Milove (Ukrainian: Мілове; Russian: Меловое, romanizedMelovoye) is the easternmost rural settlement the nominal administrative center of Milove settlement hromada in the Starobilsk Raion of Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Population: 5,680 (2022 estimate)[1]. Prior to 2020, it was the administrative centre of the former Milove Raion. The town is currently occupied by Russian troops.

Milove
Мілове
Меловое
Milove is located in Luhansk Oblast
Milove
Milove
Location of Milove in Luhansk Oblast
Milove is located in Ukraine
Milove
Milove
Location of Milove in Ukraine
Coordinates: 49°22′40″N 40°07′50″E / 49.37778°N 40.13056°E / 49.37778; 40.13056
Country Ukraine
OblastLuhansk Oblast
RaionStarobilsk Raion
HromadaMilove settlement hromada
Area
605 km2 (234 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
5,680

The town is adjacent to the Russian town of Chertkovo in Rostov Oblast.[2] Its train station used to be on the Russian side of the border at Chertkovo railway station.

Etymology edit

The name of the settlement is derived from the name of the Milova River [uk], which name is derived from Russian name of the river - Меловая, which literally means "Chalky". The river is so named because there are chalk layers in a high ridge in the area of the river's source.[3]

Geography edit

It is located on the border with Russia. The line of the North Caucasian Railway divides it into two parts. On the Russian side there is the Chertkovo settlement. The railway station is located on the other side of the railroad, in Russia. There was a border control point Milove-Chertkovo on the border with Russia.

History edit

After the construction of the Voronezh-Rostov railroad was completed in 1872, the khutir of Milove near Chertkovo station. It was a small settlement in the Markovka Volost [uk] of the Starobelsky Uyezd of the Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire.[4]

In January 1918 the Soviet rule was established there.[5]

It has had the status of an urban-type settlement since 1938.

During World War II it was under German occupation from July 1942 to January 16, 1943 and was an entrenched stronghold.[4][5] Later, it was a Soviet stronghold during the Battle of Kursk.[6]

During the hostilities and the German occupation of Milove, 56.6 million rubles worth of damage was caused, the buildings of the collective farm and the MTS, the mill, the House of Culture, the library, the school, the nursery, the printing house and half of the houses were completely destroyed and burned down. Subsequently, its reconstruction began.

In 1948, a tree nursery was established on the outskirts of the settlement.[4]

In 1953, there was an butter factory, a secondary school, a House of Culture and a library there.[7]

In January 1959 the population was 4592 people: 1964 men and 2628 women.[8]

In 1964, the Starobilsk Veterinary College was transferred to Milove.[4]

In 1972, to honor the liberation from Nazi occupation, a museum of the history of the liberation of the settlement from fascist invaders was opened there[9] and the monument "Ukraine to the Liberators" was installed.[5]

In 1973 there was a butter factory, veterinary college, historical and museum of local history there.[10]

In 1980 the population was 5.5 thousand people, there were a pilot plant of vegetable fats and proteins, a rayon agricultural machinery, a consumer services combine, two secondary schools, a music school, a sports school, a hospital, a House of Culture, two libraries and a museum of geology.[5]

In January 1989 the population was 5921 people: 2700 men and 3221 women.[11]

After the proclamation of independence of Ukraine, the settlement turned out to be on the border with Russia, and a customs post "Milove" was equipped there,[12] which is located in the area of responsibility of the Luhansk border patrol guard of the Eastern Regional Department of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.[13] The villages of Milove (Ukraine) and Chertkovo (Russia) are separated by the Friendship of Peoples Street [uk], which is about three kilometers long and is also a state border. This street is home to almost 500 citizens of Ukraine and Russia who live on both sides of it. On the Russian side there are Chertkovsky elevator, railroad station, meat processing plant. On the Ukrainian side of the street are the Milove Refined Oils Plant (not operating), an energy company, and a large market square. In 2004-2013 Milove hosted the annual international festival of modern and traditional Ukrainian and Russian songs "Friendship Street".[14] The border was de facto opened.[15]

In May 1995, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the decision to privatize the repair and transport enterprise located here,[16] and, in July 1995, the decision to privatize of raion agricultural machinery and raion agricultural chemistry.[17]

At the outbreak of the war in Donbas, Milove was not very affected by the war that raged in much of the region.[2] However, on November 12, 2014, a Ukrainian border guard office was shot at with a grenade launcher leaving no casualties. Political tensions led to security cameras being installed on the Russian side of the border, and a fence being erected on the Ukrainian side of the border.[18][2][19] On November 27, 2015, two Russian servicemen were detained in the city, and later exchanged back to Russian authorities.[20]

It was occupied by Russian forces on February 24, 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[21]

Cityscape edit

  • Memorial Complex "Ukraine to the Liberators"
 
Panorama of the monument "Ukraine to the Liberators"

Infrastructure edit

Transportation edit

Local highway T-13-07 passes through the settlement.[22] The nearest railway station Chertkovo[5][7] on the partially deconstructed old Zhuravka - Bochenkovo track (part of the Moscow-Kazanskaya - Rostov-Glavny main line)[10] is the junction point of the North Caucasus and South Eastern Railway.

Notable people edit

Twin towns – sister cities edit

References edit

  1. ^ Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2022 [Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1, 2022] (PDF) (in Ukrainian and English). Kyiv: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Ukraine crisis: Life on street dividing Ukraine and Russia, BBC News (29 August 2015)
  3. ^ Микола Тимофійович, Янко; Міжнар. фонд "Відродження" (1998). "Мілова". Топонімічний словник України: словник-довідник (in Ukrainian). Київ: Знання. p. 230. ISBN 5-7707-9443-7.
  4. ^ a b c d Алексєєва, Л. (1968). "Мілове" [Milove]. Історія міст і сіл Української РСР. Луганська область [History of cities and villages of the Ukrainian SSR. Luhansk oblast] (PDF) (in Ukrainian). Київ: Головна редакція УРЕ АН УРСР. pp. 530–544.
  5. ^ a b c d e Мілове // Українська радянська енциклопедія : у 12 т. / гол. ред. М. П. Бажан ; редкол.: О. К. Антонов та ін. — 2-ге вид. — К. : Головна редакція УРЕ, 1981. — Т. 6 : Куликів — Мікроклімат. — 552 с., [22] арк. іл. : іл., табл., портр., карти + 1 арк с.
  6. ^ История второй мировой войны (в 12 тт.). том 7. / редколл., гл. ред. А. А. Гречко. М., Воениздат, 1976. стр.150, 153
  7. ^ a b Меловое // Большая Советская Энциклопедия. / редколл., гл. ред. Б. А. Введенский. 2-е изд. том 27. М., Государственное научное издательство «Большая Советская энциклопедия», 1954. стр.113
  8. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1959 г.
  9. ^ "Про затвердження переліку музеїв, що перебувають у віданні підприємств, установ та організацій, де зберігаються музейні колекції та музейні предмети, що є державною власністю і належать до державної частини Музейного фонду України" [On approval of the list of museums managed by enterprises, institutions and organizations where museum collections and museum objects that are state property and belong to the state part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine are deposited]. Ordinance No. 1766 of 29 November 2000 (in Ukrainian). Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
  10. ^ a b Меловое // Большая Советская Энциклопедия. / под ред. А. М. Прохорова. 3-е изд. том 16. М., «Советская энциклопедия», 1974. стр. 53
  11. ^ Всесоюзная перепись населения 1989 г. Численность городского населения союзных республик, их территориальных единиц, городских поселений и городских районов по полу
  12. ^ "Митний пост "Мілове"" [Custom post "Milove"]. Territorial bodies of the SFS in Luhansk oblast (in Ukrainian). State Fiscal Service of Ukraine. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017.
  13. ^ "3 прикордонний загін імені Героя України полковника Євгенія Пікуса". Державна прикордонна служба України (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  14. ^ "На Луганщине пройдет фестиваль "Улица Дружбы"" [Luhansk oblast will host "Friendship Street" festival]. Украинские Национальные Новости (in Russian). 9 October 2010. Archived from the original on 23 August 2017.
  15. ^ Huba, Roman. "Паркан дружби народів" [Friendship of Peoples Fence]. zaborona.com (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 9 February 2024. Громадяни двох країн, за розповідями місцевих, перебігали один до одного в гості, а прикордонники часто закривали на це очі. [Citizens of the two countries, according to local residents, ran to visit each other, and border guards often ignored this.]
  16. ^ "Перелік об'єктів, що підлягають обов'язковій приватизації у 1995 році" [List of Objects Subject to Mandatory Privatization in 1995]. Ordinance No. 343б of 15 May 1995 (in Ukrainian). Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
  17. ^ "Про доповнення переліку об'єктів, що підлягають обов'язковій приватизації у 1995 році" [On Supplementing the List of Objects Subject to Mandatory Privatization in 1995]. Ordinance No. 538 of 20 July 1995 (in Ukrainian). Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
  18. ^ Khomenko, Svyatoslav (2015-08-29). "Life on street dividing Ukraine and Russia". BBC News.
  19. ^ (in Ukrainian) На Луганщині бойовики невдало атакували прикордонний наряд In Luhansk insurgents unsuccessfully attacked the border patrol, Espresso TV (12 November 2014)
  20. ^ "UNIAN news. The latest news in Ukraine and worldwide".
  21. ^ Troianovski, Anton; MacFarquhar, Neil (2022-02-23). "Ukraine Live Updates: Russia Begins Invasion From Land and Sea". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
  22. ^ Tumanova, Tonia (3 April 2012). "На Луганщине закрыто движение автотранспорта по пяти дорогам местного значения" [Five local roads in Luhansk oblast closed to vehicular traffic]. Украинские Национальные Новости (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 August 2017.