During the Ukrainian War of Independence, from 1917 to 1920, it passed between various factions. Afterwards it was administratively part of the
Zaporizhzhia Governorate of Ukraine. Yakymivka came under attack during the
2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine and was subsequently captured and occupied by
Russian military forces. During the ongoing Russian occupation, the town became the scene of significant
partisan warfare. On 28 April 2022, partisans destroyed the Yakymivka Railway Bridge with an explosive charge, disrupting vital Russian supply lines for weeks. On 11 June 2023,
pro-Ukrainian guerillas blew up another key railway line near the settlement. In early April 2024, the former Russian-appointed mayor Maxim Zubarev was severely injured when pro-Ukrainian militants blew up his car. on 31 May 2025, the settlement became the scene of another major partisan attack, when militants blew up a section of a railway line, which led to the derailment of multiple freight cars, which were carrying Russian military equipment. Until 26 January 2024, Yakymivka was designated
urban-type settlement. On this day, a new law entered into force which abolished this status, and Yakymivka became a rural settlement. ==Demographics==