View source for Shchastia

{{short description|City in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name               =
| official_name      = Shchastia
| native_name        = {{lang|uk|Щастя}}
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities in Ukraine|City]]
| image_skyline      = Город Счастье.jpg
| imagesize          =
| image_caption      = Shchastia
| image_flag         =
| image_shield       = File:Coat of arms of Shchastia.png
| nickname           =
| motto              =
| image_map          =
| mapsize            =
| map_caption        =
| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = {{UKR}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Oblasts of Ukraine|Oblast]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Luhansk Oblast]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Raions of Ukraine|Raion]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Shchastia Raion]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Hromada]]
| subdivision_name3  = [[Shchastia urban hromada]]
| parts_type         = Control
| parts_style        = para
| p1                 = [[Russia]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nv.ua/ukr/ukraine/events/shchastya-ta-stanicya-luganska-na-mezhi-gumanitarnoji-katastrofi-pislya-bojiv-z-rosiyskimi-okupantami-50220658.html|title = "Майже знищені". Щастя та Станиця Луганська на межі гуманітарної катастрофи — голова Луганської ОДА}}</ref>
| established_title  = Founded
| established_date   = 1754
| established_title1 = City Status
| established_date1  = 1963
| leader_title       = [[Mayor]]
| leader_name        =
| area_magnitude     =
| area_total_km2     =
| area_land_km2      =
| area_water_km2     =
| population_as_of   = 2022
| population_note    =
| population_total   = 11411
| population_footnotes =
| population_metro   =
| population_density_km2 = auto
| pushpin_map        = Ukraine#Ukraine Luhansk Oblast
| pushpin_label_position = left <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
| pushpin_map_caption =
| pushpin_mapsize    =
| coordinates        = {{coord|48.7333|N|39.2333|E|source:kolossus-frwiki|display=title}}
| elevation_m        =
| postal_code_type   = [[Postal code]]
| postal_code        =
| area_code          = (+380)
| registration_plate = BB / 13
| blank_name         = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank_info         = [[Humid continental climate#Hot/warm summer subtype|Dfa]]
| website            =
| footnotes          =
| module             = {{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |zoom=11 |height=250 |stroke-width=2 | {{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}}
}}

'''Shchastia''' ({{langx|uk|Щастя}}, {{IPA|uk|ˈʃtʃɑsʲtʲɐ|pron|uk-щастя.ogg}}, {{lit|[[Happiness]]}}; {{langx|ru|Счастье|Schastye}}) is a city, the former ''de jure'' administrative center of [[Shchastia Raion]] in the [[Luhansk Oblast]] ([[oblasts of Ukraine|province]]) of [[Ukraine]]. Its population was reported as {{Ua-pop-est2022|11,411|punct=.}}

The [[Luhansk power station]], a large power plant built in the 1950s, is located north of Shchastia. The town of Shchastia is situated on the [[Donets]] river. During the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine, the city became a key site of fighting, but remained under government control until the 2022 [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]]. After declaring its [[Russian annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts|annexation of the region]] in 2022, [[Russia]] has claimed the city.

== History ==
{{expand section|date=March 2024}}
=== Imperial Russian and Soviet rule ===
[[File:Luhansk raions eng.svg|thumb|City on the map of [[Luhansk]] 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.

=== Russo-Ukrainian War ===

==== War in Donbas ====

In 2014, Shchastia was controlled by the separatist [[Luhansk People's Republic]] from late April 2014 until the [[Ukrainian Ground Forces|Ukrainian Army]] retook the city on 14 June 2014.<ref>{{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}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" /> According to Shchastia residents, this behaviour continued until Aidar was incorporated into the Ukrainian Army in spring 2015.<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref>

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 (2014–2022)|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 [[War in Donbas (2014–2022)|Donbas War]]. By 2022, the town's population had halved to 7,000 in comparison to pre-war numbers.<ref name=":1">{{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]]}}</ref>

==== Full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine ====

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.<ref name=":1" />

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref> On the second day of the war, the governor [[Serhiy Haidai]] said that 80% of the town has been destroyed in the invasion.<ref>{{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}}</ref> According to locals 90% of all houses were destroyed by shelling.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

== Demographics ==
Ethnic groups as of the [[2001 Ukrainian census]]:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://datatowel.in.ua/pop-composition/ethnic-cities | title=Національний склад міст }}</ref>
{{bar box|title=Ethnic groups in Shchastia|titlebar=#ddd|left1=|right1=percent|bars={{bar percent|[[Russians in Ukraine|Russians]]|purple|49.32}}
{{bar percent|[[Ukrainians]]|dodgerblue|48.29}}
{{bar percent|[[Belarusians in Ukraine|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 (2001)|Ukrainian Census of 2001]]:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukrcensus.gov.ua/ |title=Home |website=ukrcensus.gov.ua}}</ref>
{{bar box|title=Native languages in Shchastia|titlebar=#ddd|left1=|right1=percent|bars={{bar percent|[[Russian language in Ukraine|Russian]]|purple|88.0}}
{{bar percent|[[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]|dodgerblue|11.2}}
{{bar percent|others|grey|0.8}}}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
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
</gallery>

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
* [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]]