What does the name Donbas mean?
Donbas is a portmanteau of "Donets Coal Basin," referring to the coal-rich area along the Donets river in eastern Ukraine. The full Ukrainian form is Донецький вугільний басейн.
Questions about Donbas
Short answers, pulled from the story.
Who founded the city of Donetsk and when?
Donetsk was founded in 1869 by Welsh businessman John Hughes on the site of an old Zaporozhian Cossack town called Oleksandrivka. Hughes built a steel mill and established collieries, and the city was originally named Yuzivka after him.
What percentage of Donbas is occupied by Russia as of 2025?
As of October 2025, the Russian Armed Forces control about 90% of the Donbas region. Russia unilaterally declared the annexation of the Donbas on the 30th of September 2022.
What did Donbas residents vote for in the 1991 Ukrainian independence referendum?
83.9% of voters in Donetsk Oblast and 83.6% in Luhansk Oblast voted in favor of Ukrainian independence in the 1991 referendum. Turnout was 76.7% in Donetsk Oblast and 80.7% in Luhansk Oblast.
What caused the nuclear contamination at the Yunkom mine in the Donbas?
On the 16th of September 1979, a 300-kiloton nuclear test explosion was conducted at 900 meters depth at the Yunkom coal mine in Yenakiieve to free methane gas from coal seams. Before glasnost, miners were not informed of the radioactivity present at the mine.
What were the Minsk agreements about the Donbas conflict?
The Minsk Protocol, signed on the 5th of September 2014, and the follow-up Minsk II agreement of the 12th of February 2015 were ceasefires intended to stop fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists. Despite 29 ceasefires over the following years, none stopped the violence, and Russia officially abandoned the framework by recognizing separatist independence on the 21st of February 2022.