# Milove

Milove (Ukrainian: Мілове; Russian: Меловое, romanized: Melovoye) is the easternmost rural settlement the nominal administrative center of Milove settlement hromada in the Starobilsk Raion of Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine. Population: 5,680 (2022 estimate). Prior to 2020, it was the administrative centre of the former Milove Raion. The town is currently occupied by Russian troops.
The town is adjacent to the Russian town of Chertkovo in Rostov Oblast. Its train station used to be on the Russian side of the border at Chertkovo railway station.

## Etymology

The name of the settlement is derived from the name of the Milova River [uk], which name is derived from Russian name of the river - Меловая, which literally means "Chalky". The river is so named because there are chalk layers in a high ridge in the area of the river's source.

## Geography

It is located on the border with Russia. The line of the North Caucasian Railway divides it into two parts. On the Russian side there is the Chertkovo settlement. The railway station is located on the other side of the railroad, in Russia. There was a border control point Milove-Chertkovo on the border with Russia.

## History

After the construction of the Voronezh-Rostov railroad was completed in 1872, the khutir of Milove near Chertkovo station. It was a small settlement in the Markovka Volost [uk] of the Starobelsky Uyezd of the Kharkov Governorate of the Russian Empire.
In January 1918 the Soviet rule was established there.
It has had the status of an urban-type settlement since 1938.
During World War II it was under German occupation from July 1942 to January 16, 1943 and was an entrenched stronghold. Later, it was a Soviet stronghold during the Battle of Kursk.
During the hostilities and the German occupation of Milove, 56.6 million rubles worth of damage was caused, the buildings of the collective farm and the MTS, the mill, the House of Culture, the library, the school, the nursery, the printing house and half of the houses were completely destroyed and burned down. Subsequently, its reconstruction began.
In 1948, a tree nursery was established on the outskirts of the settlement.
In 1953, there was an butter factory, a secondary school, a House of Culture and a library there.
In January 1959 the population was 4592 people: 1964 men and 2628 women.
In 1964, the Starobilsk Veterinary College was transferred to Milove.
In 1972, to honor the liberation from Nazi occupation, a museum of the history of the liberation of the settlement from fascist invaders was opened there and the monument "Ukraine to the Liberators" was installed.
In 1973 there was a butter factory, veterinary college, historical and museum of local history there.
In 1980 the population was 5.5 thousand people, there were a pilot plant of vegetable fats and proteins, a rayon agricultural machinery, a consumer services combine, two secondary schools, a music school, a sports school, a hospital, a House of Culture, two libraries and a museum of geology.
In January 1989 the population was 5921 people: 2700 men and 3221 women.
After the proclamation of independence of Ukraine, the settlement turned out to be on the border with Russia, and a customs post "Milove" was equipped there, which is located in the area of responsibility of the Luhansk border patrol guard of the Eastern Regional Department of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. The villages of Milove (Ukraine) and Chertkovo (Russia) are separated by the Friendship of Peoples Street [uk], which is about three kilometers long and is also a state border. This street is home to almost 500 citizens of Ukraine and Russia who live on both sides of it. On the Russian side there are Chertkovsky elevator, railroad station, meat processing plant. On the Ukrainian side of the street are the Milove Refined Oils Plant (not operating), an energy company, and a large market square. In 2004-2013 Milove hosted the annual international festival of modern and traditional Ukrainian and Russian songs "Friendship Street". The border was de facto opened.
In May 1995, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the decision to privatize the repair and transport enterprise located here, and, in July 1995, the decision to privatize of raion agricultural machinery and raion agricultural chemistry.
At the outbreak of the war in Donbas, Milove was not very affected by the war that raged in much of the region. However, on November 12, 2014, a Ukrainian border guard office was shot at with a grenade launcher leaving no casualties. Political tensions led to security cameras being installed on the Russian side of the border, and a fence being erected on the Ukrainian side of the border. On November 27, 2015, two Russian servicemen were detained in the city, and later exchanged back to Russian authorities.
It was occupied by Russian forces on February 24, 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

## Cityscape

* Memorial Complex "Ukraine to the Liberators"

## Infrastructure
### Transportation

Local highway T-13-07 passes through the settlement. The nearest railway station Chertkovo on the partially deconstructed old Zhuravka - Bochenkovo track (part of the Moscow-Kazanskaya - Rostov-Glavny main line) is the junction point of the North Caucasus and South Eastern Railway.

## Notable people

* Denys Harmash (born 1990), Ukrainian footballer
* Yuriy Harbuz (born 1971), Ukrainian politician

## Twin towns – sister cities

* Chop