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Toretsk
Toretsk (Ukrainian: Торецьк; Russian: Торецк) is an industrial city in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It served as the administrative center of Toretsk urban hromada. As of January 2022, its population was approximately 30,914.
It has its origins as the hamlet Shcherbynivka, built during the mid-19th century developments in coal mining in the Donbas region. It developed over the following century with the rise of rail transport. Between 1936–2016, the city was named Dzerzhynsk after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet security service Cheka. The city received its current name in 2016, as a result of decommunization laws.
Toretsk has seen fighting and shelling during the War in Donbas, in the first phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014, which has depopulated and heavily damaged the infrastructure of the city over the years. After the year-long Battle of Toretsk during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia captured the city in August 2025. Due to the fighting, the city was ruined and virtually entirely depopulated. Russia calls Toretsk by its pre-2016 name Dzerzhinsk and considers it to be part of the Donetsk People's Republic, which it claims to have annexed.
Toretsk is located on the right bank of the Kryvyi Torets river, which is a tributary of the Kazennyi Torets. It is located in the historical, cultural, and economic Donbas region within eastern Ukraine.
The territory where Toretsk now sits has been inhabited since ancient times, as discovered with archaeological findings. The city itself was founded in 1806 in the Russian Empire, when parts of the town Zaitseve were split off into several minor hamlets, including Shcherbynivskyi. According to local traditions, this name originates from a similarly-named Cossack outpost in the area. In the late 1830s, coal deposits were discovered in the area, and the area was developed for coal mining. Shcherbynivskyi and neighboring villages were united into a village named Shcherbynivka, which became part of Bakhmut uezd.
In 1869, the Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov Railway was built, which passed near Shcherbynivka, significantly contributing to the economic development of the town.
Shcherbynivka changed hands several times during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1923, before eventually being captured by the Bolsheviks, who established the communist Soviet Union on much of the former territory of the Russian Empire. In 1936, Shcherbynivka was renamed to Dzerzhynsk after Felix Dzerzhinsky. Dzerzhinsky was the founder of the Cheka secret police in the USSR, and architect of the Red Terror. It also received city status. A local newspaper began being published in the town in September 1936.
During World War II, Dzerzhynsk was occupied by Nazi Germany from 22 October 1941 to 5 September 1943. During the occupation, the Germans killed 150 civilians and deported 1,460 for forced labor to Germany. The Germans operated a subcamp of the Stalag 378 prisoner-of-war camp in the town.
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Toretsk AI simulator
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Toretsk
Toretsk (Ukrainian: Торецьк; Russian: Торецк) is an industrial city in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It served as the administrative center of Toretsk urban hromada. As of January 2022, its population was approximately 30,914.
It has its origins as the hamlet Shcherbynivka, built during the mid-19th century developments in coal mining in the Donbas region. It developed over the following century with the rise of rail transport. Between 1936–2016, the city was named Dzerzhynsk after Felix Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet security service Cheka. The city received its current name in 2016, as a result of decommunization laws.
Toretsk has seen fighting and shelling during the War in Donbas, in the first phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014, which has depopulated and heavily damaged the infrastructure of the city over the years. After the year-long Battle of Toretsk during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia captured the city in August 2025. Due to the fighting, the city was ruined and virtually entirely depopulated. Russia calls Toretsk by its pre-2016 name Dzerzhinsk and considers it to be part of the Donetsk People's Republic, which it claims to have annexed.
Toretsk is located on the right bank of the Kryvyi Torets river, which is a tributary of the Kazennyi Torets. It is located in the historical, cultural, and economic Donbas region within eastern Ukraine.
The territory where Toretsk now sits has been inhabited since ancient times, as discovered with archaeological findings. The city itself was founded in 1806 in the Russian Empire, when parts of the town Zaitseve were split off into several minor hamlets, including Shcherbynivskyi. According to local traditions, this name originates from a similarly-named Cossack outpost in the area. In the late 1830s, coal deposits were discovered in the area, and the area was developed for coal mining. Shcherbynivskyi and neighboring villages were united into a village named Shcherbynivka, which became part of Bakhmut uezd.
In 1869, the Kursk-Kharkiv-Azov Railway was built, which passed near Shcherbynivka, significantly contributing to the economic development of the town.
Shcherbynivka changed hands several times during the Russian Civil War of 1917–1923, before eventually being captured by the Bolsheviks, who established the communist Soviet Union on much of the former territory of the Russian Empire. In 1936, Shcherbynivka was renamed to Dzerzhynsk after Felix Dzerzhinsky. Dzerzhinsky was the founder of the Cheka secret police in the USSR, and architect of the Red Terror. It also received city status. A local newspaper began being published in the town in September 1936.
During World War II, Dzerzhynsk was occupied by Nazi Germany from 22 October 1941 to 5 September 1943. During the occupation, the Germans killed 150 civilians and deported 1,460 for forced labor to Germany. The Germans operated a subcamp of the Stalag 378 prisoner-of-war camp in the town.