Voroshilovgrad Oblast

Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the name ''Voroshilovgrad Oblast'' until 1958 and again from 1970 to 1991. It has a population of

Important cities in Luhansk Oblast include Alchevsk, Antratsyt, Brianka, Kadiivka, Kirovsk, Krasnodon, Khrustalnyi, Luhansk, Lysychansk, Pervomaisk, Rovenky, Rubizhne, Sievierodonetsk and Sverdlovsk. All of the oblast is in the Donbas region.

In 2014, large parts of the oblast, including the capital Luhansk, came under the control of Russian-backed separatists who declared the Luhansk People's Republic, leading to a war against Ukrainian government forces. Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the oblast has come almost entirely under Russian occupation and has been the scene of heavy fighting, which continues in some places. In late September 2022, Russia declared the annexation of the entire oblast, along with three others, though the annexation remains internationally unrecognized. As of September 2024, Ukraine is in control of 1.5% of the region, including a few settlements, such as Hrekivka and Tverdokhlibove. These areas continue to see active conflict.

Geography

Luhansk Oblast is in far eastern Ukraine. Its north–south length is 250 km, and east–west width 190 km. It covers an area of 26,700 km², 4.42% of the total area of Ukraine.

The oblast has the longest segment of Ukraine's international border with Russia among other regions (''see State Border of Ukraine''), consisting of . The abutting Russian oblasts are Belgorod Oblast to the north, Voronezh Oblast to the northeast, Rostov Oblast to the east. Abutting Ukrainian oblasts are Kharkiv Oblast to the west, and Donetsk Oblast to the south.

The region is located in the valley of the Siversky Donets river, which flows west to east through the oblast and splits it approximately in half. The southern portion of the region is elevated by the Donetsk Ridge, which is close to the southern border. The highest point is Mohyla Mechetna (), the highest point of Donetsk Ridge. The left bank of the Siversky Donets is part of the Starobilsk Plain. To the north this transforms into the Central Russian Upland.

History

The territory was formerly part of the Wild Fields, and former administrative units in the territory of the current oblast included Sloboda Ukraine, Slavo-Serbia, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Donets Governorate and Donetsk Oblast.

Soviet Ukraine (1938–1991)

The oblast originated in 1938 as Voroshylovhrad (Russian: Voroshilovgrad) Oblast () after the Donetsk Oblast was split between Voroshylovhrad and Stalino (today Donetsk Oblast) oblasts. Following the Soviet invasion of Poland, Starobilsk was the location of a prisoner of war camp for Poles, who were then massacred in the Katyn massacre in 1940. After the invasion by Nazi Germany in 1941, the region came under a German military administration, due to its proximity to frontlines. It was occupied at the end of 1942 as part of Case Blue German offensive directed towards Stalingrad.

Soon after the battle of Stalingrad, the Luhansk (at that time Voroshilovgrad in honor of Kliment Voroshilov) region again became the center of military operations during the Soviet counter-offensive operation Little Saturn in the spring of 1943. In the summer of 1943, the region was liberated from the Nazi Germany Armed Forces. During the Soviet era, the Oblast bore its current name between 1958 and 1970.

In the December 1991 referendum, 83.86% of votes in the oblast were in favor of the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine

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