Starobilsk Raion

Starobilsk Raion (Старобільський район) is a raion (district) in Luhansk Oblast of eastern Ukraine. The administrative center of the district is the town of Starobilsk. Population:

Its territory was greatly expanded during the 2020 Ukrainian administrative reforms.

History
Starobilsk Raion was established in spring 1923 as an administrative unit of the Ukrainian SSR.

On February 5, 1965, in accordance with a decree of the Presidium of the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian SSR that tweaked administration across the republic, Brusivka rural council, Luhansk Oblast was transferred from Starobilsk Raion to Bilovodsk Raion, slightly shrinking the former's territory.

The January 2020 estimate of the raion's population was

On 18 July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, the number of raions of Luhansk Oblast was reduced to eight, of which only four were controlled by the government, and the area of Starobilsk Raion was significantly expanded. Two abolished raions, Chornobai and Drabiv Raions, as well as the city of Starobilsk, which was previously incorporated as a city of oblast significance and did not belong to the raion, were merged into Starobilsk Raion.

Subdivisions
The raion contains eight hromadas:
 * Bilolutsk settlement hromada;
 * Bilovodsk settlement hromada;
 * Chmyrivka rural hromada;
 * Markivka settlement hromada;
 * Milove settlement hromada;
 * Novopskov settlement hromada;
 * Shulhynka rural hromada;
 * Starobilsk urban hromada.

Demographics
As of the 2001 Ukrainian census:


 * Ethnicity
 * Ukrainians: 87.8%
 * Russians: 11%
 * Belarusians: 0.3%