Brianka (, ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in Kadiivka urban hromada, Alchevsk Raion (

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the n ...

(

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. It is located in the Donbas region, between the cities of

Kadiivka Kadiivka () or Stakhanov (), is a city in Alchevsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Residence of Kadiivka urban hromada. It is located on the Komyshuvakha River, a right tributary of the Luhan (river), Luhan. Ukraine renamed the ci ...

and Alchevsk. Brianka is incorporated as a city of oblast significance. The population: Since 2014, Bryanka has been under the control of the Russian-backed

Luhansk People's Republic The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR; , ) is a disputed territory administered as a republic of Russia in the occupied parts of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk Oblast, with its capital in Luhansk. The LPR was proclaimed by Russian-backed paramilitar ...

(LPR/LNR). In 2022, Russia declared its

annexation Annexation, in international law, is the forcible acquisition and assertion of legal title over one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. In current international law, it is generally held t ...

of the region.

History

The settlement traces its history to small settlements of Zaporizhian Cossacks, , that appeared in place of future Brianka in 1696. The settlement developed further into a miners' settlement around the local Brianka Quarry since the end of 19th century. After the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, in 1944–1962 it was a suburb of neighboring city of

. Brianka became a city in its own right in 1962. A local newspaper has been published in the city since April 1965. During the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

reports have emerged about Russian soldiers who refused to continue fighting being held captive in the city.

Demographics

Population

As of 2021, the population is 44,987 people.

Ethnicity

As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001: * Ukrainians: 54.9% * Russians: 42.7% * Belarusians: 0.8%

Language

As of the Ukrainian Census of 2001: * Russian: 87.01% * Ukrainian: 12.65% * Belarusian: 0.09%

Notable people

* Heorhiy Sudakov (born 2002), Ukrainian footballer, currently plays for Shakhtar Donetsk, with also obtaining the call up to the Ukrainian national team. * Kostyantyn Morozov (born 1944), Ukrainian politician, who served as the first Ministry of Defence of Ukraine after the country regained independence and a key figure in establishing in Ukraine's policy of seeking to join NATO Heorhiy Sudakov

References

Cities in Luhansk Oblast Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Yekaterinoslav Governorate Kadiivka urban hromada {{Luhansk-geo-stub