The administrative center of the raion was the urban-type settlement of Velyka Novosilka.

At the time, it was referred to as a national raion for ethnic Greeks in Ukraine.

[2] On 15 May 2014 (during the early phase of the War in Donbas) the Donbas Battalion secured the district from pro-Russian separatists loyal to the Donetsk People's Republic.

[3] According to (the then commander the Donbas Battalion) Semen Semenchenko the local police chief, deputies from the Party of Regions and the chairman of the district council "fled in an unknown direction.

"[3] The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Donetsk Oblast to eight, of which only five were controlled by the government.