Sievierodonetsk[a] (UK: /ˌsɛvərədɒnˈjɛtsk/ SEV-ər-ə-don-YETSK), also spelled Severodonetsk[b], officially since 2024 Siverskodonetsk,[c] is a city in Luhansk Oblast, eastern Ukraine.

It is located to the northeast of the left bank of the Donets river and approximately 110 km (68 mi) to the northwest from the administrative center of the oblast, Luhansk.

The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic dated 27 January 1950, "On the renaming of the urban-type settlement Lyskhimstroi of the Lysychansk Raion of the Voroshilovgrad Oblast" was issued in Russian, and the name of the city was indicated as Severodonetsk, which was later translated into Ukrainian as Sievierodonetsk.

At the same time, the name Sieverodonetsk[f] was used in the notification about the assignment of the settlement to the category of cities of district significance.

[citation needed] The first settlement of workers on the construction site was called Lyskhimstroi (Ukrainian: Лисхімстрої, Russian: Лисхимстрой), near Donets.

In September 1935, the first school was opened in the settlement, a silicate brick plant started production, and the first three residential two-story houses were built.

[citation needed] During the Second World War, Lyskhimstroi and surrounding areas were occupied by German forces on 11 July 1942.

[citation needed] An airfield south of the Lyskhimstroi began operations in May 1948; it underwent major renovations during the early 1960s.

[26] In 2016, there was a proposal in the Verkhovna Rada to officially rename the city Siverskodonetsk, changing the Russian exonym to a Ukrainian version with the same meaning,[27] but it was rejected by the committee.

[28] During the 2022 battle of Donbas in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Sievierodonetsk became the center of intense fighting and media attention.

In May, Russian forces made Sievierodonetsk its major focus in an attempt to capture Luhansk Oblast.

[32] On 26 June, Russian Defence Minister Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov stated the Luhansk People's Militia and Russian Armed Forces had "completely liberated the cities of Severodonetsk and Borovskoye as well as populated localities Voronovo and Sirotino in the Luhansk People's Republic".