The start of the regatta, the opening of the Alley of Unyielding Cities and a solemn procession. How Mykolaiv celebrated the 236th City Day during the war

On Saturday, 13 September, Mykolaiv celebrated its City Day. All the celebrations took place on the city's main street, Soborna.

See how yesterday went in the photo report NikVesti.

The morning programme started with the launch of the traditional two-day international Black Sea regatta for Mykolaiv «Rotary Sails». The opening ceremony was attended by Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych, Chairman of the Mykolaiv Regional Council Anton Tabunschyk, MP Oleksandr Haidu and Head of the Danish Embassy in Mykolaiv Jakob Hansen.

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A total of 58 yachts took to the water. Due to the restrictions, the route of the athletes was changed: they had to cover two 5km distances along the Southern Bug River.

Next, the exhibition «Alley of Unyielding Cities» was presented on Soborna Square — 16 symbolic columns dedicated to the cities of Ukraine that were the first to face a full-scale invasion. Before Mykolaiv, the exhibition had already been presented in Kyiv, Odesa and Kharkiv. Each of the columns looks like a mirror with a bunch of notches. If you look at yourself through it, you can see these scars on yourself.

In his speech to the townspeople, the mayor of Mykolaiv stressed that it is symbolic that the exhibition is presented in front of the building of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Academy, which was destroyed by a Russian air strike.

«On the City Day, we are happy to welcome guests of the city and Mykolaiv residents, not with loud and cheerful celebrations, but with a small family holiday of our hometown. This is a city of different people who have made different contributions to the engineering, cultural, educational and other spheres of our city and state. Mykolaiv is a hero city by presidential decree, but we are a city of heroes who stopped the Russian invasion in 2022. This is the merit of everyone who helped in any way they could. This exhibition is very symbolic. It depicts terrible things that destroy cities and kill our people,» said Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych.

A solemn procession started from the square: the National Flag of Ukraine and the flag of Mykolaiv were carried down the main street. The column was led by athletes Kseniia Tsompel and Valeriia Peremeta. International delegations also took part in the procession, including former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

The festive programme continued with a concert in Chestnut Square. The French politician addressed the citizens of Mykolaiv with a welcoming speech:

«I am very glad to be here. I came to Mykolaiv not alone, but with a whole delegation of parliamentarians. Your city has suffered from war and attacks, but it has survived all this and remained resilient. Starting with the first attacks in 2022, you have managed to survive. I am here with deep respect, because in defending your own independence, I understand that you are defending the independence of all of Europe. May Mykolaiv celebrate all its future anniversaries as a free Ukrainian city,» said Gabriel Attal.

Jakob Hansen, Head of the Danish Embassy's office in Mykolaiv, also joined the congratulations:

«The Kingdom of Denmark congratulates you on your City Day! You inspire me every day. I see the number of people who come back to Mykolaiv every time. This morning we launched a regatta on the Embankment, it is an incredible joy to see the development of Mykolaiv. Happy City Day, together we are many, we cannot be defeated!» he congratulated the citizens of Mykolaiv.

During the official part of the event, the city authorities honoured cultural figures, coaches and athletes, and MP Oleksandr Haidu presented letters of thanks from the Verkhovna Rada to employees of the defence enterprise «Zoria»-«Mashproekt» and journalist Oleksandr Matiushenko.

Photo report

Photo: Alisa Melik-Adamian