Snizhne

Snizhne
Snizhne; Сніжне
	City of regional significance
	Mining company office in Snizhne Mining company office in Snizhne
Flag of Snizhne; Flag	Official seal of Snizhne; Seal
	Snizhne
	Snizhne
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Country	Ukraine
Oblast	Donetsk
Founded	1784
Incorporated	1938
Area
• Total	87.2 km2 (33.7 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	49,564
Website	http://snezhnoe-rada.gov.ua/

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Snizhne (Ukrainian: Сніжне; Russian: Снежное — Snezhnoye; until 1864 — Vasylivka — Ukrainian: Василівка) is a city of oblast significance in eastern Ukraine within the Donetsk Oblast. Along with cities of Shakhtarsk and Torez, it is surrounded by Shakhtarsk Raion, according to the regional territorial division. The eastern edge of Snizhne is adjacent to administrative border of Luhansk Oblast. Population: 48,485 (2013 est.)^[2].

During the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine the town was held by separatists. On July 15, 2014, rockets from an unidentified aircraft struck the town hitting an apartment building and a tax office, leaving at least eleven people dead and eight injured. Separatists blamed the Ukrainian Air Force for the attack, but Ukrainian sources denied it and stated that since the incident where a An-26 plane was shot down they have carried out no flights there. Instead they blamed Russian jets.^[3] After the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, 2014, a YouTube video and photo emerged with citizen journalists claiming the material was from Snizhne and showed a Buk missile launcher.^[4] On 22 July 2014 U.S. intelligence officials claimed that a Buk missile system had shot down Flight 17 from the Snizhne vicinity.^[5]

Fighting for the control of the town between the separatists and the Ukrainian army broke out on 28 July 2014.^[6]^[7]^[8]