Shchastia ( uk, Ща́стя, lit=Happiness, translit=Shchastia, ; russian: Сча́стье) is a city in the

Shchastia Raion Shchastia Raion ( uk, Щастинський район, translit=Shchastynskyi raion, russian: Счастьинский район) is a raion (district) of Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine. It was created in July 2020 as part of the reform of administrat ...

of the

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...

(

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

) in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. Population: The

Luhansk power station Luhansk power station ( uk, Луганська ТЕС, translit=Luhanska TES, formerly Luhanskaya GRES) is a thermal power station north of Shchastia, near Luhansk, Ukraine. It was built between 1950 and 1956 and its first generator was connected ...

, a large powerplant built in the 1950s, is located north of Shchastia. The town of Shchastia is situated on the

Donets The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets, is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv, Don ...

river. During the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, the city became a key site of fighting.

History

The village of Shchastia was founded in 1754. In 1953, construction began on the

. Shchastia received town status in 1963. In 2014 Shchastia was controlled by the separatist

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk or Lugansk People's Republic (russian: Луга́нская Наро́дная Респу́блика, Luganskaya Narodnaya Respublika, ; abbreviated as LPR or LNR, rus, ЛНР) is a disputed entity created by Russian-backed ...

from late April 2014 till the Ukrainian army retook the city on 14 June 2014. It was mainly retaken by the volunteer fighters of the Aidar battalion who according to Amnesty International then with “virtually no oversight or control” committed war crimes in Shchastia and nearby cities. According to Shchastia residents this behaviour continued until Aidar was incorporated into the Ukrainian army in spring 2015. On 5 August 2014, a monument of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

was removed from the city of Shchastia. To facilitate the governance of Luhansk Oblast during the War in Donbas, the

Verkhovna Rada The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

on 7 October 2014 made some changes in the administrative divisions, so that the localities in the government-controlled areas were grouped into districts. In particular, Shchastia was transferred from

Luhansk Municipality Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...

Novoaidar Raion Novoaidar Raion () was a raion (district) in Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the raion was the urban-type settlement of Novoaidar. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Uk ...

. On 9 February 2016

112 Ukraine 112 Ukraine ( uk, 112 Україна) was a private Ukrainian TV channel which provided 24-hour news coverage. 112 Ukraine was available on satellites AMOS 2/3, via the DVB-T2 network, and was also available in packages of all major Ukrainian ca ...

reported that part of the settlement was under control of Ukrainian forces. On February 24, 2022, the first day of 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 ...

, Shchastia came under attack by Russian forces and was quickly occupied. 80% of the town has been destroyed in the invasion. According to locals 90% of all houses were destroyed by shelling.

Demographics

Native language as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001: * Russian 88.0% *

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

11.2%

Picture gallery

File:Shchastia Hram.jpg, Shchastia cathedral File:Shchastia Leleka.jpg, Cranes monument File:Shchastia Loshady.jpg, Horse monument File:Shchastia Pamyatnsk.jpg, WW2 monument in Shchastia File:Mertvy Donets near Lugansk.jpg, Mertvy

River near Shchastia File:Shchastia LTES.jpg, Luhansk thermal power plant

References

External links

Map of the town.
{{Authority control Cities in Luhansk Oblast Shchastia Raion Populated places established in the Russian Empire