Shchastia

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File:Luhansk raions eng.svg is identified by number "1".]]The village of Shchastia was founded in 1754.

In 1953, construction began on the Luhansk power station. Shchastia received town status in 1963.

In 2014, Shchastia was controlled by the separatist Luhansk People's Republic from late April 2014 until the Ukrainian Army retook the city on 14 June 2014.{{Cite web |date=16 June 2014 |title=Терористи почали обстріл Луганська із "Граду" - джерело |url=http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2014/06/16/7029262/ |access-date= |website=Ukrainska Pravda |language=uk}} It was mainly retaken by the volunteer fighters of the Aidar Battalion who, according to Amnesty International, then with "virtually no oversight or control" committed acts of violent abuse towards civilians in Shchastia and nearby cities, as did the separatist forces. According to Shchastia residents, this behaviour continued until Aidar was incorporated into the Ukrainian Army in spring 2015.{{Cite web |last1=Koshiw |first1=Isobel |last2=Vlasova |first2=Anastasia |date=31 July 2017 |title=Growing up apolitical in Ukraine's war zone |url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/growing-up-apolitical-in-ukraine-s-war-zone/ |access-date= |website=openDemocracy |language=en}}

On 5 August 2014, a monument of Vladimir Lenin was removed from the city of Shchastia.

To facilitate the governance of Luhansk Oblast during the war in Donbas, the Verkhovna Rada on 7 October 2014 made some changes in the administrative divisions so that the localities in the government-controlled areas were grouped into districts. In particular, Shchastia was transferred from Luhansk Municipality to Novoaidar Raion.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

In July 2020, as part of the reform of administrative divisions in Ukraine, Novoaidar Raion was absorbed into the newly created Shchastia Raion. Shchastia was made the administrative center of the new raion, although Novoaidar served as the de facto administrative center because it was located farther from the line of contact in the Donbas War. By 2022, the town's population had halved to 7,000 in comparison to pre-war numbers.{{Cite web |last=Kramer |first=Andrew E. |date=2022-02-23 |title=The Potentially Grim Fate of a Ukrainian Town Called 'Happiness' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/world/europe/russia-ukraine-target.html |website=The New York Times}}

In the days before the invasion, the town was shelled and fired upon by Russian-backed forces more than 900 times with incoming munitions from tanks, artillery, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and small arms. The strikes mostly targeted Ukrainian military installations on the outskirts of Shchastia and the Luhansk Power Plant, damaging buildings, water and electrical lines.

On 24 February 2022, the first day of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Shchastia came under attack by Russian forces and was quickly occupied.{{Cite web |date=24 February 2022 |title=Battles against Russian occupiers ongoing near Shchastia, Sumy, Hostomel Airport |url=https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3411711-battles-against-russian-occupiers-ongoing-near-shchastia-sumy-hostomel-airport.html |access-date= |website=Ukrinform |language=en}} On the second day of the war, the governor Serhiy Haidai said that 80% of the town has been destroyed in the invasion.{{Cite web |last= |date=25 February 2022 |title=Щастя знищене на 80 відсотків – голова ОДА |url=https://gazeta.ua/articles/regions/_sastya-znischene-na-80-vidsotkiv-golova-oda/1072652 |access-date= |website=Gazeta.ua |language=uk}} According to locals 90% of all houses were destroyed by shelling.{{Cite web |last1=Graham-Harrison |first1=Emma |last2=Koshiw |first2=Isobel |date=4 March 2022 |title='90% of houses are damaged': Russia's Syria-honed tactics lay waste Ukraine towns |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/04/ninety-per-cent-of-houses-are-damaged-thousands-trapped-in-ukraines-small-towns |access-date= |website=The Guardian |language=en}}

Ethnic groups as of the 2001 Ukrainian census:{{cite web | url=https://datatowel.in.ua/pop-composition/ethnic-cities | title=Національний склад міст }}

{{bar box|title=Ethnic groups in Shchastia|titlebar=#ddd|left1=|right1=percent|bars={{bar percent|Russians|purple|49.32}}

{{bar percent|Ukrainians|dodgerblue|48.29}}

{{bar percent|Belarusians|red|0.58}}

{{bar percent|Moldovans|pink|0.11}}

{{bar percent|Armenians|brown|0.10}}

{{bar percent|Jews|black|0.10}}}}

Native language as of the Ukrainian Census of 2001:{{cite web |url=http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/ |title=Home |website=ukrcensus.gov.ua}}

{{bar box|title=Native languages in Shchastia|titlebar=#ddd|left1=|right1=percent|bars={{bar percent|Russian|purple|88.0}}

{{bar percent|Ukrainian|dodgerblue|11.2}}

{{bar percent|others|grey|0.8}}}}

File:Shchastia Hram.jpg|Shchastia cathedral

File:Shchastia Leleka.jpg|Cranes monument

File:Shchastia Loshady.jpg|Horse monument

File:Shchastia Pamyatnsk.jpg|WW2 monument in Shchastia

File:Mertvy Donets near Lugansk.jpg|Mertvy Donets River near Shchastia

File:Shchastia LTES.jpg|Luhansk thermal power plant

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101227003446/http://lugamap.org.ua/50-51.php Map of the town.]

{{Luhansk Oblast}}

{{2014 pro-Russian conflict in Ukraine}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Luhansk Oblast

Category:Shchastia Raion

Category:Populated places established in the Russian Empire

Category:Shchastia urban hromada