Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast

For other uses, see Bilohorivka (disambiguation).

Bilohorivka Білогорівка
Rural settlement
Bilohorivka Location of Bilohorivka within Ukraine Show map of Luhansk Oblast Bilohorivka Bilohorivka (Ukraine) Show map of Ukraine
Coordinates: 48.927222°N 38.248611°E / 48.927222; 38.248611
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Luhansk Oblast
Raion	Sievierodonetsk Raion
Hromada	Lysychansk urban hromada
Founded	1720
Urban-type settlement status	1958
Area
• Total	3.26 km^2 (1.26 sq mi)
Elevation	86 m (282 ft)
Population  (2022)
• Total	808
• Density	250/km^2 (640/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code	93310
Area code	+380 6474

Bilohorivka (Ukrainian: Білогорівка, IPA: [b⁽ʲ⁾iɫoˈɦɔr⁽ʲ⁾iu̯kɐ]; Russian: Белогоровка) is a rural settlement in Sievierodonetsk Raion, Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is located in Lysychansk urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine.^[1] It is located approximately 88 kilometres (55 mi) northwest from the centre of Luhansk and 25 kilometres (16 mi) west-south-west from Sievierodonetsk. The population is 0 (2024 estimate)^[2]

As of August 2023, Bilohorivka was one of the few settlements in Luhansk Oblast which was still under the control of Ukrainian forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, who repelled attempts by Russian forces to capture the settlement.^[3][4][5] On 20 May 2024, Russia's Ministry of Defence claimed that Russian forces had captured the village.^[6]

History

Founding and early history

Bilohorivka was founded in 1720.^[7] The founders of the village were migrants from other governorates of the Russian Empire, particularly from Belgorodsky Uyezd of Kursk Governorate. This is where the original name of the village, Belhorodka (Ukrainian: Бєлгородка), came from.^[8]

A documented sixty people in Bilohorivka (including the surrounding villages in Bilohorivka settlement council [uk]) died as a result of the Holodomor, a famine in Soviet Ukraine that lasted from 1932 to 1933.^[9]

Industrial development

Surveying work was done in 1938–1938 to determine if there were useful mineral reserves in the area.^[10] Eventually, chalk deposits were discovered near Bilohorivka in 1946. The mining of that resource would become the basis of the village's economy, and construction of processing plants began.^[8] Starting in 1952, mining began, and the deposits became the main source of raw materials for the Lysychansk Soda Plant [uk]. In 1954, a cable car track was set up to connect the quarry and the soda plant, at a length of 16.5 kilometres (10.3 mi).^[10] Bilohorivka received urban-type settlement status in 1958.^[8][7]

In 2010, after the shutdown of the Lysychansk Soda Plant, work in the Bilohorivka quarry stopped. The cable car system was dismantled in 2013.^[10]

In June 2020, Bilohorivka settlement council - which was then part of Popasna Raion - was assigned to Lysychansk urban hromada.^[11] In July 2020, Bilohorivka, along with the rest of Lysychansk urban hromada, was transferred to Sievierodonetsk Raion.^[12]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

Main articles: Bilohorivka school bombing and Luhansk Oblast campaign

Bilohorivka ruins after the battle during Russian invasion.

According to the Governor of Luhansk Oblast Serhiy Haidai, a school in Bilohorivka was bombed by a Russian airstrike on 7 May 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where up to 60 people died, although only 2 were confirmed.^[13][14] On 12 May 2022, a Russian battalion tactical group attempted to establish pontoon bridges to cross the Siverskyi Donets River. They were destroyed by Ukrainian forces, with great losses of life and equipment in the ensuing Battle of the Siverskyi Donets.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} At the end of the battle of Lysychansk, Russia claimed to have captured Bilohorivka along with the rest of Luhansk Oblast.^[20]

On 19 September 2022, it was confirmed that Ukrainian forces had regained full control over the settlement.^[21] On 20 September 2022, Serhii Haidai, the head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, said that "Bilohorivka was Ukraine’s last stronghold in Luhansk Oblast. It was the area of constant heavy fighting. Our defenders have squeezed the invaders out and are in full control of the town. However, it is still under artillery fire. The town no longer exists because the invaders razed it to the ground."^[22]

On 20 May 2024, Russian defense ministry claimed that it had taken control of the settlement as well as taken up better positions in the area; Ukraine's General Staff, in its late evening report on Facebook, said fighting was going on and around Bilohorivka.^[23][24]

Economy

A chalk quarry in Bilohorivka

The economy of Bilohorivka has traditionally centered around the mining and processing of chalk. There are three mines.^[8] The chalk deposits of Bilohorivka are some of the largest in the industrial Donbas region.^[10]

Education

As of the 1970s, Bilohorivka had a secondary school, a vocational school, and a library.^[7]

Demographics

Population history

Year Pop. ±% 1959 2,996[25] —     1968 1,815[7] −39.4% 1979 1,429[25] −21.3% 1989 1,347[8] −5.7%

Year Pop. ±% 2001 1,186[8] −12.0% 2011 976[26] −17.7% 2022 808[27] −17.2%

As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, Bilohorivka had a population of 1,186 people. It is a multi-ethnic settlement— when respondents in the census were asked about their ethnic background, 61% said they were Ukrainians, and 38% said they were Russians. There were also small minorities of Belarusians, Tatars, Greeks, and Poles.^[8]

The population has declined steadily over the past decades — from 1,815 in 1968 to 808 in 2022.^[7][27]

Infrastructure

Bilohorivka has a hospital,^[8] which had 25 beds as of the 1970s.^[7] It has bus connections to Lysychansk and Siversk.^[8]

References

1. "Білогорівка - Луганська область". Decentralization in Ukraine. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
2. Belogorovka. What does the last outpost of Luhansk region look like?
3. "Russian forces conducting offensive actions". 10 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
4. Karolina Hird; Riley Bailey; Grace Mappes; Layne Philipson; George Barros; Frederick W. Kagan (5 January 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 5, 2023". criticalthreats.org. Retrieved 10 January 2023. A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces also conducted an assault towards Bilohorivka, Luhansk Oblast (12km south of Kreminna)
5. Kateryna Stepanenko; Riley Bailey; Angela Howard; Mason Clark (14 January 2023). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, January 14, 2023". understandingwar.org. ISW. Retrieved 15 January 2023. The Ukrainian General Staff also reported that Ukrainian forces repelled a Russian assault near Bilohorivka (12km south of Kreminna).
6. Bayer, Lili; Lowe, Yohannes; Lowe (earlier), Lili Bayer (now) Yohannes (20 May 2024). "Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukraine still controls 60% of Vovchansk, says local official". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
7. "Білогорівка, Лисичанський район, Луганська область". Історія міст і сіл Української РСР (in Ukrainian).
8. Денисюк, Т. В. (1 February 2003). "Білогорівка". Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Vol. 2. Інститут енциклопедичних досліджень НАН України. ISBN 978-966-02-2074-4.
9. "Мартиролог. Луганська" (PDF). pp. 382–383. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
10. "Белогоровское месторождение мела. Северный Донбасс". Retrieved 14 December 2023.
11. "Про визначення адміністративних центрів та затвердження територій територіальних громад Луганської області". Government of Ukraine. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
12. "Про утворення та ліквідацію районів". Офіційний вебпортал парламенту України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 14 December 2023.
13. "Bombing of school in Ukraine kills two, dozens more feared dead - governor". Reuters. 8 May 2022. Archived from the original on 8 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
14. "Ukraine war: Dozens feared dead after bomb hits school". BBC. 8 May 2022. Archived from the original on 9 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
15. Ukraine blows up two Russian pontoon bridges. CNN. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022 – via YouTube.
16. "Ukraine stymies Russian efforts to cut off Luhansk in Bilohorivka". english.nv.ua. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
17. "Russians lose huge amount of military equipment, soldiers near Bilohorivka, says Luhansk governor". Archived from the original on 26 May 2022. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
18. "Institute for the Study of War". Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
19. "Growing evidence of a military disaster on the Donets pierces a pro-Russian bubble". The New York Times. 15 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
20. ""Мы бережем жизни наших воинов". Зеленский подтвердил, что украинская армия вышла из Лисичанска". BBC News Русская служба (in Russian). Retrieved 14 December 2023.
21. Harding, Luke (19 September 2022). "Russia no longer has full control of Luhansk as Ukraine recaptures village". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
22. ""Russia Razed Several Towns in Luhansk Oblast to the Ground; Bilohorivka Is Fully Controlled by Ukraine's Armed Forces," Serhiy Haidai". mediacenter.org.ua. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
23. "Russia claims full control of Bilohorivka, Ukraine reports fighting around settlement". reuters.com. Reuters. 20 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
24. Christina Harward; Nicole Wolkov; Kateryna Stepanenko; Grace Mappes; Frederick W. Kagan (20 May 2024). "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 20, 2024". understandingwar.org. ISW. Retrieved 21 May 2024. The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Russian forces seized Bilohorivka (south of Kreminna), but Russian milbloggers criticized the MoD's claim as premature or otherwise untrue.
25. "Україна / Ukrajina". Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
26. "Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2013 року. Державна служба статистики України. Київ, 2013. стор.77" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
27. Cite error: The named reference ua2022estimate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).