Mykolaiv, a regional centre in the south of Ukraine, is a city of sailors and drawbridges, the sunny capital of Ukrainian shipbuilders. Upon the founding of Mykolaiv, a shipyard was established, and during the 19th century, the city became the centre of shipbuilding in the Black Sea area. Mykolaiv was named in honour of Saint Nicholas of Myra, a patron saint of sailors.

The city became a regional centre in 1937 when Mykolaiv Oblast (region) was formed. However, the regional state administration’s building in the central city square was constructed much later. The reason was that this site had been occupied by the Mykolaiv Zoo. When it was to expand and move to another part of the city, the Regional State Administration’s construction began in its place.

Following the initial project, the building was supposed to be 16-storey in the form of an open book. However, the Communist Party’s regional committee did not approve this design because the building would supposedly be too beautiful and large and would overhang the regional party committee’s office. Therefore, the project was redone: the height was reduced to 9 floors, the building was to become more straight, and a colonnade was added. This plan was not approved either. Instead, a project for an ordinary 9-storey building without any adornments was accepted.

In 2022, this building became known all over the world, but not due to its history. The Mykolaiv Regional State Administration became one of the numerous victims of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as evidence of the Russians’ ruthlessness and war crimes. At the same time, this place epitomised the courage and indomitability of Mykolaiv’s defenders.

The war came to Mykolaiv on February 24, 2022, at 4:58 a.m. when Russian artillery and aviation began to shell the Kulbakyne Airport and the port of Ochakiv. However, all aircraft managed to take off thanks to intelligence data before the Russian air raid started, so they did not suffer any losses. Battles for the Mykolaiv Airport have been going on for several weeks. The Russian army has lost hundreds of units of military equipment (in particular, 245 units in just two days in March).

The Russian troops repeatedly tried to capture Mykolaiv with the support of their airborne troops and sabotage-reconnaissance groups, but the Ukrainian military and the territorial defence of Mykolaiv engaged in fierce battles with them. The Russian army launched cruise missiles over the city on March 29, one of which hit the State Administration building, destroying its central section from the first to the ninth floors. Rubble sorting and rescuing the people trapped lasted almost a week. As a result of the shelling, 37 people perished, and more than 30 were injured.

Russian troops still regularly shell Mykolaiv (in particular, using cluster munitions, which is prohibited by international law). During the first four months of the war, 111 people died in the city, and 502 more were injured. About 400 high-rise buildings and 800 private buildings were damaged as a result of Russian shelling. Less than half of the population remained in Mykolaiv (formerly almost 500,000 people lived in the city). The Russians’ constant attempts to capture Mykolaiv and secure a land corridor to Odesa were in vain, though, as the city stood firm and resolutely repulsed the Russian forces.

On March 24, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, conferred the honorary ‘Hero City of Ukraine’ title to Mykolaiv respecting the feat, heroism, and resilience of Mykolaiv residents. The State Administration building will be reconstructed when the war is finally over. This place will forever engrave memories of the valiant struggle of the Ukrainian people for freedom and independence, for goodness, and for life itself.

The city’s beating heart that once protected the well-being and peace of hundreds of thousands of people will keep the memory from now on.