Selydove (Ukrainian: Селидове, pronounced [seˈlɪdowe]; Russian: Селидово, romanized: Selidovo), formerly Selydivka (Ukrainian: Селидівка; Russian: Селидовка, romanized: Selidovka), is a city in Pokrovsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is located in the western part of the region, on the Solona River (a tributary of the Vovcha, Dnieper basin). It is the administrative center of Selydove urban hromada. Its population was approximately 21,521 (2022 estimate). The city has been under Russian occupation since October 2024.

The area where Selydove now stands was historically home to various nomadic tribes, including the Avars, Goths, Huns, Pechenegs, and later the Mongol-Tatars and Nogai Tatars. These groups roamed the steppes for centuries, often displacing one another.

Intensive settlement of the area began in the second half of the 18th century following the Russo-Turkish wars, which ended Ottoman and Crimean Khanate control over the northern Black Sea region. The Tsarist Russian Empire distributed land in the newly acquired territories to nobles and settlers, from other regions and various European countries.

According to legend, Zaporozhia Cossacks who were moving from Zaporizhia to Kuban had a cart break down while crossing the Solona river [uk]. Since it was difficult to quickly find wood in the steppe, and it was already late autumn, they decided to winter in this place, and then stayed altogether. The Otaman of the group was called "Selyd", and the settlement was named after him. Another version, according to the legends of old residents, is that once upon a time the government land surveyor was offered fat for his work, but he did not like such payment, he did not accept it. That's when he named the village "Salodavka" ("to give lard"). This legend explains the name of the settlement until 1956 – Selydivka.

The city was founded between 1770 and 1773, when Moldovan and Wallachian settlers that occupied the banks of the Solona River were resettled, making way for the "Greek Cossacks", i.e. the settled part of the Zaporozhians, the Myrhorod Regiment, but also peasants fleeing serfdom from regions such as Chernihiv and Kharkiv. By 1782, the Bakhmut Provincial Chancellery officially established a state military settlement named Selydivka near the sources of the Vovcha subsidiary Solona River, near the Palievsky Ravine.

By 1797, Selydivka had grown into a thriving settlement with 927 inhabitants, predominantly Ukrainians. The state peasants of Selydivka were primarily engaged in farming and cattle breeding. During this period, the Russian government was actively settling, developing and russifying the southern steppes, offering land grants and various incentives to settlers, including tax exemptions and monetary loans. Despite these incentives, the settlement faced challenges, including heavy taxation and feudal obligations, which led to the concentration of land and wealth in the hands of a few local elites.

Nearby Selydivka, more than a dozen settlements were established, including many German ones.

The 19th century was a period of significant growth and change for Selydivka. In 1799, the Church of St. Nicholas was built, marking the establishment of religious institutions in the settlement. By 1865, Selydivka had become the administrative center of a parish, housing both the parish administration and court. The opening of the first school in 1872 signaled the beginning of formal education in the village.