Vasylkiv

Vasylkiv (, , ) is a city on the Stuhna River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast, central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Vasylkiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. First mentioned in the 10th century, Vasylkiv was incorporated as a city in 1796.

The city hosts Vasylkiv Air Base and is an industrial centre, producing electrical appliances and leather goods. Population: 39,084 (2024 estimate).

History

Vasylkiv was founded in 988 CE, and fortified in the 11th century. According to the Primary Chronicle, it was the place where Vladimir the Great's numerous wives lived. After the Christianization of Kyiv, Vladimir built there a fortress and named it ''Vasilev'', after his patron saint, Saint Basil (Vasily).

In the early 11th century, it was the birthplace of Saint Theodosius of Kiev. The Anthony and Theodosius Pechersky Church, built in the Ukrainian Baroque style in the 1750s, commemorates both Theodosius and Anthony of Kiev.

In 1240, the city was destroyed by the invading Mongol Empire. It slowly recovered, and was incorporated as a city in 1796.

In 1658, the Russian military commander Yuri Baryatinsky defeated the army of hetman Ivan Vyhovsky's brother Konstantin near Vasylkiv, after the Ukrainian hetman switched sides in favour of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The first medical quarantine house in Ukraine was established in Vasylkiv in 1740.

Through the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Vasylkiv remained an obscure place, almost forgotten in spite of the glorious history and connection to many earlier historic events, it was put back on the map by an anecdotal story related to Catherine II of Russia. As per legend, while passing through it during the night, the carriage lost one wheel. Catherine II woke up from the sudden jerk, and asked the name of the town. When she fell asleep again, her servants repaired the wheel and the carriage moved again. She woke up again and upon learning that it is still Vasylkiv, she remarked : "A large town, indeed".

Russian troops in the city took part in the failed Decembrist revolt against the Russian Empire in 1825.

In 1918-1919, the city was liberated from Bolshevik control by the Ukrainian army several times, on February 28 the Battle of Vasylkiv took place. On April 5, the city was occupied by Ataman Zeleny's rebels, and the villagers of 7 surrounding villages joined these forces. During the liberation struggle, Marko Shlyakhovy, aka Ataman Karmelyuk, based a rebel-peasant unit in the Kladova tract near the village of Dzvinkova, which conducted combat operations against the occupiers together with Ataman Zeleni's units. Since 1920 - under Bolshevik rule. On August 24, 1919, during the offensive on Kyiv, Vasylkov was approached by units of the UNR Army. According to patrol reports, the city was occupied by enemy infantry. After the battle of Vasylkiv, the Black Zaporizhzhia Cavalry Regiment was freed from the occupying Russian troops.

Until 18 July 2020, Vasylkiv was incorporated as a city of oblast significance and served as the administrative center of Vasylkiv Raion even though it did not belong to the raion. In July 2020, as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Kyiv Oblast to seven, the city of Vasylkiv was merged into Obukhiv Raion.

In the early morning of 26 February 2022, Russian invasion forces landed near the city in an attempt to capture the Vasylkiv Air Base, resulting in the Battle of Vasylkiv. According to the city's mayor , the fighting had died down by later that day, with Ukraine still in possession of the city.

Claims have been made that Ukrainian aircraft shot down two Russian Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft transporting assault troops. According to Ukrainian accounts, the first plane was reportedly shot down at Vasylkiv airbase, “killing upwards of 250 elite Russian paratroopers with a single missile.” A second plane was also claimed to have been shot down over Bila Tserkva, which was allegedly carrying over 100 paratroopers.
As of 18 January 2024, claims that Ukraine had killed 350 paratroopers in the downed planes were still unconfirmed by independent sources.

In the morning of 27 February 2022, Russian forces struck an oil depot in the city, leading to large explosions and fires.

Population

Language

Distribution of the population by native language according to the 2001 census:

Gallery

Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 069.JPG, A street in the downtown
Церква Святого Миколая (Васильків).jpg, City panorama
Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 033.jpg, Remnants of medieval defensive walls in the city
Собор Антонія і Феодосія.jpg, Sts. Anthony and Theodosius Cathedral (18th century)
Wikiexpedition_Vasylkiv_079.JPG, St. Nicholas Church (18th century)
Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 043.JPG, Former synagogue, later "Vasylkiv-2" railway station terminal (19th century)
Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 055.jpg, Stuhna River in Vasylkiv
Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 059.jpg, Vasylkiv Air Force College building
Васильків, Покровська, 2 (1).jpg, A school
Wikiexpedition Vasylkiv 118.JPG, Children dance studio lesson in Vasylkiv Culture House

Notable people

* Theodosius of Pechersk (1009-1074) - Eastern Orthodox saint and missionary
* Petro Poletyka (1778-1849) - Russian imperial statesman of Ukrainian origin
*Mykola Melnychenko (born 1966) – member of Ukrainian security services and political personality
* Vitalina Bibliv (born 1980) - Ukrainian actress
*Jerry Heil (born 1995) – Ukrainian singer, songwriter, and YouTuber

References

External links

vasilkov.INFO
- Vasylkiv city website

vasylkiv.today
- the first independent news portal and social network of Vasylkiv
kyiv-obl.gov.ua
- Site about Vasylkiv on Kyiv Oblast's Administration website

an article in Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary

{{Authority control

Cities in Kyiv Oblast
Vasilkovsky Uyezd
Cities of regional significance in Ukraine
Kyiv metropolitan area