Lyman Лиман | |
|---|---|
 Lyman railway station | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
  Lyman  Lyman | |
| Coordinates:48°59′7″N37°48′40″E / 48.98528°N 37.81111°E /48.98528; 37.81111 | |
| Country |  Ukraine |
| Oblast | Donetsk Oblast |
| Raion | Kramatorsk Raion |
| Hromada | Lyman urban hromada |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Oleksandr Zhuravlev |
| Population (2022) | |
• Total | 20,066 |
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Lyman (Ukrainian:Лиман,IPA:[ɫɪˈmɑn];Russian:Лиман,romanized: Liman), formerly known asKrasnyi Lyman (Ukrainian:Красний Лиман;Russian:Красный Лиман,romanized: Krasny Liman,lit. 'RedLiman') from 1925 to 2016,[1] is a city inDonetsk Oblast,Ukraine.
Until 2016 it also served as the administrative center ofLyman Raion, though administratively it was not part of the raion and incorporated as acity of oblast significance. It still serves as the administrative center ofLyman urban hromada[2][3] and is part ofKramatorsk Raion. The population was20,066 (2022 estimate),[4] down from 28,172 in 2001.
The city had its origins in a military settlement built to guard the southern frontier of theTsardom of Russia. It grew to become a city following the construction of a railway station, and became a key railway hub in the region. It was renamed to Krasnyi Lyman by the Soviet government that followed Tsarist Russia, and continued to grow throughout the 20th century.
During theRusso-Ukrainian War, the city has seen several battles. The first was thebattle of Krasnyi Lyman in 2014, between Ukrainian government forces and Russian proxies loyal to the breakawayDonetsk People's Republic, which was won by Ukrainian forces. It remained under government control throughout the remainder of thewar in Donbas, and was renamed to its historic name Lyman in 2016 as part ofdecommunization in Ukraine.
During the full-scaleRussian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lyman has been a scene of heavy fighting. It wascaptured by the Russian military in May 2022, beforebeing recaptured by Ukrainian forces in October 2022. The city has been nearly destroyed by the 2022 fighting, and most of the population has fled.
Archaeologists have discoveredNeolithic stone sculptures in the Lyman district andScythian remains from the fourth and third centuries BCE.[5][6]
In 1646, the "Mayaka" fort was built 18 kilometres (11 mi) away from the location of modern Lyman, as part of the larger effort to defend the southern border ofTsardom of Russia from the attacks of theCrimean Tatars, especially along theDonets river. Lyman itself was founded in 1667/1678 as a fortified town near the Mayaka fortress.[5][6] In the course of theadministrative reform carried out in 1708 byMoscow tsarPeter I, Lyman was explicitly mentioned as one of the towns included toAzov Governorate.[7][8]
From 1904 to 1910, a railway was constructed that passed through Lyman. This railway stimulated growth of civilian settlement in the area, where earlier settlers had been entirely military.[6]
Lyman changed hands numerous times during theRussian Civil War.[6] During the1918 Central Powers invasion of Ukraine, Lyman was taken over by the invaders in April 1918.[5] Eventually, theBolsheviks recaptured Lyman, won the war and established the communistSoviet Union on much of the territory of the formerRussian Empire. The town was given the prefixKrasnyi ("red") on 9 January 1925 by the Soviet government.[5][6] According to the1926 Soviet census, Krasnyi Lyman had a population of 4,800 people.[6]
Krasnyi Lyman received city status in 1938, and its population continued to grow: by 1939, it had a population of 25,600. DuringWorld War II, Krasnyi Lyman wasoccupied byNazi Germany between 7 July 1942 and 3 February 1943.[6]
The city's population continued to grow after the end of the war. In 1988, Krasnyi Lyman became acity of regional significance.[6]
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In June 2014, the city was the scene of thebattle of Krasnyi Lyman during thewar in Donbas.[9] On 5 June the town returned to Ukrainian control.[10] Following the 2015law on decommunization the city returned to its original nameLyman, removing the prefixKrasnyi.[11] The change was approved by theVerkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament) on 4 February 2016.[11]
Lyman is an important railway junction. During theRussian invasion of Ukraine, Lyman was seized by Russian troops on 27 May 2022.[12][13] The Russian occupiers changed the city's name back to the Soviet nameKrasnyi Liman shortly thereafter.[14] The control of Lyman, while it is not a large city, gave Russia and its proxies control of a key road that leads toSloviansk andKramatorsk.[12][13] From 10 September, Ukrainian troops advanced to Lyman as part of acounteroffensive launched inKharkiv Oblast, and engaged Russian troops in abattle.[15][16] On 1 October, aRussian Defense Ministry spokesman announced that Russian forces were withdrawing from the city, hours after Russian presidentVladimir Putin had declaredDonetsk Oblast to have beenannexed by Russia.[17][18][19][20]
The largely destroyed city has still been regularly shelled by Russia after the battles.[21] On 8 July 2023, the Russian Armed Forcesshelled the residential area in the center of Lyman with9M55K-series Smerchcluster munition. Lyman was at the time approximately 15 kilometers west ofRussian-occupied territories. The bombing killed 9 civilians, while 13 were wounded.[22][23][24]
The city is known by locals as "The Gates ofDonbas", and is a regional export hub for goods likecoal,salt, andsand.[25]
Lyman is a key railway hub,[21] carrying up to 30% of cargo on the Donetsk railway system. 35% of residents are employed in rail transport, and 18% in industry. Railway transport enterprises include the local office of the Donetsk Railway Administration, the PMS-10 track engine station, the ТЧ-1 locomotive depot, the РПЧ-3 motor car depot, and numerous maintenance sites and sections of the railway. Other industries include food processing, a feed mill, quarry management, the Leman-Beton concrete manufacturer, and others.[citation needed]
More than 80 agricultural enterprises operate in the region. The forestry and animal husbandry business is among the most important in Ukraine. More than 40,000 mink skins are produced in Lyman annually. There is also a branch of the energy company 000 Donbasnefteprodukt. Other industries have included a silicate brick factory, an asphalt and concrete factory, and a food canning factory.[citation needed]
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As of the2001 Ukrainian census, 28,172 people lived in the city.[6] Of these, 84.4% wereUkrainians, 13.8% wereRussians, and 0.6% wereBelarusians.[27] In terms of native language, 69.8% spokeUkrainian, 29.67% spokeRussian, and 0.53% spoke other languages or did not answer the survey question. The exact ethnic and linguistic composition was as follows:[28][29]
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The population has declined in the early 21st century, decreasing to an estimated 20,066 by 2022.[4] After the intense fighting during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, most residents have fled or have been killed, with Lyman mayor Oleksandr Zhuravlev estimating only 6,000 remaining in 2023, including 500 children.[26]
On 11 January 2023,Westport, Connecticut officially announced Lyman as their sister city.[30]
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