Trostianets orTrostyanets (Ukrainian:Тростянець,pronounced[trosʲtʲɐˈnɛtsʲ];Russian:Тростянец) is a city inOkhtyrka Raion ofSumy Oblast of northeasternUkraine. It was the administrative center ofTrostianets Raion until it was abolished on 18 July 2020. The city lies on the Boromlya River, 59 km (37 mi) fromSumy. Landmarks include a neo-Gothic "round courtyard" (1749), the late Baroque church of the Annunciation (1744–50), the 18th-centuryGalitzine palace, and a "grotto of nymphs" (an 1809 centenary memorial to theBattle of Poltava). The city has a population of19,544 (2022 estimate).[1]
Trostianets arose in the first half of the 17th century, during a new wave of migration of peasants and Cossacks from theRight-bank Ukraine toSloboda Ukraine. Another populated place with thesame name (Trostianets) is located in the historic region ofPodolia (Right-bank Ukraine). The migration was caused by defeat of Ukrainian forces at theBattle of Berestechko in 1651 by theCrown of Poland forces.
The name of the city is associated with the name of the river Trostyanka, which flows nearby.
From 1868 to 1874 the estate was owned by aSt. Petersburg merchant. In 1874, Trostianets was acquired by the great sugar producer Leopold Koenig. The last owner of the estate until 1917 was his son Julius.
In 1877, by order of the Russian Minister of Railways, the Smorodyne locomotive depot was built in Trostianets and 12 steam locomotives were purchased.
A local newspaper began to be published in Trostianets in 1930,[3] and in the city[clarification needed] after 1940.[4][5]
On 12 July 1940, Trostianets was granted administrative status as a city. DuringWorld War II, the city was occupied byAxis troops from October 1941 to August 1943. In January 1989 the population was 25,706 people.[6][5]
During theRussian invasion of Ukraine, Trostianets — strategically located between the larger settlements of Sumy andKharkiv — was attacked by Russian forces shortly after the invasion was launched on 24 February[7] and was captured by them on 1 March 2022.[8] On 4 March, 2022, an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe was reported by local authorities.[clarification needed][9] Trostianets was liberated by the Ukrainian93rd Mechanized Brigade on 26 March. The city suffered major damage to its infrastructure during the fighting and a Ukrainian official said that the retreating Russian troops had mined a local hospital.[10] The villa Tchaikovsky had stayed in was among buildings destroyed by the Russian troops.[2]
The regional prosecutor's office in Sumy opened an investigation over evidence that Russian troops had thrown hand grenades at civilians protesting the Russian occupation of Trostianets on March 18.[11]
After the city had been liberated, the British newspaperThe Guardian found evidence of executions, torture and looting.[12]
A forestry research station, located in a building built 1911 which is an architectural monument of national importance
During the fighting and shelling, theKrasnotrostyanets forest experimental station, located in the house of the manager of the estates ofLeopold Koenig, was destroyed (an architectural monument of national importance). As a result of the fire, the chocolate factory "Ukraine" "Mondelēz International" (formerly "Kraft Foods") was partially destroyed.The estate of the Nadarzhinskys-Golitsyns, a monument in honor of the 183rd tank brigade, the Smorodino locomotive depot of 1877, and the shop of the merchant Fyodor Kurilo (1908, an architectural monument of local importance) were damaged.[13][14]
The town's hospital was shelled many times by Russian forces (at least twice from tanks).[15][16][14]
Trostianets City Hospital after a missile attack on March 14, 2024
On March 2, 2024, aHESA Shahed 136 drone was shot down over Trostianets, and residential buildings were damaged as a result of falling debris.[17] On March 14, 2024, Trostianets was shelled using the HESA Shahed 136 and9K720 Iskander. As a result of the shelling, the Trostianets City Hospital was damaged.[18]
Trostianets is located near the picturesque Neskuchnoye tract, where there are three lakes among a mixed pine-deciduous forest. The nearby arboretum almost merged with the forest. In 1995-1996, a sports recreation center was destroyed, located in a pine forest near one of the lakes.
There are several architectural monuments in the city - the "Round Yard" of 1749, the Golitsyn's manor house, churches, the nymphs' grotto of 1809 and others, which are gradually being repaired and restored. Recently, picturesque plein-airs “Picturesque Trostianechchyna” have been held in Trostianets, as a result of which an exposition of paintings by artists from different countries was created in the former landowner's estate.
The most famous enterprise of Trostianets is the chocolate factory "Ukraine", one of the leading enterprises in the industry. This enterprise belongs to the company "Mondelēz International" (formerly "Kraft Foods"), which is known for its trademarks "Crown", "Alpen Gold", "Jacobs", "Tuc", "Barny" and Milka.