Snihurivka ( ) is a small city in
Bashtanka Raion,
Mykolaiv Oblast
Mykolaiv Oblast (, ), also referred to as Mykolaivshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. The administrative center of the oblast is the city of Mykolaiv. At the most recent estimate, the population ...
,
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 hosts the administration of .
Population:
It was
occupied by Russia from 19 March 2022 until 10 November 2022.
History
Snihurivka was a settlement in Kherson
uyezd in
Kherson Governorate of 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 ...
. 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 ...
the settlement was captured by German troops in 1941 and liberated by Soviet forces in the
Bereznegovatoye–Snigirevka offensive of March 1944. The Germans operated a Nazi prison in the settlement. Between 30 and 100 Jews from Snihurivka and nearby localities were murdered by Germans in the vicinity of the town in late September 1941. It gained city status in 1961.
Until 18 July 2020, Snihurivka was the administrative center of
Snihurivka Raion. The raion was abolished that day as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Mykolaiv Oblast to four. The area of Snihurivka Raion was merged into Bashtanka Raion.
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
During the
2022 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 ...
, Snihurivka was shelled and was reportedly occupied by Russian forces starting 19 March 2022. Snihurivka is a critical transportation hub with highways and railroad lines, connecting Snihurivka with the neighboring oblast capital
Kherson
Kherson (Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and , , ) is a port city in southern Ukraine that serves as the administrative centre of Kherson Oblast. Located by the Black Sea and on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, Kherson is the home to a major ship-bui ...
.
In September 2022, following
a referendum widely considered to have been staged, there were conflicting reports and rumors about the status of Snihurivka due to its vicinity near the front line, framing the attrition warfare as a retreat. On 5 October 2022, Mykolaiv Military Civilian Administration Head
Yuriy Barbashov stated on Telegram that "Snihurivka remains under the control of Russian troops", while Mykolaiv Oblast Governor
Vitalii Kim noted that officials were "seeking to confirm that Russian officers have left but there are troops still remaining there". On 9 November, the Russian Defense Minister
Sergei Shoigu announced the withdrawal of Russian forces from the right bank of the
Dnieper River. The next day,
Ukrainian forces re-entered the town and raised the Ukrainian flag.
After liberation, Ukrainian state news agency
Ukrinform reported that the bodies of 27 dead civilians had been found in individual graves in Snihurivka, all with signs of violent death such as bullet wounds or explosive injuries. Criminal investigations were initiated.
Transportation
The Snihurivka railway station was built in 1911 as part of the
Odesa Railway. The railway station was allegedly burned down by Russian troops in 2022 during the occupation.
Demographics
Recent population estimates or census results:
According to the
2001 Ukrainian census, the town had a population of 15,396. The ethnic and linguistic composition was as follows:
References
{{Authority control
Cities in Mykolaiv Oblast
Cities of district significance in Ukraine
Populated places established in the Russian Empire
Khersonsky Uyezd