Novopil ( uk, Новопіль, russian: Новополь, Novopol) is a village in

Volnovakha Raion Volnovakha Raion ( uk, Волноваський район, ) is one of the 18 administrative raions (a ''district'') of Donetsk Oblast, located in southeastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the district is located in the city of Volnov ...

Donetsk Oblast The Donetsk Oblast ( ukr, Донецька область, Donetska oblast, ), also referred to as Donechchyna ( ukr, Донеччина, links=no), is an oblast of eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 mill ...

, Ukraine. The population was 253 people, according to the 2001 census. Now is under Russian occupation during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Geography

Novopil is located about 3 kilometers from

Velyka Novosilka Velyka Novosilka ( uk, Велика Новосілка) is an urban-type settlement in Volnovakha Raion, Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-la ...

and 6 kilometers from Maliivka. The elevation is 170 meters.

History

The rural hamlet was founded as Neufeld in 1888 by settlers of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

nationality of the Evangelical-Lutheran faith. During the Soviet era, a small number of Germans managed to avoid Soviet deportation. The oldest resident of the village of Novopil, approximately 80 years old, said in the fall of 2011 that her family moved to the village of Novopil to live almost immediately after the deportation of the Germans. In the fall of 1941, 11 Germans lived in the village, apparently hiding in dugouts (she said that these Germans were showing her their dugouts). According to the resident, these Germans left the village of Novopil in 1943 with the retreat of the German troops because of the onslaught by the Soviet Army. This event practically ended the history of the Neufeld zone as a German settlement on the territory of Ukraine. During the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, the village was occupied on March 9, 2022. However, on May 22, 2022, the village of Novopil was liberated from the Russian troops. During the liberation of the settlement,

BMP-3 The BMP-3 is a Soviet and Russian infantry fighting vehicle, successor to the BMP-1 and BMP-2. The abbreviation BMP stands for ''boevaya mashina pehoty'' (, literally "infantry combat vehicle"). Production history The design of the BMP-3 ('' O ...

and Russian personnel were destroyed. Not a single undamaged house remained in the village after the Russian occupation. However, conditions in the city remain unsafe as Russian forces continue to direct artillery fire in its direction. Russian attacks were repeatedly repelled on the village and surrounding areas by Ukrainian forces.

Composition

Up until 2020, the village was part of the Velykonovosilkiy Raion, until it dissolved and was annexed into the

as part of the raion reforms. At present, there are many non-residential buildings and unused farm buildings in various degrees of destruction in the village, and wasteland in places where residential houses and farm buildings used to be. There is no school (children, up to ten people, are taken to school in another settlement on a school bus). Asphalt roads within the settlement are in unsatisfactory condition as there are no sidewalks.

References

{{Authority control Populated places established in 1888 Villages in Volnovakha Raion Velyka Novosilka settlement hromada