Luhansk Oblast (Ukrainian:Луганська область,romanized: Luhanska oblast;Russian:Луганская область,romanized: Luganskaya oblast), also referred to asLuhanshchyna (Луганщина), is the easternmostoblast (province) ofUkraine. Its administrative center is the city ofLuhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the nameVoroshilovgrad Oblast until 1958 and again from 1970 to 1991.[9] It has a population of2,102,921 (2022 estimate).[6]
In 2014, large parts of the oblast, including the capital Luhansk, came under the control of Russian-backed separatists who declared theLuhansk People's Republic, leading to awar against Ukrainian government forces. Since the 2022Russian invasion of Ukraine, the oblast has come almost entirely under Russian occupation and has been the scene ofheavy fighting, which continues in some places. In late September 2022, Russia declared theannexation of the entire oblast, along with three others, though the annexation remains internationally unrecognized. As of September 2024, Ukraine is in control of 1.5% of the region,[10] including a few settlements, such asHrekivka and Tverdokhlibove.[11] These areas continue to see active conflict.[12][13]
Geography
A topographic map of the oblast
Luhansk Oblast is in fareastern Ukraine. Its north–south length is 250 km, and east–west width 190 km. It covers an area of 26,700 km2, 4.42% of the total area of Ukraine.
The region is located in the valley of theSiversky Donets river, which flows west to east through the oblast and splits it approximately in half. The southern portion of the region is elevated by the Donetsk Ridge, which is close to the southern border. The highest point isMohyla Mechetna (367 m (1,204 ft)), the highest point of Donetsk Ridge. The left bank of the Siversky Donets is part of the Starobilsk Plain. To the north this transforms into theCentral Russian Upland.
A monument toDon Cossacks in Luhansk. "To the sons of glory and freedom", 2012
The oblast originated in 1938 as Voroshylovhrad (Russian: Voroshilovgrad) Oblast (Ukrainian:Ворошиловградська область,romanized: Voroshylovhradska oblast) after the Donetsk Oblast was split between Voroshylovhrad and Stalino (todayDonetsk Oblast) oblasts. Following theSoviet invasion of Poland,Starobilsk was the location of a prisoner of war camp for Poles, who were then massacred in theKatyn massacre in 1940. After the invasion byNazi Germany in 1941, the region came under a German military administration, due to its proximity to frontlines. It was occupied at the end of 1942 as part ofCase Blue German offensive directed towardsStalingrad.
Soon after thebattle of Stalingrad, the Luhansk (at that time Voroshilovgrad in honor ofKliment Voroshilov) region again became the center of military operations during the Soviet counter-offensiveoperation Little Saturn in the spring of 1943. In the summer of 1943, the region was liberated from the Nazi Germany Armed Forces. During the Soviet era, the Oblast bore its current name between 1958 and 1970.
On 8 April 2014, following theannexation of Crimea by Russia, pro-Russian separatists occupying the Luhansk Oblast administrative building planned to declare the independence of the region as the Luhansk Parliamentary Republic,[clarification needed] after other pro-Russian separatists declaredDonetsk People's Republic in the Donetsk Oblast (7 April 2014). When the Luhansk Parliamentary Republic ceased to exist, the separatists declared theLuhansk People's Republic on 27 April 2014. They held adisputed referendum on separating from Ukraine on 11 May 2014. The legitimacy of the referendums was not recognized by any government.[14] Ukraine does not recognize the referendum, while the EU and US said the polls were illegal and fraudulent.[15] Subsequently, thewar in Donbas began.
As a result of the war in Donbas, Luhansk insurgents control the southern third of the oblast, which includes the city ofLuhansk, the region's most populous city and the capital of the oblast. Due to this, most oblast government functions have moved toSievierodonetsk, which forces of the Government of Ukraine recaptured in July 2014. Many universities located in the occupied areas have moved to government-controlled cities such as Sievierodonetsk,Starobilsk orRubizhne.[16][17] A survey conducted in December 2014 by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that 5.7% of the oblast's population supported their region joining Russia, 84.1% did not support the idea, and the rest were undecided or did not respond. Insurgent-controlled areas were not polled.[18]
During the 2022Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian ground forces entered the occupied territory of Luhansk Oblast by crossing the Russian border on 22 February 2022. They invaded government-controlled territory across the line of contact and the Russian border on 24 February. As of 26 May 2022 they had occupied all but 5% of the region.[19]
During the mid-2022battle of Donbas, Russian troops attacked and eventually captured the cities ofSieverodonetsk andLysychansk during May and June 2022 in two of the most significant and most intense battles of theEastern Ukraine offensive. By 3 July 2022, Russian and allied troops controlled all cities in the oblast.[citation needed] On 4–5 July 2022, during the internationalUkraine Recovery Conference (URC 2022) inLugano, Finland,Sweden, and the Czech Republic pledged to support the postwar rebuilding of the Luhansk region.[20] On 11 September 2022, there were unconfirmed reports thatBilohorivka near Lysychansk, was recaptured. On 19 September 2022,Ukrainian forces confirmed this.[citation needed]
In late September 2022, anannexation referendum was held in Luhansk on joining the Russian Federation, although Ukraine along with the United Nations and most observers declared the referendum to be illegitimate and fraudulent.[21] Following the staged victory in the voting, the region and the so-called Luhansk People's Republicwere absorbed into Russia.[22] TheUnited Nations General Assembly subsequently passed aresolution calling on countries not to recognise what it described as an "attempted illegal annexation" and demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw".[23]
As of 5 October 2022[update], nearly all of the oblast is occupied by Russia, which claims the oblast as theLuhansk People's Republic (LPR), a self-declared state turned Russian federal subject. Thewar in Donbas and the subsequent 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine saw heavy fighting in the oblast, withSievierodonetsk captured in June by Russian and LPR forces[24] after an assault lasting several weeks,[25][26] and the oblast's last major settlement under Ukrainian control, Lysychansk, captured by Russian and Russia-backed forces on 2 July.[27] The next day,Russia's Minister of Defence announced that the entire territory of the oblast had been "liberated",[28] but three weeks later the governor of the oblast reported heavy fighting was still ongoing.[29] On 4 September, Ukrainian forces launched acounteroffensive in eastern Ukraine and recaptured small parts ofDonetsk Oblast and, on 1 October,Lyman. Ukrainian forces also pushed through the stalemate at the Luhansk Oblast border and, most notably, recaptured Bilohirivka while engaging LPR forces in Lysychansk. Since then, there has been continued fighting in the western parts of the region in a renewedLuhansk Oblast campaign.[citation needed]
Administrative subdivisions
This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(April 2023)
Like the other provinces of Ukraine, Luhansk Oblast has a double jurisdiction. The oblast is predominantly administrated by the Luhansk Oblast State Administration, headed by thegovernor of the oblast, who is appointed by thePresident of Ukraine. The province has a representative body, the provincial council, which is headed by its chairman and elected by popular vote.
The province is primarily divided into 18raions (districts), and 37 cities, including 14cities of regional significance. The administrative center isLuhansk. These raions are listed below with their areas and populations.[30]
The province's secondary division consists of various municipalities. Those municipalities may consist of one or more populated places. The municipalities are administratively subordinate to the raion in which they are located, with the exception of 14 cities subordinated directly to the oblast. The city of Luhansk is subdivided into its own four city-districts (boroughs).
All subdivisions are governed by their respective councils (radas).
The population is largely Russian-speaking, although ethnicUkrainians constitute a majority (58.0%). Among the minorities are native Russians (39.1%), Belarusians (0.8%), and others (1.4%). Ukrainians constitute the majority in all raions except forStanytsia-Luhanska Raion andKrasnodon Raion, both of which are east of Luhansk. EthnicRussians also constitute the majority in regionally significant cities, such asKrasnodon,Sverdlovsk,Khrustalnyi andKadiivka.
In the 2001 Ukrainian Census, more than 68.8% of the population considered themselves Russian speakers, while 30.0% considered themselves Ukrainian speakers. The Russophone population predominates in the southern portion of the region and around the city of Luhansk, while the northern region is less populated, mostly agricultural and Ukrainophone.
Its population (as of 2004) of 2,461,506 constitutes 5.13% of the overall Ukrainian population. The Luhansk Oblast rates fifth in Ukraine by the number of its inhabitants, having an average population density of 90.28/km2. About 87% of the population lives in urban areas, while the remaining 13% reside in agricultural areas.
Age structure
0–14 years: 12.3% (male 143,272/female 134,803)
15–64 years: 71.4% (male 768,544/female 838,639)
65 years and over: 16.3% (male 117,782/female 248,914) (2013 official)
Median age
total: 42.1 years
male: 38.2 years
female: 45.9 years (2013 official)
Economy
Economically the region is connected with theDonets Basin.
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