Lysychansk

Lysychansk is a city in Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located on the high right bank of the Donets River, approximately 115 kilometres (71 mi) from the administrative center of the oblast, Luhansk. It faces Sievierodonetsk across the river, which is considered its twin city, and is also situated close by to Rubizhne and Kreminna. Its population before the Russian invasion of Ukraine was approximately 93,340 (2022 estimate)., making it the 40th-largest city in Ukraine and the fourth-largest city in Luhansk Oblast. Lysychansk is popularly believed to have been settled permanently starting in 1710, with the founding of the Cossack settlement of Lisya Balka. In 1721, the settlement gained notoriety when the first ever coal in the entirety of the Donbas was discovered there, and in 1795, under orders by Empress Catherine II, the first ever mine in the Donbas was also set up in the area. The intended purpose of the mine was to supply the foundry in the also newly established city of Luhansk. Over the next few decades, the settlement would rapidly grow as a regional mining centre, eventually transitioning into the name Lysychansk in the 1850s–60s. After the October Revolution, it was claimed by the Soviet Union after a change of hands in late 1919. The settlement of Lysychansk was reclassified as a city in 1938, but was again devastated by World War II. After reconstruction, the city became known for its glass and coal mining industry, and eventually oil with the opening of the Lysychansk Oil Refinery. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the city became part of a newly independent Ukraine. In 2014, during the War in the Donbas, the city was seized by pro-Russian separatists, who incorporated it into the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic. Ukrainian troops regained the city...