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Nyzhnia Duvanka Community
Luhansk
Population:
The community is located in Svatove district, Luhansk region.
4,862 people lived in the community before the Russian invasion.
Women: 2,469
Men: 2,393
Children: 786
People of retirement age: 1,481
The community includes the urban-type settlement of Nyzhnia Duvanka and 17 villages.
The community centre is located 94 km from the large regional city of Severodonetsk. And the nearest railway station is 25 km away.
History
The first inhabitants settled in the valleys of the Duvanna and Krasna rivers in the late 17th – early 18th century.
The territory on which the village is now located was settled by peasants and Cossacks from Left Bank and Right Bank Ukraine. It was at that time that the village of Svatova Luchka was founded. It got its name from the river Svakha, which no longer exists.
Today’s Nyzhnia Duvanka territorial community was formed in May 2017. Currently, the community includes 17 population centres.
Economy and Welfare
The Nyzhnia Duvanka community specializes in the production of agricultural raw materials.
In total, there are 28 agricultural and 1 logistics enterprise operating on the territory, which grow grain, leguminous and oil crops.
Cattle are also raised here, and milk is supplied to the Kupyansk dairy.
Beekeeping is actively developing in the community, and the potential of this area is estimated at 140 tonnes per season. Local beekeepers have already created a union for effective development of their business.
Children study in 6 schools and 2 kindergartens. Cultural potential is being developed
on the basis of 15 institutions – these are houses of culture and libraries.
Community and War
The urban-type settlement of Nyzhnia Duvanka is located 60 kilometres from the border with russia.
The beginning of the war has divided the life of the community into “before” and “after”. As soon as on March 9, 2022, the territory of the community was occupied by russian troops. Cars with military personnel of the russian army drove into the population centres and then the flag of the occupying country was installed on the administration building of the settlement council.
Stores ran out of food products, mobile communications disappeared; people began to leave the community en masse.
The community is still under occupation.
As a result of shelling, the premises of a school, a kindergarten and a cultural centre were destroyed. Military equipment completely destroyed the road surface. The roads are now all over mud.
As a result of massive shelling, the grain storage facilities and agricultural machinery of 2 farming enterprises were destroyed. Residents who stayed under occupation experience a daily shortage of food and medicine.
About 700 kilograms of humanitarian aid from the non-governmental organization “Kryivka vilnykh” was handed over to families with many children in the Nyzhnia Duvanka territorial community, Svatove district. Volunteers brought clothes and shoes for children and adults, which were collected in Kyiv.
People of the Community
Serhii Koroshchenko heads the Nyzhnia Duvanka settlement council, which currently has the status of a settlement military administration.
In 2020, he took the lead of the community and began fruitful work on its development. But the war and the rapid occupation made adjustments to the ambitious plans of the community head.
Serhii Koroshchenko’s main task during the occupation was to provide the population with food. The head spent more than a month in the occupation helping the population, and when there was a significant threat to his life, he was forced to leave for a safer place. And from then on he continued to work on the difficult task. Thanks to his daily work, he managed to open a humanitarian headquarters in the city of Kyiv to provide further assistance to forcibly displaced persons from the Nyzhnia Duvanka community.
Development Strategy
Today, the community primarily works for the victory of Ukraine in the war and the liberation of the lands from the occupiers.
Also, all efforts are aimed at giving humanitarian aid to the residents of the de-occupied territories, providing them with safe living conditions, and restoring the work of agricultural and communal enterprises that were significantly damaged during military operations.
In 2021, the community approved the development strategy and main areas of work. Thus, the community plans to develop infrastructure for agro-industry and investments in this area.
The community focuses on entrepreneurship and plans to create conditions for comfortable business.
List of Sources
- Wikipedia
- Official website of the settlement council.