The watermelon is a symbol of the region of Kherson Oblast, Ukraine. More than 50% of the watermelons in Ukraine are produced in Kherson Oblast and are shipped upriver to Kyiv.
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.[1]
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent Russian occupation, farmers in the region, who usually produced watermelons, were unable to do so. The watermelon became a symbol of Kherson.[2] [3] [4] [5] At the Ukrainian stand at COP27, a watermelon was displayed with a Ukrainian flag.[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".[7] Ukrposhta, the Ukrainian national postal services company, released watermelon-themed stamps commemorating the liberation of Kherson.[8]