As Ukrainian forces retreat from Avdiivka, local authorities have decided to rename streets in the city

The decision to rename more than 20 streets in the completely devastated city was made within the framework of the so-called “decommunization” and “derussification.” The directive was issued by the Avdiivka city territorial community along with a published list.

Names of streets honoring the world’s first cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, writers Tolstoy, Pushkin, and Lermontov, aviator Chkalov, composer Tchaikovsky, as well as scientists Lomonosov and Mendeleev, were changed. Instead, streets were named after Ukrainian military figures and national archetypes – Cossacks, Freedom, Dignity, and the like. Particularly ironic is the renaming of “Victory” Street to “Peremohy” Street, which means the same in Ukrainian.

This decision has sparked outrage in Ukrainian society. The city is practically in ruins, most of it is surrounded by Russian forces, hundreds of soldiers die there every day and out of the pre-war population of 11,000, only a few hundred remain. Their chances of survival in urban combat conditions are slim. However, authorities deemed renaming streets an important decision at the moment.