Donetsk Oblast
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WARNING: In February 2022 the Luhansk People's Republic invited Russian troops, which started a full-scale war on Ukraine together with DPR forces. War censorship hinders assessing the situation. |
| (Information last updated 02 May 2022) |
The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) (Russian: Донецкая Народная Республика Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika) is a self-proclaimed state in Eastern Ukraine, governed by by pro-Russian separatists. The DPR includes the eastern and southern parts of Donetsk Oblast, and about half its population. It is recognized by few countries.
Cities
- 1 Donetsk – Primarily known for its plant for the production of sparkling wine bottles the classic way. Former industrial heartland of Eastern Ukraine, now the capital of the DPR.
- 2 Bakhmut – tour the Salt mine and taste the town's sparkling wine
- 3 Horlivka
— The second largest city focused on coal mining and the chemical industry, with a statue of Vladimir Lenin still standing in the town square - 4 Makiivka — An important steel industry and coal mining centre that adjoins the capital.
- 5 Yenakiieve — an important regional centre of coal mining, metallurgy, chemical production and manufacturing
Understand
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The legitimacy of the Donetsk government is recognized by Russia, Syria and North Korea, and most other governments consider the area legally part of Ukraine. However, from a traveller's point of view, that government has control of the area (separate visas, laws, currency, etc). This is not a political endorsement of claims by any side in the dispute. |
Heavily pro-Russian Donetsk declared its independence from Ukraine in 2014 following the annexation of Crimea by Russia and the Euromaidan protests in which Ukraine's pro-Russian government was overthrown by pro-EU protesters. The situation in Eastern Ukraine is considered to be a "frozen conflict", similar to other post-Soviet breakaway states such as Artsakh, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Transnistria, and its sister nation, the Luhansk People's Republic. Its independence is maintained through support from Russia.
The DPR and the Ukrainian government estimate that around 1,870,000 people (2014) — over 50% of the total population of Donetsk Oblast — live in DPR-held regions. Of those who lived in the separatist controlled regions before the war, a third have left, half of them to Russia, the other haft to other parts of Ukraine.
In January 2021, the DPR and Luhansk People's Republic stated in a "Russian Donbass doctrine" that they aimed to seize all of the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk Oblast under control by the Ukrainian government "in the near future". The document did not indicate any intention of the republics to be annexed by Russia.
The Donetsk People's Republic is recognized by few countries, even by Russia only in 2022 as part of its invasion against Ukraine.
Talk
In 2020, the DPR abandoned its policy of Russian and Ukrainian bilingualism, and established Russian as the sole official language. As per the 2001 census taken in Donetsk, 74.9% of people spoke Russian while 24.1% spoke Ukrainian.
Get in
Overland travel from Ukraine is possible (as of March 2021): foreigners are allowed to cross checkpoints into/out of the temporary occupied territories of Ukraine in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions provided they meet certain requirements including having an insurance policy certificate issued by a Ukraine-registered insurance company, or a foreign insurance company with an office in Ukraine or a contractual partnership with one of the Ukraine-registered insurance companies. The policy must cover the costs of COVID-19 treatment, observation, and has to be valid for the period of intended stay in Ukraine. See Ukraine Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more information.
Entering DPR from Russia is illegal under Ukrainian law, and will result on a lifetime ban on entering Ukraine.
As of March 2021, the Donetsk International Airport is not operating.
Get around
See
- Donetsk Botanical Garden
- Forged Figures Park
- Donetsk Regional Museum
- Donetsk Opera House
- Art Winery in Bakhmut — see sparkling wines produced in vast underground tunnels
Do
The 1 Khomutovskaya Steppe Reserve, which is 35 km away from the Azov seashore near the village Khomutovka (about 150 km away from Donetsk city), has more than 500 varieties of steppe plants including rare and endemic plants, and mounds from the Mongol period.
Buy
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Exchange rates for Russian ruble As of January 2022:
Exchange rates fluctuate. Current rates for these and other currencies are available from XE.com |
The Russian ruble is the principal currency used.
Stay safe
The conflict in the region is on-going and violence may erupt at any time. See the article on war zone safety. Your government probably will not be able to provide any assistance if you run into trouble. There is also general lawlessness, arbitrary arrests and Human Rights' violations.
Go next
The Luhansk People's Republic borders the Donetsk territory, as do Ukraine and Russia. To exit to areas controlled by Ukraine involves crossing the battlefront.