Russia Bombs New York! (…a Village in Ukraine)

“The enemy dropped 2 air bombs on New York” reports Ukrainian state media this morning, only mentioning later in their report that New York is the name of a village in Donetsk, Ukraine.

A village in Ukraine named after the Big Apple was bombed by Russia this morning, with Donetsk Regional Military Administration Head Pavlo Kyrylenko reporting the strike damaged nine homes and one government building. Other strikes in the area killed one person and injured two, he said.

Ukrainian state wires service Ukrinform reported the strike on the small village to the world, alarmingly stating in their headline that “Russians launch 31 artillery strikes on Vuhledar, drop bombs on New York”, and quoting Kyrylenko’s remarks that “The enemy dropped 2 air bombs on New York”.

New York, Donetsk — also rendered Niu York or Нью-Йорк — founded by German settlers under Catherine the Great in 1892, reports Deutsche Welle. The name was chosen because a wife of one of the founders came from America and wanted to remember her place of birth.

This is not unusual — several local places were founded by European immigrants, including the now much fought-over Donetsk and Luhansk, which were both founded by British businessmen in the 19th century on behalf of the Russian Empire which then ruled the region.

The village of New York lost its name when Russia became communist, but its historic title was legally restored last year as a part of derussification efforts. When the vote on the reversion to the village’s founding name of New York was passed, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine sent their congratulations, writing: “Congrats to the people of New York, Donetsk Oblast, on the return to their town’s historical name… Another reason to celebrate our close ties. We’re big fans of your new/old name!”.