Bakhmut (, ), previously known as Artemivsk () or Artyomovsk () from 1924 to 2016, is a city in eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Bakhmut Raion in Donetsk Oblast. It is located on the , about north of Donetsk, the administrative center of the oblast. Bakhmut was designated a city of regional significance until 2020 when the designation was abolished. Population: Bakhmut was the capital of Slavo-Serbia (1753–1764), which was established by mainly Serbian frontiersmen. In 1920–1924, the city was an administrative center of Donets Governorate of the Ukrainian SSR. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Bakhmut was besieged and extensively damaged by Russian forces, with Ukrainian president Zelenskyy saying on 11 December 2022 that the city had been reduced to "burnt ruins". The city's population may have been reduced by over 97%. , Ukrainian forces are in control of the city, which is an epicentre of fierce fighting, as Russian forces battle to take control. Etymology There is a theory that the origin of the word Bakhmut is a distorted version of the word Muhammad/Mahmud in Turkish/Tatar. Another theory is that a similar variant of the same word means 'salt water'. In both cases, the name of the city is considered to be associated with the former Turkish/Tatar possession of the surrounding lands. Name change 1571–1924: Bakhmut 1924–1941: Artyomovsk/Artemivsk 1942–1943: Bakhmut 1943–1992: Artyomovsk/Artemivsk 1992–2016: Artemivsk 2016–present day: Bakhmut History Although there is evidence of prior settlement in 1556, the first official mention of Bakhmut dates from 1571, when Ivan the Terrible, in order to protect the southern border of the Russian state from Crimean–Nogai slave raids, ordered the creation of border fortifications along the Aidar and Seversky Donets rivers. The settlement was described then as a guard-fort (storozha) named after the nearby Bakhmutovka River, a tributary of the Seversky Donets River, and located at the mouth of a stream called the Chornyi Zherebets. The history of Bakhmut before the 18th century is sparse. It was initially a border post that later became a fortified town. In 1701, Peter I ordered the fort at Bakhmut to be upgraded and the adjacent sloboda (free village) of Bakhmut be designated a city. The new fort was completed in 1703 and housed 170 people. In 1704 Peter commanded some Cossacks to settle at the Bakhmutovka river and mine salt. The population of Bakhmut doubled, and the town was