Yenakiieve

Yenakiieve, also Yenakiyevo is a city and the nominal administrative center of Yenakiieve urban hromada in the Horlivka Raion, within the Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine. The city stands on the Krynka River about 60 kilometres (37 mi) from the oblast's administrative center, Donetsk. Its population is approximately 76,673 (2022 estimate), making it the seventh-most populous city in Donetsk Oblast and the 43rd-most populous city in Ukraine. The city originally started off under the name of Fyodorovka, which gained notoriety in 1895 when it was chosen as the site of the Petrovsky plant, which would become Yenakiieve Iron and Steel Works. In 1898, the settlement was merged to make the settlement of Yenakiieve, named after the founder of the Petrovsky plant, Fyodor Yegorovich Yenakiev. After the October Revolution, it was claimed by the Soviet Union. In 1925, the settlement was granted city status. The city was renamed twice to Rykovo in 1928 and then Ordzhonikidze in 1937, before being changed back to its original name of Yenakiieve after World War Two. After World War Two, the city continued to grow as a major industrial hub, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union became part of an independent Ukraine. In 2014, during the War in the Donbas, the city came under the control of pro-Russian separatists, who incorporated it into the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. After a highly disputed referendum, the region was annexed by Russia in 2022. As of 2026, Russia has full control of the city. Yenakiieve remains a large industrial centre in the region of the Donbas, specifically in ferrous metallurgy and mining. The largest employer is the steelmaking Yenakiieve Iron and Steel Works alongside the Yenakiieve Coke-Chemical Plant. However, the city's outdated industry has also caused notable accidents, such as that of the 2008 Ukraine coal...