List of cities in Donetsk Oblast

There are 52 populated places in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, that have been officially granted city status (Ukrainian: місто, romanized: misto) by the Verkhovna Rada, the country's parliament.

[b][3][13] The eight raions that make up the oblast are Bakhmut, Donetsk, Horlivka, Kalmiuske, Kramatorsk, Mariupol, Pokrovsk, and Volnovakha.

[c][18][19] After the enactment of decommunization laws, ten cities within the oblast were renamed in 2016 for their former names' connection to people, places, events, and organizations associated with the Soviet Union.

[d][24][25] The renamed cities are Bakhmut, Bunhe, Chystiakove, Kalmiuske, Khrestivka, Lyman, Myrnohrad, Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Zalizne, which were previously named Artemivsk, Yunokomunarivsk, Torez, Komsomolske, Kirovske, Krasnyi Lyman, Dymytrov, Krasnoarmiisk, Dzerzhynsk, and Artemove, respectively.

[26] Following the Donbas war, pro-Russian separatist forces occupied all 21 cities located in the Donetsk, Horlivka, and Kalmiuske raions by 2015.

Photo of Donetsk, capital and most populous city in Donetsk Oblast
Donetsk , capital and most populous city in Donetsk Oblast [ 2 ] [ 32 ]
Photo of Mariupol, second most populous city and deepest port on the Sea of Azov
Mariupol , second most populous city and deepest port on the Sea of Azov [ 2 ] [ 33 ]
Photo of Makiivka, an industrial city in the Donetsk-Makiivka urban agglomeration
Makiivka , an industrial city in the Donetsk-Makiivka urban agglomeration [ 2 ] [ 34 ]
Photo of Kramatorsk, the oblast's de facto capital since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War
Kramatorsk , the oblast's de facto capital since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian War [ 2 ] [ 35 ]
Pre-invasion photo of Bakhmut, a major industrial city largely destroyed during the Battle of Bakhmut
Bakhmut , a major industrial city largely destroyed during the Battle of Bakhmut [ 2 ] [ 36 ]
Photo of Chystiakove, a coal mining center occupied by pro-Russian separatists since 2014
Chystiakove , a coal mining center occupied by pro-Russian separatists since 2014 [ 2 ] [ 37 ]
Photo of Sviatohirsk, the least populous city in the oblast and site of the 16th-century Sviatohirsk Lavra monastery
Sviatohirsk , the least populous city in the oblast and site of the 16th-century Sviatohirsk Lavra monastery [ 2 ] [ 28 ]