". The Guardian.
28. https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/11/04/ukrainian-fp-2-drone-carrying-105kg-warhead-eliminates-rubikon-officers-in-occupied-avdiivka/
29. "Growing up between hopes and fears in Avdiivka". UNICEF.
30. (October 14, 2023). "Fighting Persists in Ukrainian City of Avdiivka For a Fifth Consecutive Day".
31. "All-Ukrainian population census". [[State Statistics Service of Ukraine]].
32. {{in lang. uk [https://life.informator.news/avdiivs-ky-tramva-nedootsinena-lehenda-promyslovoho-transportu-svitovoho-masshtabu/# Avdeevsky tram. Inexpensive legend of world-class industrial transport], [[Informator]] (20 September 2018)