Debaltseve

Debaltseve (Дебальцеве) Debaltsevo (Дебальцево)
City
Debaltseve railway station in 2010
Flag Coat of arms
Debaltseve (Дебальцеве)
Coordinates: 48°20′N 38°24′E / 48.333°N 38.400°E / 48.333; 38.400Coordinates: 48°20′N 38°24′E / 48.333°N 38.400°E / 48.333; 38.400
Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Donetsk Oblast
Founded	1878
Area	24.31 km2 (9.39 sq mi)
Elevation	308 m (1,010 ft)
Population	25,525
Climate	Dfb

Debaltseve or Debaltsevo (Ukrainian: Деба́льцеве Debálʼtseve, Russian: Деба́льцево Debálʼtsevo) is a city in the Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast significance. The city is situated on the eastern edge of Donetsk Oblast, and borders Luhansk Oblast. In January 2014, the population was estimated at 25,525. On 18 February 2015, after the Battle of Debaltseve, the town was captured by separatists forces from the Donetsk People's Republic.

Distance from Donetsk: by road - 74 km, by air – 58 km. Distance from Kiev: by road - 803 km, by rail - 797 km. The administrative boundary between the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts lies along the eastern limits of the city.

The city is located on a hill from which many Donbass rivers originate. The river Bulavin (a tributary of the river Krynka, Mius basin) originates in the southern outskirts of the city, the river Lozova (a tributary of the river Lugan, Seversky Donets basin) in the north-east, the river Sanzharivka (a tributary of the river Lugan) in the north, the river Skelevaya (a tributary of the river Lugan) in the north-west, and the river Karapulka (a tributary of the river Lugan) in the western outskirts.

Debaltseve city was founded in 1878 as a railway station due to the construction of the Catherine railway (special government railway of Russian empire built in 1882-1904). Though at that time this station was well-equipped, it had a number of disadvantages: lack of office buildings, nowhere to place inspectors, a railway hospital was a room with eight beds in a paramedic’s apartment. On December 1, 1878 regular train traffic commenced at the Donetsk coal line. The station has been built by landless peasants and poor people from surrounding villages. By 1897, 2048 people inhabited the village close by the railway station. From November 25 to November 27, 1898 a first strike at the station took place. 60 pointsmen were not working demanding reduction of a 16-hour duty shift.