The Verkhovna Rada renamed 328 settlements instead of 333

MPs have voted to rename 328 settlements in Ukraine, though five cities previously under consideration were removed from the resolution.

A total of 281 MPs voted in favor of the resolution, which was adopted without discussion, according to Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of the Holos party.

The resolution targets settlements with names that are Russified or contain Russian and Soviet narratives. Specifically, it calls for the renaming of places named after Moscow figures, such as Pushkino, Michurin, Maxim Gorky, Kutuzivka, Suvorovo, Nekrasovo, and others. Many names linked to Soviet holidays or symbols are also subject to renaming, including those associated with May Day: Pershotravivka, Pervomaiske, Pershotravneve, Pershotravensk, Mayivka, etc.

According to MP Roman Lozynskyi, the following cities will be renamed:

• Novomoskovsk (Dnipro region) → Samar
• Pershotravensk (Dnipro region) → Shakhtarske
• Molodohvardiysk (Luhansk region) → Otamanivka
• Sievierodonetsk (Luhansk region) → Siverskodonetsk
• Chervonohrad (Lviv region) → Sheptytskyi
• Druzhba (Sumy region) → Khutir-Mykhailivskyi
• Krasnohrad (Kharkiv region) → Berestyn
• Pervomaiskyi (Kharkiv region) → Zlatopil
• Vatutino (Cherkasy region) → Bahacheve

Obstacles in voting

The previous day, the Verkhovna Rada failed to vote on a resolution to rename 333 settlements as part of Ukraine’s decolonization and de-Russification process. This led to MPs blocking the parliamentary rostrum. MP Roman Lozynskyi commented that the parliament had «failed to take a historic chance to remove everything Moscow imposed during centuries of enslavement from the map of Ukraine.»

Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk explained that issues had arisen with the proposed renaming of Yuzhne, Yuzhnoukrainsk, Synelnykove, Pervomaisk, and Pavlohrad, leading to their removal from the resolution adopted on September 19.

These cities were initially proposed to be renamed as follows:

• Yuzhne → Port Annental
• Yuzhnoukrainsk → Gard
• Synelnykove → Ridnopillia
• Pervomaisk → Sokologirsk
• Pavlohrad → Matviyiv

Stefanchuk added that discussions regarding the renaming of these settlements will continue.