structural:summarization
Independent Ukraine

After the declaration of independence made by the Ukrainian parliament on 24 August 1991 the 1991 Ukrainian independence referendum was held on 1 December 1991. In this referendum 83.90% of Donetsk's voters voted in favour of independence.

After experiencing a tough time in the 1990s, when it was the center of gang wars for control over industrial enterprises, Donetsk modernised quickly, largely under the influence of big companies.

In 1994 a consultative referendum was held in Donetsk Oblast and Luhansk Oblast, with around 90% supporting recognition of Russian as an official language alongside Ukrainian, and for Russian to be an official language on a regional level.

In the 1990s and the 2000s, hundreds were killed in coal mine collapses in Donetsk and the region. These included the 2008 Ukraine coal mine collapse, the 2007 Zasyadko mine disaster, and the 2015 Zasyadko mine disaster. Ukraine has had many mining accidents since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, with one reason cited as the linking of miners' pay to production, which is an incentive to ignore safety procedures that slow production.

In a summit in Moscow in 2008, Donetsk was recognised as the best city in the Commonwealth of Independent States for its implemented development strategies; in 2012 and 2013 Donetsk was recognised as the best place for business in Ukraine.

Whilst getting praise for its business potential in 2009, Donetsk also received criticism for the strong mafia connection of its growing oligarchy, and for an increasing poverty rate. Some analysts warned of a long-term collapse of the Donetsk economy; and that it could share Detroit 's gloomy fate, due to its failure to combat crime and poverty.