Kharkiv — hero city of Ukraine. Zelenskyy presents badge of honor to mayor

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the honorary sign of the hero city of Ukraine to the mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, reported the Office of the President on March 22.

The President came to Kharkiv to hold a coordination meeting on security issues in the region.

During the meeting, Zelenskyy presented Terekhov with the "Hero City of Ukraine" badge of honor.

The President awarded Kharkiv the title of Hero City of Ukraine to recognize the feat, mass heroism and resilience of citizens in defending the city during the repulse of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine.

On March 6, 2022, Zelenskyy signed the decree awarding Kharkiv with an honorary award.

"I want to thank the city of Kharkiv. It is truly a hero city. Thanks to its residents, this beautiful city protects our independence side by side with other cities of our country," the president said.

Terekhov published on Telegram a photo of the badge of honor — a ribbon on the Kharkiv flag.

"This is the merit of all of us — soldiers, fighters of the territorial defense, utility service workers, doctors, teachers, volunteers, everyone who did everything possible, and often impossible, so that Kharkiv would survive, so that Kharkiv would remain a Ukrainian city," wrote the mayor of the hero city.

• Since the beginning of the full-scale aggression, Russia has unsuccessfully tried to occupy Kharkiv. The city survived. Now the Russian Federation is striking Kharkiv and the region with missiles almost every day.
• In February 2023, the mayor of Kharkiv Ihor Terekhov noted that 95% of the citizens speak Russian, "but this does not separate them from Ukraine", communication with the Russians stopped after the start of the full-scale invasion. Kharkiv residents are gradually switching to Ukrainian.