Lyman, Ukraine

Lyman (Ukrainian: Лиман, IPA: [lɪˈmɑn]; Russian: Лиман, romanized: Liman), formerly known as Krasnyi Lyman (Ukrainian: Красний Лиман; Russian: Красный Лиман, romanized: Krasnyy Liman; lit. 'Red Liman') from 1925 to 2016, is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

Until 2016 it also served as the administrative center of Lyman Raion, though administratively it was not part of the raion and incorporated as a city of oblast significance. It still serves as the administrative center of Lyman urban hromada and is part of Kramatorsk Raion. The population was 20,066 (2022 estimate), down from 28,172 in 2001.

The city is located in the historic region of Sloboda Ukraine. It had its origins in a military settlement established by Ukrainian Cossacks in c. 1667. It grew to become a city following the construction of a railway station, and became a key railway hub in the region.

During the Russo-Ukrainian War, the city has seen several battles. The first was the battle of Krasnyi Lyman in 2014, between Ukrainian government forces and Russian proxies loyal to the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic, which was won by Ukrainian forces. It remained under government control throughout the remainder of the war in Donbas, and was renamed to its historic name Lyman in 2016 as part of decommunization in Ukraine.

During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Lyman has been a scene of heavy fighting. It was captured by the Russian military in May 2022, before being recaptured by Ukrainian forces in October 2022. The city has been nearly destroyed by the 2022 fighting, and most of the population has fled.

Archaeologists have discovered Neolithic stone sculptures in the Lyman district and Scythian remains from the fourth and third centuries BCE.

In 1646, the "Mayaka" fort was built 18 kilometres (11 mi) away from the location of modern Lyman, as part of the larger effort to defend the southern border of Tsardom of Russia from the attacks of the Crimean Tatars, especially along the Donets river. Lyman itself was founded by the Izium Cossack Regiment in 1667/1678 as a fortified town near the Mayaka fortress. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Moscow tsar Peter I, Lyman was explicitly mentioned as one of the towns included to Azov Governorate.

From 1904 to 1910, a railway was constructed that passed through Lyman. This railway stimulated growth of civilian settlement in the area, where earlier settlers had been entirely military.