Khmelnytskyi

Khmelnytskyi (Ukrainian: Хмельницький, IPA: [xmelʲˈnɪtsʲkɪj] ^ⓘ) is a city in western Ukraine. Located on the Southern Bug, it serves as the administrative centre of Khmelnytskyi Oblast as well as Khmelnytskyi Raion within the oblast. With a population of 274,452 (2022 estimate), Khmelnytskyi is the second-largest city in the historical region of Podolia, after Vinnytsia.

The city was first mentioned in 1431 as a Polish military post, where it was known as Płoskirów under Polish rule. It was seized by Cossacks during the Khmelnytsky Uprising and later ruled by the Ottomans until 1699. It was passed to Russia in 1793, as a result of the Second Partition of Poland, and became part of the newly-formed Podolia Governorate, where it became known as Proskuriv or Proskurov. From 1917 to 1920, it was controlled by the short-lived Ukrainian People's Republic before becoming part of Soviet Ukraine. The city's Jewish population fell from 42 per cent in 1939 to 10 per cent in 1959 as a result of the Holocaust in Ukraine. In 1954, it was renamed Khmelnytskyi in honor of the Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

Khmelnytskyi is the location of a rail junction and an important industrial centre, as well as a centre for higher education such as the Khmelnytskyi National University and the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater.