Ivanivske (, ), known as Krasne () before 2016, is a village ( selo) in eastern

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 ...

, located in

Bakhmut Raion Bakhmut Raion (), known as Artemivsk Raion () between 1924 and 2016, is a raion (district) within the northeastern part of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Its administrative center is Bakhmut. Its area is , and its population is approximately ...

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 ...

. It is located west of

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 ...

History

Ivanivske was founded in the 18th century under the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

as a

dacha A dacha (Belarusian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of former Soviet Union, post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ...

Protopope A protopope, or protopresbyter, is a priest of higher rank in the Eastern Orthodox and the Byzantine Catholic Churches, generally corresponding to Western Christianity's archpriest or the Latin Church's dean. History The rights and duties of th ...

Ivan Lukyanov. The protopope was known for his spiritual leadership, and many

Cossacks The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...

came to his farm to work for the sake of spiritual salvation. In 1776, the lands of the farm were given to Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Vasylyovych Shabelsky, who founded the settlement of Ivanivka on his new possessions. The village continued to grow, and by 1859, it had 667 residents, 87 farmsteads, an Orthodox church, a factory, and three fairs a year. By 1886, the population had grown to 767, with 135 farmsteads, an Orthodox church, a bench, and two fairs a year. In 1908, the village had 1,473 residents. According to records, as a result of the

Holodomor The Holodomor, also known as the Ukrainian Famine, was a mass famine in Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. The Holodomor was part of the wider Soviet famine of 1930–193 ...

, 52 residents of Ivanivske died. The village's history is also intertwined with the burial mounds of the Bronze Age, which are located near the village.

Russo-Ukrainian War

Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 7 February 2023, during the Russian invasion phase of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

, fighting began near Ivanivske. It was on the frontline of the

Battle of Bakhmut The battle of Bakhmut was a major battle between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Ukrainian Armed Forces for control of the city of Bakhmut, during the eastern Ukraine campaign, a theatre of the Russian invasion of Uk ...

, during which

Wagner Group The Wagner Group (), officially known as PMC Wagner (, ), is a Russian state-funded private military company (PMC) controlled 2023 Wagner Group plane crash, until 2023 by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a former close ally of Russia's president Vladimir Pu ...

mercenaries briefly entered it. On 23 February 2024,

Russian forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Ground Forces, Navy, and Aerospace Forces—two independent combat ...

began serious operations to capture Ivanivske. Exactly a month later on 23 March, the

Russian Ministry of Defense The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation (; MOD) is the governing body of the Russian Armed Forces. The President of Russia is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Commander-in-Chief of the forces ...

claimed it had seized the village. On 2 April 2024 Ukrainian forces claimed to have blown up a bridge in Ivanivske that the Russians were using for logistics, using the ground kamikaze drone Ratel S. The

Institute for the Study of War The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is an American nonprofit research group and advocacy think tank founded in 2007 by military historian Kimberly Kagan and headquartered in Washington, D.C. ISW provides research and analysis of modern arm ...

estimated on 11 April that Russian troops had likely seized all of the settlement. However, DeepStateMap.Live contested this by reporting on 13 April that Ukrainian forces still held a presence in Ivanivske. This was further corroborated by geolocated footage posted on 15 April showing Russian forces striking Ukrainian positions in the westernmost part of the settlement. However, by May 13 the ISW was compelled to acknowledge that Russian units had advanced westwards from Ivanivkse down the T-0504 Highway towards Chasiv Yar. It is unknown under what basis they believe Ivanivske to still be contested, as the Russians have begun to use the town as a forward base for the

Battle of Chasiv Yar The battle of Chasiv Yar is an ongoing military engagement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine between the Russian Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for control of the city of Chasiv Yar and surrounding villages. The battle began on 4 ...

, and the supposed "hold" that Ukraine has had over the town over the previous two months seems tenuous at best. Ukrainian sources confirmed the capture of the town on 11 June 2024.

Demographics

According to the

2001 Ukrainian census The 2001 Ukrainian census is to date the only census of the population of independent Ukraine. It was conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989.Ukrainian, 36.66% spoke Russian, and 0.64% spoke other languages.

References

External links

{{Bakhmut Raion Villages in Bakhmut Raion Bakhmut urban hromada