Donetsk Oblast, also called Donechchyna (, ), is an oblast in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. About three-fourths (75%) of it is occupied by Russia. Before the Russo-Ukrainian War, it was Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. The oblast is Ukraine's most urbanized, and includes the sprawling urban areas of Donetsk–Makiivka, Horlivka–Yenakiieve, and the port city of Mariupol. Its administrative center is Donetsk city, though due to the war it was moved to Kramatorsk.

The oblast is a coal-mining region and has a long association with the industry. From its creation in 1938 until November 1961, it bore the name Stalino Oblast, in honour of Joseph Stalin. As part of de-Stalinization, it was renamed after the Donets, the main river of eastern Ukraine, and the Donets Ridge.

At the last census in 2001, the population of Donetsk Oblast was 57% ethnic Ukrainian and 38% ethnic Russian. Meanwhile, 75% of people in Donetsk Oblast had Russian as their mother tongue and 24% had Ukrainian, although most Ukrainian citizens could speak both.

In 2014, parts of the oblast, including Donetsk, were taken over by Russian-backed separatists who declared an independent Donetsk People's Republic. This sparked an eight-year war against government forces. The separatists controlled about one-third of Donetsk Oblast, and Ukraine declared this to be under Russian occupation. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, renewed heavy fighting erupted, and in September 2022 Russia declared the annexation of the whole oblast, though it had only conquered 60% at the time, and the annexation was not recognized internationally.

History

thumb|left|[[Sviatohirsk Lavra, one of the oldest historical landmarks of Donetsk Oblast]]

Donetsk Oblast is located within the historic regions of Zaporizhzhia (western and central part), Sloboda Ukraine (northern part) and Pryazovia (southern part). In the mid-18th-century, the north-eastern outskirts formed part of Slavo-Serbia with its capital in Bakhmut.

Before the establishment of Donetsk Oblast, three districts (okruhas) existed on its territory from 1923 to 1930. The Donets Governorate was terminated in 1925. As part of Soviet Ukraine, Donetsk Oblast was established on 2 July 1932 out of the Kharkiv Oblast, the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and a number of raions that were under the direct administration of Kharkiv (then-capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic). Artemivsk (today Bakhmut) served as the oblast's administrative center for two weeks until 16 July 1932, when the city of Stalino (today Donetsk) took on the role. Until 1938, the Donetsk Oblast included the territories of the modern Luhansk Oblast. In June 1938 it was split into the Stalino Oblast (modern Donetsk Oblast) and the Voroshylovhrad Oblast (modern Luhansk Oblast).

During the Nazi German occupation from fall 1941 to fall 1943, Donetsk Oblast was known as Yuzivka Oblast (after the original name of Donetsk). During World War II, it was the site of several war crimes, including the German-perpetrated Artemivsk massacre and Soviet-perpetrated Massacre of Grischino.

As part of de-Stalinization in the Soviet Union, in 1961 Stalino and Stalino Oblast were renamed Donetsk and Donetsk Oblast.

During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, 83.9% of voters in Donetsk Oblast approved Ukraine's declaration of independence in the 1991 referendum.

In the mid-1990s, the region became known for its heightened criminal activity, including the killings of high-profile business people such as Akhat Bragin and Yevhen Shcherban. Donetsk Oblast was also a base for Ukraine's main pro-Russian political faction, Party of Regions, which became part of the Ukrainian government in 2002 and paved a way into Ukrainian politics for the powerful "Donetsk Clan".

In late 2004, the Party of Regions was involved in the creation of a political project, the South-East Ukrainian Autonomous Republic, which was intended to include Donetsk Oblast. Having close ties with the Russian government, the Party of Regions, along with local communists and other pro-Russian activists, instigated the pro-Russian unrest which escalated into the war in Donbas. In May 2014, the Ukrainian government lost control over its border with Russia in Donetsk Oblast.

On 30 September 2022 Russia, amid its invasion of Ukraine, annexed Donetsk (Donetsk People's Republic), Luhansk (Luhansk People's Republic), Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts. The United Nations General Assembly subsequently passed a resolution calling on countries not to recognize what it described as an "attempted illegal annexation", demanded that Russia "immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw", while most nations of the world have not recognized the annexations. As of August 2025, Russia controls about 75% of the oblast. The State Historic and Architectural Reserve near the city of Sviatohirsk covering the Sviatohirsk Lavra was nominated for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine.

Administrative divisions

Since 2020, Donetsk Oblast has been divided into eight raions (districts), each named after its administrative center:

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! Map !! No. !! Name in English !! Name in Ukrainian !! Romanization !!

|-

| rowspan=9 align=left|<div style="position: relative;">300px</div>

|-

| 1 || Kramatorsk Raion || || Kramatorskyi raion || Kramatorsk

|-

| 2 || Bakhmut Raion || || Bakhmutskyi raion || Bakhmut

|-

| 3 || Pokrovsk Raion || || Pokrovskyi raion || Pokrovsk

|-

| 4 || Horlivka Raion || || Horlivskyi raion || Horlivka

|-

| 5 || Volnovakha Raion || || Volnovaskyi raion || Volnovakha

|-

| 6 || Donetsk Raion || || Donetskyi raion || Donetsk

|-

| 7 || Mariupol Raion || || Mariupolskyi raion || Mariupol

|-

| 8 || Kalmiuske Raion || || Kalmiuskyi raion || Kalmiuske

|}

Each raion is in turn divided up into hromadas.

Demographics

thumb|200px|Map showing the percentage of Russian speakers (red) and Ukrainian speakers (blue) in Donetsk Oblast at the last census

thumb|200px|Map showing the percentage of ethnic Russians in Donetsk Oblast at the last census

In 2013, the population of Donetsk Oblast was 4.43 million, which constituted 10% of the overall Ukrainian population, making it the most populous and most densely populated region of the country, except for the cities with special status (Kyiv and Sevastopol). Its large population is due to the presence of several big industrial cities and numerous villages agglomerated around them.

During the 2004 presidential election, political supporters of Viktor Yanukovych threatened to demand autonomy for Donetsk and neighboring oblasts if the election of their candidate was not recognized. However, no official moves were ever made.

At the 2001 Ukrainian National Census, the ethnic groups within Donetsk Oblast were: Ukrainians – 2,744,100 (56.9%), Russians – 1,844,400 (38.2%), Pontic Greeks – 77,500 (1.6%), Belarusians – 44,500 (0.9%), others (2.3%).

At the 2001 census, the languages spoken within the oblast were: Russian (spoken by 98.6% of Russians living there, 58.7% of Ukrainians, 91.3% of Greeks, and 85.5% of Belarusians) and Ukrainian (spoken by 41.2% of Ukrainians, 1.3% of Russians, 3.2% of Greeks, and 3.9% of Belarusians). Overall, 74.9% of residents spoke Russian, while 24.1% spoke Ukrainian.

The oblast has a developed transport infrastructure which includes the Donetsk railway (covers 40% of national transportation), the Mariupol Port, the Donetsk International Airport, passenger airports in Mariupol and Kramatorsk, and dense road systems. In Donetsk Oblast two special economic zones have been created, Donetsk and Azov, which have a privileged tax regime. were not polled.

<gallery>

File:Donezk 02.JPG|Donetsk Regional Administration

File:Donezk Zentrum Postisheva.jpg|Postysheva Street, Donetsk

File:Вежа влітку.jpg|Old Tower, Mariupol

File:Mariupol 2007 (26).jpg|International Bank, Mariupol

File:Палац культури та техніки, Краматорськ DJI 0031.jpg|Palace of Culture, Kramatorsk

File:Sviatohirsk Lavra - 05.jpg|Sviatohirsk Lavra

File:Donetsk R.jpg|Jubilee coin of the National Bank of Ukraine

File:2013. Донецк 550.jpg|Young family in Donetsk

</gallery>

See also

  • Administrative divisions of Ukraine
  • List of cities in Donetsk Oblast

Notes

References

  • Information Card of the Region – Official site of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
  • – Official Donetsk city guide – English
  • donoda.gov.ua – Official site of Donetsk Oblast Administration
  • catalogue.biz.ua – Post codes directory of Donetsk Oblast