Sloviansk (Ukrainian: Слов'янськ, IPA: [slou̯ˈjɑnʲsʲk]; Russian: Славянск, romanized: Slavyansk, IPA: [slɐˈvʲansk] or [ˈslavʲɪnsk]) is a city in the Kramatorsk Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Sloviansk is the Ukrainian adminitrative capital of the region, located in the north of the region, in the valley of the Kazennyi Torets River, a right-tributary of the Donets. The city was previously known as Tor until 1784. Sloviansk had a population of 105,141 (2022 est.), but during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the population had shrunk to around 24,000 by July 2022, according to Ukrainian authorities. Sloviansk was one of the focal points in the early stages of the War in Donbas, in 2014, as it was the first city to be seized by Russian-backed separatists, in mid-April. The city was liberated by Ukrainian forces in July 2014.
