Melitopol

Melitopol (; ; ; based on , ) is a city and municipality in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine. Melitopol has been under Russian control since March 2022. On September 30, 2022, the city was formally annexed by the Russian Federation; however, it remains internationally recognized as sovereign territory of Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River, which flows through the eastern edge of the city into the Molochnyi Lyman estuary. Melitopol is the second-largest city in the oblast after Zaporizhzhia and serves as the administrative centre of Melitopol Raion. As of January 2022, Melitopol's population was estimated to be at The city is located at the crossing of two major European highways: E58 Vienna – Uzhhorod – Kyiv – Rostov-on-Don and E105 Kirkenes – St. Petersburg – Moscow – Kyiv – Yalta. An electrified railway line of international importance goes through Melitopol. The city was once known as "the gateway to the Crimea"; prior to the 2014 Russian occupation of Crimea 80% of passenger trains heading to the peninsula passed through it and during the summer, road traffic reached 45,000 vehicles per day. History In July 1769, Russian military commanders built a redoubt there, and Zaporizhia Cossacks carried out their duty service there. On 2 February 1784, Catherine II issued the decree to create the Taurian Province on the lands that had been won. The deputy of Novorossiya Grigory Potemkin signed the relation to establish a town that very year – and Cossacks' families and those of retired soldiers of Suvorov settled on the right bank of the Molochna River. Among others, Germans were encouraged to settle in the new province, and some villages in this area were for many years German-speaking, such as Heidelberg (now Pryshyb) some to the north of Melitopol.