President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree awarding the honorary distinction “Hero City of Ukraine” to 16 cities in seven regions. These are Bashtanka, Voznesensk, Huliaipole, Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, Kupyansk, Marhanets, Nikopol, Orikhiv, Pavlohrad, Pokrovsk, Slovyansk, Starokostiantyniv, Sumy, and Trostianets.
The decree highlights the valor, mass heroism, and resilience of citizens who defended their cities while repelling the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
Bashtanka (Mykolaiv region). From the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion, the city set up a resistance center, formed a territorial defense battalion and the volunteer unit Bashtanka-1. On March 1, 2022, the residents of the city engaged in battle against two Russian columns consisting of tanks, IFVs, and trucks with artillery. Relying on their own strength, they managed to destroy an enemy column of more than 400 combat vehicles and capture another 30 pieces of equipment. This slowed down the advance of the occupiers and enabled the city to hold out for a week until regular units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine arrived.
Voznesensk (Mykolaiv region). From March 2 to 15, 2022, the city was in the zone of active hostilities. After failing to capture Mykolaiv, the Russians tried to occupy it in order to cross the Pivdennyi Buh River and ultimately cut Ukraine off from the sea. The residents of Voznesensk, together with the warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, engaged in the battle for the city. By blowing up the bridge over the Mertvovid River and the railway bridge on the city’s outskirts, they managed to stop the advance of three enemy columns, force the occupiers to retreat, and eventually completely defeat them.
Huliaipole (Zaporizhzhia region). Since early March 2022, the city has been under constant enemy shelling and is now located just 5 kilometers from the front line. Huliaipole is a strategically important settlement that opens direct routes to Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and the Donetsk region. To defend their city, the residents of Huliaipole joined the ranks of the territorial defense, organized shifts at checkpoints, dug trenches, wove camouflage nets, and continue to supply the warriors with everything they need.
Druzhkivka (Donetsk region). From April to July 2014, Druzhkivka was under temporary occupation, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city on July 5, 2014. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, Druzhkivka has been under constant shelling. Despite this, all essential services continue to operate in the city: medics, first responders, police officers, and utility workers. They eliminate the consequences of Russian attacks, restore electricity, water supply, and communications, while volunteers deliver humanitarian aid, rescue animals, and assist people.
Kostiantynivka (Donetsk region). After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, Kostiantynivka served as a reliable rear base for the military and a temporary refuge for people forced to leave their homes in other communities of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Since the beginning of this year, Russia has intensified its attacks on the city. Despite constant threats, all essential services and volunteers are always there to help those in need. Since May, the city has been in the combat zone under relentless shelling.
Kramatorsk (Donetsk region). From April to July 2014, the city was under temporary occupation, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated it on July 5, 2014. Kramatorsk became the temporary administrative center of the Donetsk region. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, it has suffered constant Russian shelling and extensive destruction. Despite this, Kramatorsk has become the main logistics hub and stronghold of the region.
Kupyansk (Kharkiv region). The city was under occupation from February 27 to September 16, 2022. During this time, risking their lives, residents took to the central square to demonstrate their loyalty to Ukraine. The Russians detained people and threw them into torture chambers. The occupiers abused volunteers, teachers, rescuers, combat veterans, and representatives of state authorities. As a result of the successful Kharkiv counteroffensive, Ukraine’s Defense Forces liberated the city. Kupyansk remains in the zone of active hostilities and is subjected to constant Russian shelling.
Marhanets (Dnipro region). Since July 2022, the city has been under constant attacks by Russia. The Russians shell the residents of Marhanets from the territory of temporarily occupied Enerhodar using MLRS and artillery, and they also strike with FPV drones. These attacks, along with the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP dam, pushed the city to the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe. Yet thanks to the organization and resilience of its residents, Marhanets endures.
Nikopol (Dnipro region). Since July 2022, the city has been under constant Russian shelling. From the territory of temporarily occupied Enerhodar, the Russians strike Nikopol with MLRS and artillery and attack local residents with FPV drones. Russia destroys residential buildings, schools, hospitals, and critical infrastructure. Yet despite this, people remain in their hometown, all essential services continue to operate, and together they restore what the occupiers have destroyed.
Orikhiv (Zaporizhzhia region). From the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion, the city has been under artillery and aerial strikes. In Orikhiv, civilian infrastructure, residential neighborhoods, schools, hospitals, and cultural sites have been destroyed. The city’s defense holds back the occupiers and prevents them from advancing deeper into the Zaporizhzhia region.
Pavlohrad (Dnipro region). Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the city has been under constant Russian missile and drone attacks. Nevertheless, it continues to contribute to the country’s defense industry. Pavlohrad is a strategically important evacuation hub for people from the Donetsk region and has the necessary hospital base to treat the wounded from the front.
Pokrovsk (Donetsk region). After the start of the full-scale war, Pokrovsk received hundreds of people every day from the combat zone. Civilian and critical infrastructure continued to operate in the city throughout. Since July 2024, it has been in the zone of active hostilities under constant Russian shelling. Located in a strategically important sector of the Donetsk region, Pokrovsk has long been a stronghold for Ukraine’s Defense Forces. The enemy does not abandon attempts to occupy the city and has concentrated its largest forces there, but Ukrainian warriors steadfastly and bravely hold their positions.
Slovyansk (Donetsk region). The city first faced Russian aggression on April 12, 2014, when it fell under temporary occupation. The following day, Ukraine announced the start of the anti-terrorist operation. The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated Slovyansk on July 5, 2014. In February 2022, Slovyansk became a frontline zone and has remained so ever since. Today, the only maternity hospital operating in the entire region is located in the city.
Starokostiantyniv (Khmelnytskyi region). The city holds strategic importance for the country’s defense capability. From the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has been carrying out constant strikes on Starokostiantyniv. This year alone, the city has endured nearly 30 missile and about 300 drone attacks. Despite living, working, and studying under constant danger and tension, its residents continue to effectively sustain the city’s vital functions.
Sumy. A regional center on the border, Sumy became one of the first targets of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022. The city was encircled until April 4, 2022, when the enemy was forced to retreat. In the first days of the fighting, local volunteers and territorial defense units organized resistance against the occupiers, and a partisan movement was also actively operating. Despite the enemy’s withdrawal, Sumy and nearby settlements continue to suffer from constant shelling and destruction.
Trostianets (Sumy region). Located 35 kilometers from the Russian border, the city was occupied on the very first day of the full-scale Russian invasion. The occupation lasted 31 days. Trostianets became one of the most affected settlements in the Sumy region. However, the resistance of the local population and their support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine prevented the Russian army from carrying out its plans. In Trostianets, the offensive of the occupiers toward Okhtyrka, Lebedyn, and Sumy was stopped.
In total, 26 cities have now been awarded the distinction of Hero City. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy established the honorary distinction “Hero City of Ukraine” on March 6, 2022, and conferred it on Volnovakha, Hostomel, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Chernihiv, and on March 24, 2022 – on Bucha, Irpin, Mykolaiv, and Okhtyrka.