Pervomaisk, Luhansk Oblast

Pervomaisk (Первомайськ; Первомайск) is a city in Kadiivka urban hromada, Alchevsk Raion (district), Luhansk Oblast (region), Ukraine, on the left bank of the Luhan River. Pervomaisk is 71 km, by road, from Luhansk, 133 km from Izvarino, where there is the de jure international border between Ukraine and Russia, and 736km from Kyiv.

Pervomaisk came under the control of the breakaway pro-Russia Luhansk People's Republic (LPR / LNR) in early 2014. In 2014, and 2015, the city would be a focal point of the war in Donbas, sustaining severe destruction in conflict. Following their 2022 annexation referendum, Russia claimed the entire Luhansk Oblast, including Pervomaisk, as part of their LPR / LNR. The population of Pervomaisk is

Founding and Development
The history of Pervomaisk began with the village of Aleksandrovka, founded in 1765. From the beginning of the 19th century, Pervomaisk was part of the Slavyanoserbsky district of the Yekaterinoslav province. In the second half of the 19th century, coal mining began in the settlement, and in 1872 the Petromaryevsky mine was opened and the Petro-Maryevsky Coal Industry Society created. In 1920, from the settlement of 'Petro-Maryevka' the settlement of 'Pervomaisk', literally translated as the 'First of May' in honour of International Workers' Day, was created. A local newspaper has been published in the city since 1930. The peak population of 51,025 was reached in 1989. Pervomaisk remained part of the Ukrainian SSR until its dissolution in 1991, and was from then part of Ukraine. The 2013 population of Pervomaisk was 43,094.

2014-2022


From 2014, Pervomaisk, as all of Donbas, became caught up in the aftermath of Euromaidan. From April 2014, pro-Russia separatists started taking over parts of the south and east of Ukraine. In April and early May 2014, Luhansk and the surrounding area, including Pervomaisk, was taken over by Russian-backed forces of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR / LNR). The Ukrainian Government launched their Anti-Terrorist Operation in mid-April 2014, with the aim of taking back all territories under separatist control. In May, the 2014 Donbass status referendums were held. The referendums returned an overwhelming majority vote to cede from Ukraine into the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, however they were condemned and considered sham by the west, and did not obtain international recognition.

After several months of little military progress, in July 2014 the Ukrainian forces made sweeping territorial gains, capturing swathes of territory from pro-Russia rebels across Donbas. On 25 July 2014 the Kyiv Post reported that the Ukrainian army push for the city was imminent, and that the separatists had been "chased" by the Ukrainian army from nearby settlements and intended to make Pervomaisk their "last stand". Intense fighting for control of Pervomaisk between the pro-Russia separatists and the Ukrainian army broke out on 28 July 2014, and would wage on throughout August, with both sides claiming control of the city. It would later be established that, despite heavy bombardment, the separatists had held Pervomaisk for the whole time. By September 2014, separatist control of Pervomaisk was undisputed.

Throughout 2014, and 2015 there was heavy shelling by the Ukrainian army of Pervomaisk. In early January 2015 the civilian population of the city was estimated at between 10,000 and 20,000, down from a pre-war population of 38,435. Pervomaisk attracted international attention in 2015 due to the large-scale level of destruction, the first time that level of destruction of a city had been seen in the war in Donbas. Between 2014 and 2022, the city was effectively a frontier settlement, with the frontlines near the city limits, between Pervomaisk and Popasna. In the years from 2015 to 2022, Pervomaisk would see sporadic shelling, from the Ukrainian side.

2022 on
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Pervomaisk has been hit numerous times by Ukrainian shelling, with multiple civilian casualties and fatalities.

After the 2022 battle of Popasna, between March and May, in which the nearby city of Popasna was completely destroyed, Popasna's status as an independent city was abolished in March 2023 by the Russian occupation authorities due to the extent of the destruction, and Popasna, along with several other surrounding areas, was incorporated into Pervomaisk's administrative area. Pervomaisk and Russia's Kaluga region signed a cooperation agreement in June 2022. In mid-2023, it was reported that repairs were being carried out to buildings in Pervomaisk which had been damaged by shelling. Russian authorities reported that it was planned to repair or rebuild 29 apartment houses, five social infrastructure facilities and 11 infrastructural assets in Pervomaisk. The repairs were being carried out by Russia's Kaluga region, which is partnered with Pervomaisk.

Demographics
Ethnicity as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:
 * Ukrainians: 65.9%
 * Russians: 27.3%
 * Belarusians: 1.1%

Native language as of the 2001 census:
 * Russian language: 71.2%
 * Ukrainian: 23.3%
 * Belarusian: 0.2%

Economy
The city's pre-war economy was focused on the mining industry, with several working mines around Pervomaisk.

Mines

 * Zolotoe
 * Gorskaya
 * Carbonite
 * Toshkovskaya
 * Pervomaiskaya

Factories

 * Pervomaisky Mechanical Plant
 * Pervomaisky Electromechanical Plant
 * GOAO "Repair and mechanical plant"

Other businesses

 * Pervomaisky mine-boring department for drilling shafts and wells
 * Pervomaisky mine-building department
 * Mikhailovskaya Central Processing Plant

Due to the ongoing war, many mines, factories and businesses in Pervomaisk are either closed, or not in operation. The static inverter plant of HVDC Volgograd–Donbass is located to the northeast of the city.

Geography
Pervomaisk is located in a traditional mining region, and surrounded by mines.

Pervovmaisk is 63 km from Izvarino, where there is the de jure international border between Ukraine and Russia, however during the war in Donbas, the LPR took control of the border, in autumn 2014. From autumn 2014 until late 2022, Izvarino would serve as a border between the LPR and Russia. After Russia's annexation referendums of September 2022, Izvarino has served as a checkpoint between the LPR, and Rostov Oblast.