Druzhkivka (, ; ) is a city in

Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...

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 was previously a city of regional significance before the status was abolished. Population: As of April 2024, the city's population was over 31,000. Druzhkivka is located near the confluence of the Kryvyi Torets and

Kazennyi Torets The Kazennyi Torets (; ) is a river in eastern Ukraine. The river travels in the Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk Districts in the Donetsk Oblast Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Uk ...

rivers, about 80 km northeast of

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

History

Historical records indicate that a settlement named Druzhkivka was established in this area by 1781. From the late 19th through the 20th century, Druzhkivka grew into a mid-size industrial city with several large factories producing mining equipment and machinery, hardware, kitchen stoves, china tableware and bricks, as well as several clay-extracting quarries in the city's

vicinity Surroundings, or environs is an area around a given physical or geographical point or place. The exact definition depends on the field. Surroundings can also be used in geography (when it is more precisely known as vicinity, or vicinage) and m ...

. The economic collapse that resulted from the breakup of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

resulted in the rapid decline of local industries, with factories closing or barely functioning—a condition that led to high unemployment and a population exodus. When the jobs disappeared, many of them moved away. The current population of less than 60,000 is well below the historical high of at least 80,000 during the mid-1980s. Currently, many residents work part-time in various other countries. However, since temporary foreign workers bring their incomes back home to spend, this has led to the rapid growth in the local services and retail industries. During

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 ...

, Druzhkivka was occupied by the

German army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

from 22 October 1941, to 6 February 1943, and again from 9 February to 6 September 1943. During their occupation, the SS killed many local Jews. A witness from the village described the SS hanging Jews along the railway. During the 2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine the town was captured in mid-April 2014 by pro-Russian separatists. The city was eventually recaptured by Ukrainian forces on 7 July 2014, along with

Bakhmut Bakhmut is a city in eastern Ukraine. It is officially the administrative center of Bakhmut urban hromada and Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast. The city is located on the Bakhmutka River, about north of Donetsk, the administrative center ...

Demographics

The population of Druzhkivka as of 1 June 2017 is 67 772 people. Ethnicity as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001: * 48,302 Ukrainians (64.4%) * 24,122 Russians (32.2%) * 612 Armenians (0.8%) * 490 Belarusians (0.7%) * 216 Tatars (0.3%) First language as of the 2001 census: *

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

70.3% * Ukrainian 28.4% *

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

0.5% * Belarusian 0.1%

Gallery

File:Druschkiwka-085-1.jpg, Druzhkivka tram File:Дружківка.jpg, Railway station File:Druzhkivka - Monument of plumbing specialist (santekhnik).JPG, Plumber monument in Druzhkivka

External links

*
druzhkovka.com
- Druzhkovka city portal *
druzhkovka.info
- Wiki-based website about Druzhkivka

References

{{Authority control Cities in Donetsk Oblast Populated places established in 1781 Yekaterinoslav Governorate Cities of regional significance in Ukraine Populated places established in the Russian Empire Holocaust locations in Ukraine 1781 establishments in the Russian Empire Druzhkivka urban hromada