Novoazovsk (, ; Новоазовск) is a border city on the south-eastern tip of Ukraine (near the border with Russia), in Kalmiuske Raion (district), in Donetsk Oblast (province). Population: ; 12,702 (2001). Novoazovsk and adjacent areas are the only places in Ukraine where the great black-headed gull (Larus ichthyaetus) lives.

History

Beginning in mid-April 2014 pro-Russian separatists captured several towns in Donetsk Oblast; including Novoazovsk. In June 2014 Ukrainian forces reportedly secured the city from the separatists. The situation around the town then became relatively quiet. On 25 August 2014, Ukraine claimed that Russian soldiers disguised as separatists had opened a new front in the War in Donbass with an offensive against Mariupol. Ukraine claimed it had blocked this offensive near Novoazovsk. Fighting in the area continued on 26 August 2014. According to a Ukrainian Dnipro Battalion commander, Novoazovsk was overrun by Russian tanks and fell to the Russians on 27 August. This claim was confirmed by Ukrainian authorities the next day. On the other hand, separatist leaders on the same day claimed that the town was taken by separatist forces as part of an offensive against Mariupol.

Gallery

Geography

Climate

The climate in Novoazovsk is a hot/warm summer subtype (Köppen: Dfa) of the humid continental climate.

Demographics

As of the Ukrainian national census in 2001, Novoazovsk had a population of 12,723 people. The majority of the population is ethnically Ukrainian, yet Russian is the most common language in the city. The exact ethnic and linguistic compostion was as follows: