Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented honorary awards "Hero City of Ukraine" during a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, UNN reports with reference to the Presidential Office.
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Among those honored are cities in Donetsk region: Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, Pokrovsk, and Sloviansk, which for a long time were a frontline outpost and rear for Ukrainian defenders, and are now experiencing increasingly strong enemy attacks and destruction.
In Zaporizhzhia, these are Huliaipole, around which heavy fighting continues, and Orikhiv, which has been under constant Russian attacks since the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion.
In Kharkiv region – Kupyansk, which remains in the zone of active hostilities and is under constant Russian shelling.
Marhanets, Nikopol, and Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk region, which are constantly shelled by the enemy, but thanks to the organization and resilience of their residents, these cities continue to live.
Starokostiantyniv in Khmelnytskyi region, which is of strategic importance for the country's defense capabilities. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has been constantly striking it.
Sumy, which at the beginning of the full-scale Russian aggression was surrounded, but Ukrainians forced the occupiers to retreat. Trostianets in Sumy region, which was occupied on the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion. The occupation lasted 31 days. But it was there that the occupiers' offensive on Okhtyrka, Lebedyn, and Sumy was stopped.
Additionally
As reported by the Presidential Office, Zelenskyy introduced the honorary award "Hero City of Ukraine" on March 6, 2022, and awarded it to Volnovakha, Hostomel, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Chernihiv, on March 24, 2022 – to Bucha, Irpin, Mykolaiv, and Okhtyrka, and on September 30, 2025 – to 16 more cities in seven regions of Ukraine. These are Bashtanka, Voznesensk, Huliaipole, Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, Kupyansk, Marhanets, Nikopol, Orikhiv, Pavlohrad, Pokrovsk, Sloviansk, Starokostiantyniv, Sumy, and Trostianets. In total, 26 Ukrainian cities already have the "Hero City of Ukraine" award.