It is located 21 kilometres (13 mi) from Donetsk, the administrative center of the oblast.

[1] Starting mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists captured several towns and cities across in Donetsk and Luhansk Districts;[2][3] including Yasynuvata.

[5] On 19 August Ukrainian troops claimed they were clearing Yasynuvata of remaining separatist forces after its victory ("conducting a mopping-up operation").

[6] Ukrainian military was forced to retreat from the town in mid-September 2014, and since then the government of Ukraine has recognised it to be under Russian occupation.

[8] In 2016 the OSCE declared the area between Yasynuvata and neighboring Ukrainian army controlled Avdiivka to be one of the hotspots of the War in Donbass.