Donbas

"Donbass" redirects here. For the 2018 film, see Donbass (film).
Not to be confused with Dombås.

Donbas
Донбас (Ukrainian)
Map indicating the location of Donbass within Ukraine
Location of Donbas within Ukraine
CountryUkraine[note 1]
Largest cityDonetsk
Area
 • Total53,201 km2 (20,541 sq mi)
Population
 (2010)[1]
 • Total6,651,378
 • Density125/km2 (320/sq mi)
GDP
[2]
 • Total₴ 220 billion
(US$27 billion)
 • Per capita₴ 33,000
(US$4,000)
A map showing the present-day definition of the Donbas within Ukraine
Map of the historical region of Donbas, within modern-day Ukraine and the Rostov Oblast of Russia
Geology of Ukraine
  (8) = Donets fold belt

The Donbas (UK: /dɒnˈbɑːs/,[3] US: /ˈdɒnbɑːs, dʌnˈbæs/;[4][5] Ukrainian: Донбас [donˈbɑs];[6]) or Donbass (Russian: Донбасс [dɐnˈbas][7]) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine.[8][9] The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War.[10][11][12]

The word Donbas is a portmanteau formed from "Donets Basin", an abbreviation of "Donets Coal Basin" (Ukrainian: Донецький вугільний басейн, romanized: Donetskyi vuhilnyi basein; Russian: Донецкий угольный бассейн, romanized: Donetskiy ugolnyy basseyn). The name of the coal basin is a reference to the Donets Ridge; the latter is associated with the Donets river.

There are numerous definitions of the region's extent.[13] The Encyclopedia of History of Ukraine defines the "small Donbas" as the northern part of Donetsk and the southern part of Luhansk regions of Ukraine, and the attached part of Rostov region of Russia.[14] The historical coal mining region excluded parts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and included areas in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and Southern Russia.[9] A Euroregion of the same name is composed of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in Ukraine and Rostov Oblast in Russia.[15]

The Donbas formed the historical border between the Zaporizhian Sich and the Don Cossack Host. It has been an important coal mining area since the late 19th century, when it became a heavily industrialised territory.[16]

In March 2014, following the Euromaidan protest movement and the resulting Revolution of Dignity, large swaths of the Donbas became gripped by pro-Russian and anti-government unrest. This unrest later grew into a war between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists affiliated with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk "People's Republics", who were supported by Russia as part of the broader Russo-Ukrainian War. The conflict split the Donbas into Ukrainian-held territory, constituting about two-thirds of the region, and separatist-held territory, constituting about one-third. The region remained this way for years until Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On 30 September 2022, Russia unilaterally declared its annexation of Donbas together with two other Ukrainian oblasts, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.[17]

The city of Donetsk (the fifth largest city in Ukraine) is considered the unofficial capital of the Donbas. Other large cities (over 100,000 inhabitants) include Mariupol, Luhansk, Makiivka, Horlivka, Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Alchevsk, Sievierodonetsk, and Lysychansk.


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ "Ukraine Census, population as of 1st August 2012". State Statistics Committee of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 12 March 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
  2. ^ "Валовии регіональнии продукт". ukrstat.gov.ua.
  3. ^ "Donbas". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 1 March 2021.
  4. ^ "Donbas". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Donbas". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  6. ^ "Donets Basin – region, Europe". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 4 June 2023.
  7. ^ Как далеко зайдет Москва на Донбассе. Срочное обращение Байдена. Первые санкции | ВЕЧЕР | 22.2.22. VoA.com (in Russian). Voice of America. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Donets Basin". Lexico UK English Dictionary UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021.
  9. ^ a b Hiroaki Kuromiya (2003). Freedom and Terror in the Donbas: A Ukrainian-Russian Borderland, 1870s–1990s. Cambridge University Press. pp. 12–13. ISBN 0521526086.
  10. ^ Kitsoft. "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine – Temporary Occupation of Territories in Donetsk and Luhansk Regions". mfa.gov.ua. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  11. ^ Kitsoft. "Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine – 10 facts you should know about the Russian military aggression against Ukraine". mfa.gov.ua. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  12. ^ "A Russian court document mentioned Russian troops "stationed" in eastern Ukraine. Moscow insists there are none". CBS News. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  13. ^ Тимошенко, Денис (23 June 2018). Донбасс – единственная часть Украины, возникшая из промышленного региона [Donbass is the only part of Ukraine that emerged from an industrial region]. Radio Liberty (in Russian). Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  14. ^ "ДОНБАС, РЕГІОН В УКРАЇНІ ТА РОСІЇ". resource.history.org.ua. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  15. ^ "Euroregion Donbass". Association of European Border Regions. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference racket was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Dickson, Janice (30 September 2022). "Putin signs documents to illegally annex four Ukrainian regions, in drastic escalation of Russia's war". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 5 March 2023.