Kadiivka

Since 1919, the city was under the power of the Bolsheviks.

In 1931, the session of the All-Ukrainian Central Executive Committee decided to build a new orderly city. The pond in the center was filled in, and a square was built in its place, which existed until the early 1970s. On the night of August 30-31, 1935, at the Central Irmino mine, Oleksiy Stakhanov's shift set a record for jackhammer labor productivity, chopping 102 tons of coal in 5 hours and 45 minutes, exceeding the norm by 14 times. This is how the Stakhanovite movement was born.

In 1937, the city was renamed Sergo in honor of the Bolshevik Sergo Ordzhonikidze, who fought with Ukrainian troops. From 1943-44 to 1978, the city had its current name - Kadiivka.

On July 12, 1942, during the German-Soviet war, the city was captured by German troops.[15][16] On September 3, 1943, it was recaptured by the troops of the Southern Front during the Donbas operation.

In November 1944, three districts (city district councils) were created: Illichivskyi, Bryanskyi, and Golubivskyi.[17]

In the 1950s, the city encompassed settlements that were later separated into separate cities — Brianka, Pervomaisk, Kirovsk (now Golubivk). In the fall of 1954, a technical school was opened in Kadiivka, where 280 high school graduates began their studies.

On February 15, 1978, in order to perpetuate the memory of O. G. Stakhanov, Kadiivka was renamed to Stakhanov by the Decree of the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR. The historical name was restored only in 2016, after gaining independence.

Read more: War in Donbas (2014–2022) The war in the east of Ukraine

The first separatist demonstrations in the city were recorded on April 17, 2014, when the attackers tried to seize the police headquarters.[18] On the night of April 27,[19] on the eve of the proclamation of the Luhansk People's Republic, an armed group of militants arrived in the city.[20] On May 1, the Stakhanov City Council planned to consider the issue of the status of the region, but the meeting did not take place due to the lack of a quorum. On May 2,[21] the city council was captured.

Over time, the city came under the influence of the Don Cossacks, led by the Russian citizen M. Kozitsyn, Pavel Dryomov was appointed Kozitsyn's governor in Stakhanov. On September 14,[22][23] the Stakhanov group announced its withdrawal from the jurisdiction of the "Luhansk People's Republic"

On September 28, 2014, information appeared that in occupied Stakhanov militants were conducting searches in local schools, Dmytro Tymchuk, head of the Information Resistance group, reported: "All Ukrainian symbols are being destroyed. The leadership of the attackers promises that all Ukrainian educational literature will be removed, and Russian textbooks will be imported instead."

On September 30, 2014, "Information Resistance" reported that units of the 76th Airborne Assault Division of the Russian Air Force and the activity of a Russian electronic communications station jamming mobile communications were recorded. On November 5, journalist Roman Bochkala, citing his own sources, reported that in Stakhanov, 2 or 3 volley fire systems of the occupiers were blown up with all their ammunition.

On November 14, Stakhanov was included in the list of settlements in the East of Ukraine, where the Ukrainian authorities are temporarily not operating

By the end of 2014, the conflict between the Stakhaniv Cossacks and the leadership of the LPR deepened. For example, Pavlo Dryomov publicly accused the leader of the "LPR" Igor Plotnytskyi of stealing coal, falsifying elections and cooperating with members of the Party of Regions. Instead, the Russian special services took the side of the "LPR" and kidnapped Kozytsyn, and shot some of his henchmen.

As of January 23, 2017, the Ukrainian army was able to advance 500 meters deep in the direction of the city of Kadiivka and took the positions previously occupied by LPR - Operation Sukhumi. The operation was carried out by the joint efforts of 3 battalions.

The city has been under the control of the Luhansk People's Republic since early 2014, and the war in Donbas. Starting mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast;[24][25] they took over Kadiivka on 2 May 2014.[26][27]

In October 2015, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine opened a Forward Patrol Base in the city, meaning that a small number of international monitors were due to be permanently based here.[28] The OSCE left the city shortly before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine began.[29]

With Russia's Wagner Group having significant bases in Kadiivka, Ukrainian forces have reportedly scored repeated hits on them, with multiple casualties.[30][31][32][33]