Chornobaivka

Chornobaivka (Чорнобаївка, ) is a suburban village in Kherson Raion, Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine. It is the center of the village council. It hosts the administration of the Chornobaivka rural hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Kherson International Airport is situated in Chornobaivka.

Founding
Chornobaivka was founded officially on August 18, 1782, by the Zaporozhian Sich Cossack Petro Chornobay, after he received a plot of land from Catherine II. The settlement's name is derived from him.

Development
Chornobaivka grew slowly. From the documents of the Kherson provincial zemstvo, it is known that in 1859 the village had 60 yards, in which 239 people lived. The main income of Chornobaivka's inhabitants was the extraction of limestone. There were no trade enterprises on the farms at that time, except for wine shops. Healthcare resources were limited. The first school was opened in the late nineteenth century and was attended by 26 boys and 6 girls.

In 1902, a primary school for a small number of children was opened in Chornobaievi Khutory.

20th century and early 21st century
During World War II, Nazi Germany occupied Chornobaivka starting 9 August, 1941. In 1942, the Nazis began forcibly deporting the town's young people back to Germany. Over the occupation, 242 people were deported and pressed to do forced labor. Eventually, on 14 March 1944, the 295th Rifle Division of the Red Army liberated the village.

Throughout the early 1970s, "radical" development took place in Chornobaivka. Five main streets were paved with asphalt, new houses were built, a water system was laid out, and a radio network was formed.

In 2006, Kherson Airport, located in Chornobaivka, received international status.

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine


In the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces took control of the village and its airfield. The airbase was strategically important for Russian forces and their war effort. During the months of occupation, Ukraine launched numerous attacks and airstrikes on Russian forces within the village, destroying Russian equipment and killing Russian personnel. The village "achieved legendary status" for Ukrainians due to the extent of losses Russia took in the small village again and again.

Russian forces also committed numerous human rights violations against civilians in the village during the occupation. Local officials reported that the Russians "shot and killed at least 20 civilians" during this time. Chornobaivka was eventually liberated by Ukrainian troops on 11 November 2022 during the 2022 Kherson counteroffensive. However, as late as December, the village still had no electricity, water, or heating, as Russian shelling of Ukraine-controlled areas increased.

Geography
Chornobaivka is located in the south of Ukraine within the steppe zone on the Black Sea lowland of the Eastern European plain. The settlement is located 10 km from the regional center. The physical distance to Kyiv is 414 km.

Notable people

 * Aleksey Kirichenko, Soviet politician.
 * Yurii Vukhnal, writer and humorist.
 * Motorny Dmitry Konstantinovich, Soviet and Ukrainian innovator of agricultural production, twice Hero of Socialist Labor (1966, 1986). Hero of Ukraine (2002).

Demographics
According to the 2001 census, 9275 people lived in the village. The native language distribution of Chornobaivka in 2001 was: