Okhtyrka (Ukrainian: Охтирка, IPA: [oxˈtɪrkɐ] ⓘ; Russian: Ахтырка, romanized: Akhtyrka) is a city in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine.

[3] Akhtyrsk became the last southwestern point of the Belgorod defense line that stretched along the southern border of the Russian state in the middle of the 17th century.

[3] In 1653 on the banks of the Vorskla tributary Okhtyrka a group of migrants from right-bank Ukraine established a settlement which adopted the name of the outpost.

[3] In 1654 a fortification was completed, and in 1655–1656 it was further expanded by Russian sluzhilie (service members) led by the Tsar's appointed voivodes Larion Kaminin and Trofim Chernov.

[3] In 1656, a group of over 1,000 people from right-bank Ukraine arrived, led by Cossack sotnik Arystov and protopope Antoniy from Zhyvotov (possibly the Kiev Voivodeship).

[7][8][9] On this day, in the area of Оkhtyrka, a Russian Grad fired multiple rockets on a bus for the evacuation of residents.

[18][19] On February 27, the chairman of the Sumy Regional State Administration reported that Russian tanks had shot a bus with civilians.

[19][23][24][25][26] International law does not prohibit the use of thermobaric munitions, fuel-air explosive devices, or vacuum bombs against military targets.

[29] Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, claimed that the use of thermobaric weapons is in violation of the Geneva Conventions.

[30][31][32] On March 1, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian troops were holding the city surrounded.

[33] On March 3, Russian aircraft bombarded the local thermal power plant and fired at residential areas of Оkhtyrka.

[34][35] On March 5, the head of the Sumy Regional State Administration announced that the Оkhtyrka Combined Heat and Power Plant was completely destroyed after an air bombardment by Russian aircraft, resulting in the death of 5 workers.

[citation needed] On March 24, 2022, in order to celebrate the accomplishments, mass heroism and resilience of citizens identified in the defense of their city during the repulse of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation, by Decree of the President of Ukraine No.

Russians, using prohibited means of warfare, carried out an air bombardment of the most densely populated residential area of Оkhtyrka, Dachnyi neighborhood.

[43] As a result of the bombing, at least 15 residential high-rise and private houses, civil infrastructure facilities, and power lines were destroyed or damaged.

According to the Emergency Situations Ministry of Ukraine in Оkhtyrka, rescuers were able to free an injured woman from the rubble of damaged houses and also found the body of one deceased person.

[46] In July, Okhtyrka suffered severe power issues due to damage on the plant from a March air raid.

[48] The town's coat of arms (blue field, golden cross and shining sun above) celebrates the city's visiting pilgrims.

The central core of the city was represented by the fortress, which occupied an elevated place; the buildings fitting into the terrain without any order.

The fortress had the shape of an irregular quadrilateral, and occupied the area of the present city center, from the river to the location of today's "Intercession Cathedral" outside the castle.

In the early 18th century, Cossacks of the Okhtyrka regiment took an active part in the Great Northern War, recapturing the Swedish and Russian lands bordering the Baltic Sea.

During World War II, Okhtyrka was occupied by the German Army from 15 October 1941 to 23 February 1943 and again from 11 March to 25 August 1943.

As the USSR started to fall apart, the machinery and ballistic rockets were transported to Russian territory, however it took much longer for the regiments to move or to transform.

Mostly surviving on donations and on the work of enthusiastic monks and volunteers, with Kyiv Church blessings, it has started to rebuild and has become one of the main religious places for Ukrainian and Russian Orthodox Christian worshipers in the region.

Usually pictured is a half-length image of the Blessed Virgin Mary with folded hands in supplication, with to her left Jesus Christ, crucified on the cross.

The story is that the image, which was said to emanate radiance, was uncovered by priest Vasily (Basil) Danilov in the grassland of Protection Church while he was mowing and took it home.

The painter prayed before the icon until morning, and took it back to Basil, who, convinced of its miraculous power, put it in the protection of the Church.

The Lady told her that her days were numbered and ordered her to give away her estate, distributing it to the needy, and promised protection to her two young daughters.

In the 1950s, the son of Stepanov brought it to Brazil and then to San Francisco, where he gave it to the Committee of the Russian Orthodox youth as a blessing.

[citation needed] In the early 20th century there were manufacturers of light woollen stuffs and a trade in corn, cattle and the produce of domestic industries.