Kherson watermelon

Watermelons were thought to have been introduced by Crimean Tatars – a Turkic ethnic group and an indigenous peoples of Crimea – before the 18th century.

During World War II, residents of the Kherson region would make molasses or jam from boiled-down watermelons, when there were restrictions on sugar usage.

Prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022, a yearly tradition was televised, with a barge, full of watermelons, leaving Kherson for Kyiv along the Dnieper river.

[6] The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, joked upon arriving in newly liberated Kherson in November 2022 that he travelled there because he "wanted a watermelon".

[1][7] Ukrposhta, the Ukrainian national postal services company, released watermelon-themed stamps commemorating the liberation of Kherson.