Paraskoviivka, (, , Belarusian: , Armenian: Պարսկովևկա) also romanized and spelled as Paraskoviyvka, Paraskovyivka, Paraskoviyivka and Paraskoveevka, is a selo (village) in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Eastern Ukraine. The settlement is north of the city of Bakhmut, south of Soledar, west of the settlement of Krasna Hora and east of the city of Sloviansk. It had a population of at least 2,810 people in January 2022, with the village having a majority Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Armenian majority confirmed in the 2001 census. Beginning on 15 January 2023, the city suffered a number of attacks and offensives around it, with attacks increasing in January 2023. After attacks in the northern towns of the settlement increased and rising captures inside of Bakhmut, caused a two-week long siege of Paraskoviivka in late February 2023. The settlement was highly affected with several civilian casualties reported. On 18 February 2023 the Russian forces and PMC Wagner captured Paraskoviivka. Geography Paraskoviivka is located in Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, Eastern Ukraine. Paraskoviivka is served by the Donets Railway, with a railway station called ¨Stantsiia Shevchenko¨ (Ukrainian: ; Russian: Станция Шевченко) in the central part of the settlement, which connects with the settlement of Sil and Krasna Hora, and then to Bakhmut. Following that there are monuments also within the city. Berkhivka or Berkhovka (); () (Belarusian: Берхаўка) formerly Verkhivka or Verkhovka (Ukrainian: Верхівка) (Russian: Верховка) during the Russian Empire is a Russian-occupied village about southwest of Paraskoviivka, and northwest of Bakhmut. The settlement's population has fallen from 118 registered in the 2001 census, to 43 in 2022. Since 25 February 2023, the village has been controlled by Russia. Russian forces were reported to have shelled Berkhivka on 17 February, with an airstrike also reported near the village. On 24 February 2023, PMC Wagner claimed that they had taken the village after a few days of fighting. History Ukrainian SSR 50 residents of the settlement died during the Holodomor, resulting in an overall decrease in the population even after the collapse of the Soviet Union . Russo-Ukrainian War War in Donbas (2014-2017) During the 2014 Russian invasion, Paraskoviivka was used by Ukrainian forces to store supplies, while separatist and Ukrainian forces struggled for control of nearby Artemivsk. Russian and DPR forces ultimately withdrew from the area after the Siege of Sloviansk. Fighting continued in the area until 2017. 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Battles of