URBICIDE OF UKRAINIAN CITIES DURING RUSSIAN AGGRESSION (2014–2025): HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE ISSUE Yu. I.

Abstract

The article presents a review of publications that highlight various aspects of military urbicide of Ukrainian cities during the Russian-Ukrainian war (2014–2025). Attention is paid to the emergence and spread of the concept of «urbicide», its application to the characterization of the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine. The definitions of the types of urbicide and their features presented in the scientific literature are considered. The causes of urbicide are characterized: natural and social. The phenomenon of military urbicide and its constituent elements are analyzed. Three scenarios of urbicide are highlighted, identified and explained by Ukrainian researchers of modern military urbicide. Specific examples of genocidal practices of the Russian army against Ukrainian cities and their residents (Mariupol, Bakhmut, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhia, Berdyansk, Kherson) are considered. Special attention is paid to the coverage in the scientific literature of the problem of the destruction and theft of cultural values by the Russian Federation in the cities of Ukraine during the Russian-Ukrainian war. The importance and long-term consequences of the destruction of not only urban infrastructure and housing stock, but also urban culture, traditions, and the visual image of the city are emphasized. The experience of other countries that survived urbicide and were able to rebuild their cities and their societies is mentioned. Accentuated features of everyday practices of residents of cities subjected to military urbicide. The review includes research conducted in various fields of scientific knowledge (geography, history, economics, national security, sociology, political science, etc.), emphasizing the importance and prospects of an interdisciplinary approach in studying the issues of urbicide, its consequences, and the prospects for overcoming them.