Snizhne

{{Infobox settlement

| settlement_type = City

| name = Snizhne

| native_name = {{Lang|uk|Сніжне}}

| image_skyline = File:Snezhnoe 011.jpg

| image_caption = Mining company office

| image_seal = Snizhne coat of arms.svg

| image_flag = Флаг Снежного.svg

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = {{flag|Ukraine}}

| subdivision_type1 = Oblast

| subdivision_name1 = Donetsk Oblast

| subdivision_type2 = Raion

| subdivision_name2 = Horlivka Raion

| population_total = 49564

| population_as_of = 2011

| population_footnotes = [http://www.ukrstat.gov.ua/druk/katalog/nasel/chnas.zip Государственный комитет статистики Украины. Численность населения Украины на 1 января 2011 года (Державний комітет статистики України. Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2011 року]

| area_total_km2 = 87.2

| established_date = 1784

| established_title = Founded

| established_date1 = 1938

| established_title1 = Incorporated

| elevation_m =

| blank_name = Climate

| blank_info = Dfb

| pushpin_map = Ukraine Donetsk Oblast#Ukraine

| coordinates = {{coord|48|01|41.8|N|38|45|56.2|E|region:UA|display=inline,title}}

| website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20110625063924/http://snezhnoe-rada.gov.ua/ snezhnoe-rada.gov.ua]

| image_map =

| subdivision_type3 = Hromada

| subdivision_name3 = Snizhne urban hromada

| module = {{Infobox mapframe|wikidata=yes|zoom=10|marker=city|coord={{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}}

}}

Snizhne ({{langx|uk|Сніжне}}, {{IPA|uk|s⁽ʲ⁾n⁽ʲ⁾iʒˈnɛ|IPA}}) or Snezhnoye ({{langx|ru|Снежное}}), formerly known as Vasylivka ({{langx|uk|Василівка|links=no}}; {{langx|ru|Васильевка|Vasil'yevka|links=no}}) until 1864, is a city in Horlivka Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The eastern edge of Snizhne is adjacent to administrative border of Luhansk Oblast. Its population is {{Ua-pop-est2022|45,767|.}}

History

The settlement was established in 1784 as a "winter place" Vasylivka (Vasilyevka) by Don Cossacks and was part of the Taganrog city municipality. In 1864 it was renamed as Snizhne/Snezhnoye which literally means Snowy.{{cn|date=October 2023}}

During the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine the town was held by separatists.

On 15 July 2014, rockets from an unidentified aircraft struck the town hitting an apartment building and a tax office, leaving at least eleven people dead and eight injured.

Separatists blamed the Ukrainian Air Force for the attack, but Ukrainian sources denied it and stated that since the incident where an An-26 plane was shot down on 14 July 2014, they have carried out no flights there. Instead they blamed Russian jets.{{Cite news

| title = Ukraine conflict: Jet bombs rebel-held town of Snizhne

| author =

| publisher = BBC

| date = 15 July 2014

| url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28309034

}}

After the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on 17 July 2014, a YouTube video and photo emerged with citizen journalists claiming the material was from Snizhne and showed a Buk missile launcher.{{Cite news

| title = How Open Source Investigation Found The Buk Missile Launcher That Downed Flight MH17 | url = https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1278239551/bellingcat/posts/919158|website=www.kickstarter.com}} In September 2016 a Joint Investigation Team confirmed that the plane had been downed by a 9M38 BUK missile launched from a rebel-controlled area near the town of Pervomaiske, {{convert|6|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of Snizhne.{{cite web|url=http://www.nltimes.nl/2016/09/28/jit-mh17-shot-down-by-a-9m38-buk-missile-from-russian-origin/|title=JIT: MH17 shot down with missile fired from pro-Russian rebel controlled field|access-date=2016-09-29|archive-date=2020-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200409073146/https://nltimes.nl/2016/09/28/jit-mh17-shot-missile-fired-pro-russian-rebel-controlled-field|url-status=dead}}

Fighting for the control of the town between the separatists and the Ukrainian army broke out on 28 July 2014.{{Cite web|url=http://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/215712.html|title = ATO forces take over Debaltseve, Shakhtarsk, Torez, Lutuhyne, fighting for Pervomaisk and Snizhne underway - ATO press center|website=en.interfax.com.ua}}{{Cite web |url=http://un.ua/eng/article/523380.html |title=Ukrainian News - Intrernal server error |access-date=2014-07-28 |archive-date=2014-08-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811021306/http://un.ua/eng/article/523380.html |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24567037/mh17-afp-again-abandon-bid-to-reach-malaysia-airlines-crash-site-after-driving-into-battle-zone/ |title=MH17: AFP again abandon bid to reach Malaysia Airlines crash site after driving into battle zone - Yahoo!7 |accessdate=2014-07-28 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140814010557/https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/24567037/mh17-afp-again-abandon-bid-to-reach-malaysia-airlines-crash-site-after-driving-into-battle-zone/ |archivedate=2014-08-14 }} Snizhne remained under the effective control of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.unian.info/society/1441927-third-summer-of-occupation.html|title=Third summer of occupation|website=www.unian.info|accessdate=17 September 2022}}

Demographics

As of the 2001 Ukrainian Census, reported ethnicity and language preferences were:{{cite web |url=http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/ |title=Home |website=ukrcensus.gov.ua}}{{update after|2016}}

;Ethnicity