Lypovets Territorial Community

History

The most likely origin of the name of the town of Lypovets is associated with the location in its central area of the gathering site of Tatar hordes, which was known as Lypany or Lypky.

The town emerged on an ancient Chumaky route in the upper reaches of the Sob River. The first written mention of Lypovets (Aisyn-on-the-Sob) dates back to 1545.

The town flourished in the first half of the 17th century, when it was owned by the largest Ukrainian tycoon at that time – Janusz Ostrozky. In 1606, the town was granted the Magdeburg rights.

During the liberation war under the leadership of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, the Cossack army defeated the forces of the Poles near the walls of the Lypovets Castle, as a result of which Hetman Ivan Bohun was released from the siege. Two years later, the town was burned by the Poles and turned into an ordinary village for a long time.

Nowadays, the sign of reconciliation – Cossack Cross – has been installed on the site of the battle between Polish and Cossack troops during the liberation war.

After the second partition of Poland, the town went to Russia and in 1795 became a district town of the Kyiv Province.

After the Soviet occupation in 1923, Lypovets was the district centre. During World War II, it was occupied by German troops and liberated from occupation in March 1944.

Nowadays, the memorial sign – Slovak Cross – has been installed at the burial place of Slovaks who died during the Second World War.

In the territory of the Lypovets and Illintsi Communities, there is a natural and geological landmark – the Illintsi Crater. This is the place of the fall of a meteorite about 400 million years ago, which partially sticks out of the ground. The site has tourist potential and a partially developed infrastructure.

One of the favourite places of recreation in the town of Lypovets is the Velopark Municipal Square reconstructed with the funds of a grant from the European Union.

Vasyl Lypkivskyi, the chief priest of the cathedral in the town of Lypovets, was born in the territory of the Lypovets District. He took part in the creation of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, becoming its first metropolitan. He was murdered in the cells of the NKVD in 1937.

Famous Polish writer Juliusz Strutynski was also born in the town of Lypovets (he wrote using the pseudonym of Berlych Sas).

The palace of the famous Danish poet, translator and diplomat Thor Lange, who lived there until his death in 1915, is located in the village of Napadivka.

Economy and Welfare

Most of the existing industrial enterprises in the Lypovets Community belong to the processing industry. The largest enterprise in the Community is a canned fruit juice factory built in 2012.

The geographical location of the Lypovets Territorial Community, its climatic conditions, and resources have long determined the agrarian development of the region. The area of agricultural lands in the Community totals 54,000 hectares.

The Community’s agriculture is focused on the cultivation of grain and industrial crops and animal husbandry (mainly dairy cattle breeding). There are four elevators operating in the Community.

The Lypovets Territorial Community has good conditions for investments. First of all, it concerns the processing of agricultural products. For this purpose, necessary raw material resources, personnel with relevant work experience, unoccupied land plots that can be used for the above purposes, and good transport logistics are available. The Community’s tourist highlights, unique Podillia landscapes, ponds, apitherapy, local crafts and cuisine are factors that also contribute to the development of local tourism.

Medical tourism in the Community is supported by the activities of the Lypovets Regional Hospital for the Rehabilitation of Children. It is a specialized treatment and prevention facility that provides highly qualified medical and social care using the healing properties of radon water, as well as classical and unconventional methods of treatment. The hospital specializes in the treatment of patients with the consequences of injuries, diseases of the nervous system, musculoskeletal system and post-surgical rehabilitation.

Community and War

In the first months of the war, a huge flow of internally displaced persons passed through the Lypovets Community. Officially, since the beginning of the armed invasion, more than 2,400 displaced people (more than 10% of the population) have registered in the Community. According to unofficial data, the number of such persons has exceeded 3,000.

Accommodation and aid to be provided to such a large number of forced migrants required considerable efforts from the local authorities and Community residents. At first, IDPs were accommodated in educational institutions. Whenever it was possible, the residents of the Community took them into their homes. At the professional agricultural lyceum in the village of Zoziv they arranged a place of permanent residence for IDPs, where about 60 people are still accommodated.

The governing team organizes the collection of humanitarian aid from local residents, attracts the resources of international funds and community partners.

In 2023, the Lypovets Town Council allocated UAH 4.9 million to the needs of the defence forces of Ukraine in the form of subventions.

As of early 2024, more than 800 people, accounting for about 5% of the total number of local residents, fought in the Armed Forces of Ukraine defending the country. The number of killed soldiers and those who have gone missing since 24 February 2022 has already approached 60 people.

A volunteer group “Strong Together” has been set up on the initiative of the Community culture representatives. Its members raise funds for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, touring with concert programs across the Vinnytsia Region and the neighbouring regions. Since the beginning of the invasion, the team has raised almost UAH 3.4 million. These funds have been used to purchase military equipment, ammunition, and equipment for the residents of the Community who are currently on the front lines.

Meals for the military have been cooked across the villages of the Community on the initiative of their residents. Using their own resources, the production of various equipment and supplies necessary for the military has been launched there.

Centres for the production of trench candles have been created in the Community. The starostas of the Community organize the transfer of ammunition and food to the military. The Community enterprises also actively help the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

People of the Community

Despite the difficult conditions of wartime, due to his active organizational participation, improvements have been made in many locations of the Lypovets Community.

Thanks to close contacts with the MHP to the Community charitable foundation, more than a dozen social and economic development projects have been implemented in recent years: installation of children’s playgrounds, improvement of sports infrastructure, solutions to security issues, etc.

With the help of the head of the Community, the implementation of projects involving the authorities, businesses and the public sector has been initiated: the purchase of equipment for the needs of communal enterprises, renovations of hospital premises.

As the full-scale invasion began, all the residents of the Community, from the youngest to the oldest, have been making their efforts to approach the victory of Ukraine.

Development Strategy

The Lypovets Community has an approved development strategy until 2030. According to this document, the achievement of the following strategic goals is envisaged:

1) economic well-being in the Community;
2) improvement of living conditions and attractiveness of the Community territory;
3) improvement of the level of interaction at the local level and with other communities;
4) a safe community.

To achieve these goals, the Community plans to implement several investment projects in the areas of service provision and production and processing of agricultural products. This also encompasses tourism in the Community, where development of green tourism is priority.

List of Sources

• Official website of the Lypovets Town Council: lyp.gov.ua; 
• Official website of the Lypovets Municipal Hospital for the Rehabilitation of Children: lolvld.lic.org.ua; 
• Official Facebook page of the Lypovets Town Council: facebook.com; 
• Victor Bychkov’s Facebook page: facebook.com
• Volodymyr Nahornyi’s Facebook page: facebook.com
• Yevhenia Marchuk’s Facebook page: facebook.com; 
• Wikipedia:
• wikipedia.org
• wikipedia.org