Vasylivka ( uk, Васи́лівка, ; rus, links=on, Васильевка, p=vɐˈsʲilʲjɪfkə) is a city in

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast ( uk, Запорі́зька о́бласть, translit=Zaporizka oblast), also referred to as Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запорі́жжя, links=no), is an oblast (province) of southeast Ukraine. Its capital is Zaporizhzhia. The ...

(

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

) in southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of

Vasylivka Raion Vasylivka Raion ( uk, Василівський район) is one of the five raions (districts) of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine. The administrative center of the region is the town of Vasylivka. Population: . On 18 July 2020, as part ...

. The city is situated on the banks of the

Kakhovka Reservoir The Kakhovka Reservoir (, ''Kakhovs′ke vodoskhovyshche'') is a water reservoir on the Dnieper River in Ukraine. It was created in 1956, when the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was built. It is one of several reservoirs in the Dnieper reserv ...

on the

Dnieper River } The Dnieper () or Dnipro (); , ; . is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. It is the longest river of Ukraine an ...

. Population:

History

The area was settled by the

Zaporozhian Cossacks The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...

in the 1740s. In 1788, Catherine II of Russia granted the region to a landlord

Basil Popowski Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also kno ...

, a Russian general whose name Vasylivka as his manor still bears. His grandson built the

Popov Manor House The Vasylivka Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve "Popov Manor House" (also known as Vasylivka Castle) is an established museum complex at a partly preserved manor house built between 1864 and 1884 near the town of Vasylivka, Ukraine by Vas ...

there. The residence was visited by

Anton Makarenko Anton Semenovich Makarenko ( ua , Анто́н Семенович Мака́ренко, 13 January 1888 – 1 April 1939), a Ukrainian and Soviet educator, social worker and writer, became the most influential educational theorist in the ...

in 1925. In January 1989, according to the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, population was 16,325. In January 2013, population was 13,996. On 7 March 2022, Vasylivka was captured by Russian forces 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. ...

in the

Southern Ukraine offensive The southern Ukraine campaign is an ongoing Theater (warfare)#Theatre of operation, theatre of operation in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine which began on 24 February 2022. From their base in Russian occupation of Crimea, Russian-occupied ...

. On 12 December 2022, Russian forces began preparing to evacuate the citizens of Vasylivka. The following week, Ukrainian artillery struck Russian positions in the city, destroying military equipment. On 4 January 2023, Ukrainian forces shelled the headquarters of Russian troops stationed in Vasylivka. Pro-Russian news sources claimed that the strike hit an apartment building and that six people were killed in the strike.

Gallery

File:Vasylivka Palatsoviy Kompleks Sadyba Popova Fligel' 1 08 Gagarina 16 (YDS 8891).JPG, Popov Castle (back view) File:Vasylivka Gospodarchi Sporudy z kompleksu Maetku 01 Likarnyna 10 (YDS 8906).JPG, Old district of Vasylivka File:Vasylivka Zems'ka Chotyryklasna Shkola 04 (YDS 8920).JPG, Former school File:Panoramio - V&A Dudush - Васильевка автовокзал.jpg, Bus station File:Васильевка (2018).jpg,

References

Cities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast Cities of district significance in Ukraine Populated places established in the Russian Empire Populated places on the Dnieper in Ukraine Melitopolsky Uyezd {{Zaporizhzhia-geo-stub